Common core in a nut shell for those interested. You may be alarmed!

[Scrub Jay]

 

 

And it was pushed for, supported by, and voted on favorabley on both sides of the aisle. My point was that stupid ideas are not limited to just one political party.

 

My comment had zero to do with political party and 100% to do with the timeframe.

[molon labe]

My comment had zero to do with political party and 100% to do with the timeframe.

 

 

sure

[Scrub Jay]

 

 

sure

 

 

?

 

Is this sarcastic?

 

So mentioning a president's name means I'm discussing politics/political party? I'm sorry but that's silly. Never mind against the rules here.

 

Timeframe - introduced by President Bush in January 2001. Hence, not possible for someone to be bemoaning NCLB by name in the 90s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act

 

 

[molon labe]

Yes, it was sarcasm. I get your point that there was no NCLB in the 90s.

 

But my point remains the same-- the government (that includes politicans and administrators from both parties) answer to everything seems to be laying blame on the other party, making sweeping reforms that sound too good to be true, and then throwing more money at the problem. Reading some of the posts here relative to Common Core and NCLB gives me the impression that some believe the problems in education stem from NCLB and only NCLB, as though problems didn't exist beforehand.

 

I worked in governement finance in the 1990s, particularly the areas of healthcare and education. While I believe NCLB to be a disaster, problems existed long before then.

[aug17girl]

FWIW, in Canada, eduction is very much a provincial issue. For whatever reason, the feds take no interest. Nevertheless, the provinces are pretty similar. Bad ideas spread from province to province (reform math, anyone?) Quebec is more or less shielded, but that is probably due to their language barrier.

 

I think there are major forces in favour that push towards a national-ish curriculum, even in the absence of direct intervention by the federal government. For starters, everyone is buying from the same four textbook companies.

 

Education is set out is the Canadian Constitution as strictly the jurisdiction of the provinces. The feds give the issue a wide berth since they don't have any legal standing to intervene. http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/bna.html

[redsquirrel]

Amendment 10 of the Constitution states: THE POWERS NOT DELAGATED TO THE UNITED STATES BY THE CONSTITUTION, NOR PROHOBITED BY IT TO THE STATES, ARE RESERVED TO THE STATES RESPECTIVELY, OR THE PEOPLE.

 

Thomas Jefferson said, "The way to have a good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but divide it among the many.... What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which ever existed under the sun??? THE GENERALIZING AND CONCENTRATING OF ALL CARES AND POWERS INTO ONE BODY, no matter whether of the autocrats of Russia or France, or of the aristocrats of a Venitian senate."

 

The only thing that will change in our country with CC is the centralization of control of education. Everyone already recieves an education by law and by law we all take the same standardized tests to ensure we are all learning basically the same thing.

 

Shall I quote totalitarian governments about how important it is to have a centralized national education too?

 

 

But Common Core seems to have been created by the Chief States School Officers and The National Governors Association. That means that the states came together and created this themselves. That isn't the federal government. Common Core is voluntary, no state has to join. And Common Core only covers math and language arts. Science, history, music and arts, everything else has nothing to do with Common Core. Common Core doesn't dictate content only skills.

 

This is not a New World Order. The black helicopters are not coming to enforce Common Core.

[FairProspects]

But Common Core seems to have been created by the Chief States School Officers and The National Governors Association. That means that the states came together and created this themselves. That isn't the federal government. Common Core is voluntary, no state has to join. And Common Core only covers math and language arts. Science, history, music and arts, everything else has nothing to do with Common Core. Common Core doesn't dictate content only skills.

 

This is not a New World Order. The black helicopters are not coming to enforce Common Core.

 

 

Well, is voluntary in the way that raising the drinking age was voluntary. If you want your Title 1 money, you play along. No state can truly afford to refuse the federal dollars for education, so it is essentially required in practice despite what the wording says.

 

We can agree that no black helicopters are coming. :)

[Tullia]

There's been a crisis in education for as long as I can remember. Whatever is proposed will most likely end up as a situation of, "Meet the new boss...same as...the old boss..." My not so humble opinion is that education is a convenient political football for politicians of all major parties, and there's always money to be made for someone out of perennial calls for educational reform. :gnorsi:

 

My mother kept a stack of my great-grandmother's letters written to her own mother from "Normal School" where she was a student, and then later as a territorial school teacher. She was a committed progressive and an agnostic in a militantly atheist family. (She was a child born late in life to parents traumatized by the U.S. Civil War.) Many of her letters speak of the urgency of doing away with the vestiges of classical education so that Americans would be ready to meet the demands of the 20th Century. She was proud of doing her part in building a modern educational system founded explicitly on progressive ideals. I have fond memories of her from my childhood, but she never mellowed and I expect she'd not have been supportive of home schooling and especially not classical methods. One of her letters talks about the total waste of studying Latin, Greek, and Aristotle....sigh... :glare:

 

FWIW, one of the books I just finished for my "book a week" reading has an essay which takes a pessimistic view of the possibilities for reforming the present system, and makes a case for restoring classical education. The book's title is The Magician's Twin: C. S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society. The final essay which deals with some of the real life implications of progressive educational principles is called C.S. Lewis, Scientism, and the Moral Imagination. The book won't suit everyone; it is published by the Discovery Institute and contains philosophical critiques of classical Darwinism.

[redsquirrel]

Well, is voluntary in the way that raising the drinking age was voluntary. If you want your Title 1 money, you play along. No state can truly afford to refuse the federal dollars for education, so it is essentially required in practice despite what the wording says.

 

We can agree that no black helicopters are coming. :)

 

I do understand that, but I remember that with NCLB there were states that gave up at least some portion of federal funding. There were states announcing that the $$ they got from the federal gov't wasn't that much anymore and they were giving it up to avoid compliance with NCLB. It is possible for at least some states to give up that $$ if they want to avoid federal involvement.

[Caroline]

Common Core does affect science and social studies. There are new reading and writing requirements in both subjects.

 

 

 

But Common Core seems to have been created by the Chief States School Officers and The National Governors Association. That means that the states came together and created this themselves. That isn't the federal government. Common Core is voluntary, no state has to join. And Common Core only covers math and language arts. Science, history, music and arts, everything else has nothing to do with Common Core. Common Core doesn't dictate content only skills.

 

This is not a New World Order. The black helicopters are not coming to enforce Common Core.

[redsquirrel]

Common Core does affect science and social studies. There are new reading and writing requirements in both subjects.

 

But is it dictating content?

 

If it is requiring writing across the curriculum then that is practical and efficient, and I would hope, already an expectation.

[Arcadia]

Common Core does affect science and social studies. There are new reading and writing requirements in both subjects.

 

But is it dictating content?

 

If it is requiring writing across the curriculum then that is practical and efficient, and I would hope, already an expectation.

 

 

Didn't see any content change for California. There would be more reading and writing for science and social studies/history. There is also a suggested reading list for science and social studies.

 

"California’s Common Core State Standards

 

for English Language Arts,

 

 

 

Literacy in History/Social Studies,

 

 

Science, and Technical Subjects"

[NASDAQ]

 

Education is set out is the Canadian Constitution as strictly the jurisdiction of the provinces. The feds give the issue a wide berth since they don't have any legal standing to intervene. http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/bna.html

 

 

I'm pretty familiar with the Canadian Constitution, but education is a state issue in the United States as well. AFAIK there has never been any particular effort on the part of the federal government to intervene in education in a serious way.

[SarahW]

eh, maybe I confused NCLB with something else? I was, like, twelve in the early 90's.

 

Outcome-based Education. For some reason that's ringing a bell in my long-term memory banks.

[Mom0012]

Double post

[Mom0012]

They don't have to join? Won't they lose federal funding if they don't as with NCLB?

[warneral]

My issue with CC is that it is a set of ideals with no real mode of attaining.

 

Teachers need curriculum, human resources and parental commitment to get these standards to be met. In our state, none of these things will be provided. Instead, they are given a threat that their pay will be affected by students' performance.

 

No curriculum changes. No resources to accomplish it.

 

WIsconsin

[VeritasMama]

 

I'm pretty familiar with the Canadian Constitution, but education is a state issue in the United States as well. AFAIK there has never been any particular effort on the part of the federal government to intervene in education in a serious way.

 

 

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, followed later by the IDEA act did see the Federal Govt intervene in education in a very serious way, but one I think we can all agree was positive. However, the mandates in these bills have been very costly for small, especially rural school districts, and it is one of the main reasons why Federal funding to schools has increased so much the last 40 years.

 

I have a minor in Special Education, and I am not in any way trying to disparage these pieces of legislation. They are important, but they are also costly.

[redsquirrel]

My issue with CC is that it is a set of ideals with no real mode of attaining.

 

Teachers need curriculum, human resources and parental commitment to get these standards to be met. In our state, none of these things will be provided. Instead, they are given a threat that their pay will be affected by students' performance.

 

No curriculum changes. No resources to accomplish it.

 

WIsconsin

 

 

Not dictating curriculum is one of the ways that CC is not getting involved with dictating content. If they were dictating curriculum then they really would be making decisions that people seem to want made on the local level.

 

People can't have it both ways. If you don't want CC making decisions about the content of what is taught, how those skills will be attained, then CC can't tell schools which program to use. If the state needs resources then that is supposed to be their job to figure it out. That is the part about only states and communities know what is best for themselves.

 

In my school district they switched from Everyday Math to Singapore because Singapore is in line with CC. But, the neighboring district is still using Everyday Math because it is in line with Common Core. So, two very different math programs, one Common Core.

[redsquirrel]

They don't have to join? Won't they lose federal funding if they don't as with NCLB?

 

 

There were a number of states who gave up funding under NCLB. They claimed they weren't getting all that much and it wasn't worth the trouble.

[Way2blessed]

I couldn't get the video to play and I stopped reading the comments because I have no stomach for rudeness, but I did want chime in why I am against CC. Years ago, our school district adopted the Connected Math/Investigations curriculum. When my math loving children began to complain, I did my research and found how the program was causing controversy everywhere it was being implemented. The district had spent over a million on the curriculum and was in no hurry to replace it until I contacted the math departments of Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton and got letters from all of them stating that the program was awful. The letter from Dr. James Milgrim from Stanford stating that the program was ok if the students just wanted to work at Burger King, but would never suffice if they wanted to enter the STEM fields finally persuaded our school district to dump the Connected Math program.

Fast forward to the CC, Dr. Milgrim was the only person on the standards committee for math to actually be an expert in the field of math. He is vehemently opposed to the final CC math standards. From what I have read, they sound like they are similar to Connected Math. You can read his testimony about it here: http://parentsacrossamerica.org/james-milgram-on-the-new-core-curriculum-standards-in-math/

 

From my understanding of the Language arts standards, they are just the opposite in being unrealistic to obtain, My niece's kindergarten class is using CC standards this year and she often has three hours of homework. She has spelling tests in which she has already had to learn to spell all of the months. She is expected to be able to write a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting details by the end of the year--not exactly something that can be expected of all kindergarteners,

 

Kids are all unique. And classrooms and localities are unique too. A one size fits all is never, imo, a good approach.

[NASDAQ]

 

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, followed later by the IDEA act did see the Federal Govt intervene in education in a very serious way, but one I think we can all agree was positive. However, the mandates in these bills have been very costly for small, especially rural school districts, and it is one of the main reasons why Federal funding to schools has increased so much the last 40 years.

 

I have a minor in Special Education, and I am not in any way trying to disparage these pieces of legislation. They are important, but they are also costly.

 

 

That's a really good example. I think that there are arguments in both directions on federal funding. I just wanted to draw out that curriculae tend to converge even in the absence of federal compulsion.

[Parrothead]

 

 

As a military family, I'm very interested in national standards. We know many families who use the public school systems at each of their duty stations and struggle with the wide variety of teaching standards across the US(not to mention schools on military bases in foreign countries). I have a acquaintance whose oldest son was a senior in high school when they were required to move in February. When they arrived at their new duty station, his new high school said he would not graduate because he didn't have enough credits in Oklahoma history. He would not be permitted to walk on graduation night & would receive his diploma after a set of summer school classes.

 

This family's story is one of the reasons we chose to homeschool. I do love our Constitution-my family defends it with much sacrifice every day. I also recognize that in our highly mobile society, some level of common expectations in education would benefit those who choose to defend our Constitution through military service.

 

 

I'm a military brat and by 5th grade I'd figured out it didn't matter how well I did in NJ because by the time I get to NY. Everything would be different. I basically gave up on my education when I was 10 simply because of all the changes in curriculum when we moved. What did I need to know about NJ history. I'd be in CT (or somewhere) when I graduated.

 

------------------

 

I think a standard curruculum would have been better for me. I do know it is working for dd. Keeping dd's curriculum consistent is our number 2 reason for homeschooling.

 

But I can see how it wouldn't work for everyone.

 

I don't have the answer. I'm pretty sure if I did I'd be rich. I do know that education has been a dismal failure for many children all over the country for a long time now.

 

From what I've read about the CC standards they seem very open to interpretation by individual districts. I'm not sure what we are gaining by implementing them. But truly something has to be done to fix the system.

[Parrothead]

 

 

I can't imagine that any significant portion of the US population is moving just because of schools. This argument does not make a lot of sense to me. State and local governments have controlled schools for a very long time at this point, and they have not done a particularly good job. I don't really think that federal standards will make the schools so much worse.

 

I agree, people usually don't change what state they live in based on schools. But when they move district often plays a part in where people land.

[Parrothead]

 

 

From my understanding of the Language arts standards, they are just the opposite in being unrealistic to obtain, My niece's kindergarten class is using CC standards this year and she often has three hours of homework. She has spelling tests in which she has already had to learn to spell all of the months. She is expected to be able to write a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting details by the end of the year--not exactly something that can be expected of all kindergarteners,

 

 

 

That is nuts.

[AngelBee]

This is the crux of the problem w/ CC, IMO. If you take a state like MN, we do pretty good overall. If you look deeper at the numbers it gets more interesting (for lack of a better word). White kids who live above the poverty line do really, really well for the most part. Minority and poor kids are trailing way behind. CC does nothing to address this core problem. When the federal govt' mandates this stuff there is usually a huge expense and if history is any indication very little change in outcome. Now you are stuck with no way out of CC (in theory), and it becomes harder all the time to implement change locally when you trying to meet the new requirements the feds throw at you every 5 years.

 

The deeper problem is that I don't think anybody knows what TO do. So, you throw more money and mandates at the problem, because those are the only tools you have in your toolbox. You hope that one of these times you start seeing improvement; I'm not holding my breath.

 

In MN also and totally agree with you.

[AngelBee]

Full opinion essay in K??? :confused1:

[redsquirrel]

So is CC dumbed down education, or is it making 5 year olds write OpEds? 5 year olds writing dumbed down OpEds?

 

I have seen the claims about CC run the gamut on this thread.

[Arcadia]

So is CC dumbed down education, or is it making 5 year olds write OpEds? 5 year olds writing dumbed down OpEds?

 

I'm amused because it is so far-fetched. California only test writing in 4th grade and 7th grade. There are still 1st graders struggling to read. Even the writing samples of students for California's writing test shows spelling errors.

 

[Arcadia]

She is expected to be able to write a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting details by the end of the year--not exactly something that can be expected of all kindergarteners,

 

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/K

 

It says using a combination of drawing, dictating and writing.

Further down the page, it says with the help of peers and the adults.

 

Either the school is overzealous or they misunderstood the standards.

[La Texican]

Full opinion essay in K??? :confused1:

 

 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.1 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is...).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.3 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

 

 

 

 

From: The Common Core Standards official website.

under English, Writing, Kindergarten.

 

 

The opinion essay includes writing, dictating, and drawing a picture with a fully formed opinion on a book they have read.

 

[La Texican]

lol, someone said it already *blushes*

[dmmm]

I think that the kids should have a CC Standard to learn how to make adult sized tin-foil hats.

[redsquirrel]

I think that the kids should have a CC Standard to learn how to make adult sized tin-foil hats.

 

I think we homeschoolers have that covered.

[La Texican]

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Besides, the folding of the hats counts as a math class.

It's Geometry, right?!

[persephone43]

 

 

 

Amendment 10 of the Constitution states: THE POWERS NOT DELAGATED TO THE UNITED STATES BY THE CONSTITUTION, NOR PROHOBITED BY IT TO THE STATES, ARE RESERVED TO THE STATES RESPECTIVELY, OR THE PEOPLE.

 

Thomas Jefferson said, "The way to have a good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but divide it among the many.... What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which ever existed under the sun??? THE GENERALIZING AND CONCENTRATING OF ALL CARES AND POWERS INTO ONE BODY, no matter whether of the autocrats of Russia or France, or of the aristocrats of a Venitian senate."

 

The only thing that will change in our country with CC is the centralization of control of education. Everyone already recieves an education by law and by law we all take the same standardized tests to ensure we are all learning basically the same thing.

 

Shall I quote totalitarian governments about how important it is to have a centralized national education too?

 

Agreed. Agreed. Agreed.

 

The major objection here is the centralized control of the education of our children. NCLB, RTTT, or CC...doesn't matter. This is not a partisan issue and its not really about increasing standards.

The 10th Amendement is such an important and fundamental part of the constiution and is consistently and increasingly disregarded. It amazes me that this isn't sending up red falgs for more people.

 

I see the states like labrooms...if something is tried in say CA and its a sucess, then great! ...lets petition our state to adopt something similar. If it fails, then thank goodness my state isn't tied to that bad decision. If things aren't very good where I live, I can move to another state where conditions are better. But if the whole country adopts an idea and it fails...everyone fails. Sometimes everyone wins, and that's great, but if NCLB is any kind of typical measuring stick for federal intervention in local education, I would say that the odds of failure are rather high.

 

If things like education are completely handled on a local or state level, then at the very least I can get in my car, drive down the road or an hour to my state capital and make my voice heard. If i were to attempt the 16 + hour drive to DC and somehow make it past all of those lobbyists on K street...somehow I think I my list of concerns won't even get a passing glance.

 

I am not anti-federal government...it certainly has its place. But there is a larger picture here. We are really talking individual rights and freedom vs centralized control. And when it comes to the education of my child, I would like them to respect my freedom and that of my neighbors and local school district.

[dmmm]

I am taking it you don't live in Mississippi.

 

I feel as an American, I should care about the education of all the children in this country, not just my neighbors and those in my local school district.

[K&Rs Mom]

I am taking it you don't live in Mississippi.

 

I feel as an American, I should care about the education of all the children in this country, not just my neighbors and those in my local school district.

 

 

No idea what Mississippi has to do with it (never been there), but caring about others doesn't mean you get to tell them what to do.

[Mergath]

Agreed. Agreed. Agreed.

 

The major objection here is the centralized control of the education of our children. NCLB, RTTT, or CC...doesn't matter. This is not a partisan issue and its not really about increasing standards.

The 10th Amendement is such an important and fundamental part of the constiution and is consistently and increasingly disregarded. It amazes me that this isn't sending up red falgs for more people.

 

I see the states like labrooms...if something is tried in say CA and its a sucess, then great! ...lets petition our state to adopt something similar. If it fails, then thank goodness my state isn't tied to that bad decision. If things aren't very good where I live, I can move to another state where conditions are better. But if the whole country adopts an idea and it fails...everyone fails. Sometimes everyone wins, and that's great, but if NCLB is any kind of typical measuring stick for federal intervention in local education, I would say that the odds of failure are rather high.

 

If things like education are completely handled on a local or state level, then at the very least I can get in my car, drive down the road or an hour to my state capital and make my voice heard. If i were to attempt the 16 + hour drive to DC and somehow make it past all of those lobbyists on K street...somehow I think I my list of concerns won't even get a passing glance.

 

I am not anti-federal government...it certainly has its place. But there is a larger picture here. We are really talking individual rights and freedom vs centralized control. And when it comes to the education of my child, I would like them to respect my freedom and that of my neighbors and local school district.

 

 

Many other countries have national education standards. Those standards have yet to brainwash their children or turn the states into totalitarian dictatorships. I mean, when was the last time you saw Norwegian citizens on the news, rioting because the government has stolen their freedom via elementary math standards? It's not "sending up more red flags" for people because we aren't overreacting.

[LucyStoner]

Should I be buying stock in Reynolds Wrap?

[Heidi]

 

 

Many other countries have national education standards. Those standards have yet to brainwash their children or turn the states into totalitarian dictatorships. I mean, when was the last time you saw Norwegian citizens on the news, rioting because the government has stolen their freedom via elementary math standards? It's not "sending up more red flags" for people because we aren't overreacting.

She was talking about national control, not national standards.

Totilatarian governments DO use national curriculum as a propaganda tool to "brainwash" their citizens. Research Nazi Germany curriculum. It didn't seem to raise any red flags for them either, btw.

I'm NOT saying that is what CC is about bc it's not. However, we should be vigilant that we don't let go of our liberties, and CC is just another step towards centralized control. Every step away from the Constitution should be a cause of alarm, at least for those that wear their foil hats every day at high noon.

 

 

[persephone43]

 

 

Many other countries have national education standards. Those standards have yet to brainwash their children or turn the states into totalitarian dictatorships. I mean, when was the last time you saw Norwegian citizens on the news, rioting because the government has stolen their freedom via elementary math standards? It's not "sending up more red flags" for people because we aren't overreacting.

 

Norway is a tiny country with pretty much one race of people. Does not at all compare to the US and its size and diversity. Norway is the size of one of our states. So your comparison would be more akin to a "US state standard" rather than a national one.

 

It's one thing to ask the states to increase their standards and give them ideas or a gentle push in the right direction, it's quite another to enforce mandates that are near impossible to free yourself from of they don't work.

 

My point here was missed entirely. There is a huge difference between federal standards and federal control. NCLB paved the road to total control. CC may look different and may be harmless and actually quite good at first glance but its another step down that road. Ignoring the signs and comparing the US to places like Norway is ignoring historical precedent and frankly comparing apples to oranges.

[La Texican]

I'm not missing what you're saying. I have heard the same arguement made about seatbelt laws. It's a slippery slope when you start telling other people what to do in order to "provide for the common welfare". Here's what that means, in practice around the world. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Welfare_clause

Here's where the Constitution is interpreted to give the federal government the right to govern you, beyond the just the residents of DC and our national boarders. They have the right to govern us if the new legoslation provides for the general welfare.. like seatbelt laws, standardized minimum educational standards, and the defense of marraige act (by Bill Clinton, lmao). Section 1, article 9, USC:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

 

As far as it affects homeschooling, it still depends if your homeschooling for the journey or the destination. If you want your child to go to a good college then you have to educate them to the standards of the SAT. I hear you saying that if the whole country gets on a synchronized schedule then you will have to teach your child the same lessons in order and on time as all of the rest of the country. Well, somehow unschoolers still get to keep their kids at home. The arguement I have heard for that is that "what do they do with the public school kids who fail the tests, send them to homeschool?" Anyway, not everybody can score at the top.

 

Have you noticed that standardized tests seem to test test taking skills more than understanding? I highly doubt that's going to change. If you want your kid to do well on the test you just have to teach them to think about a question, the possible answers, then use a little empathy and reason out the choice that the test maker would want to hear. That's the answer. That's the answer on every test, all the time, the other answer is wrong on a test, and legislation will not change that. It's true for your Missionette badges, your Catechism, your drivers liscense test, your SAT, ACT, CAT, TAKS, any test you will take in your life. It doesn't matter what you know, only your reading comprehension, ability to reason out what the testmaker meant by asking the question, and put that down as an answer.

 

 

 

 

[ReneTL]

I don't see how this conversation can take place without considering how school choice would raise standards. One of the things free markets do best is to raise standards. One thing the federal government does best is lower standards. I guess I'll go get my tin-foil hat and get back to work.

[La Texican]

Here it says whose standards will be making the new test:

Indiana is a governing state in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Through PARCC a new generation of assessments will be developed and used throughout the nation, allowing us to compare and evaluate policies that affect student achievement across states and school districts.

The Common Core assessment includes a summative test, which will be administered online beginning with the 2014-15 school year. The assessment also includes “through-course assessments†that take place over the course of the year, allowing teachers to adjust their instruction based on students’ results. As a governing state, Indiana will pilot Common Core items in 2012-13 and 2013-14 and provide schools with data regarding student performance on the Common Core State Standards.

 

Well, I haven't heard of Indianna Standardized test before. I've already heard of the CAT, Taks, and I'm not sure but I think Iowa might be a big one. Anyway, it already has happened. The 2011-2012 school year kindergarteners were the first to be taught the common core standards and when this years kindergarteners are in 3rd grade they will be the first to take the new nationalized standardized test.

 

http://www.mcs.k12.in.us/mes/teachers/media/rcook/Standards/ELAGrade3%20Common%20Core.pdf

[Roadrunner]

I want freedom returned to teachers in the classroom. CC or any other standard shouldn't mean a fourth grade teacher can no longer design her class around the needs and strength of her students. I keep hearing from some of my friends (teachers) that they are forced to follow scripted curriculum to the letter and no longer do little things, like bringing the baby chic to K classroom unless they can in writing justify and demonstrate how it toes to their script.

[dmmm]

I want freedom returned to teachers in the classroom. CC or any other standard shouldn't mean a fourth grade teacher can no longer design her class around the needs and strength of her students. I keep hearing from some of my friends (teachers) that they are forced to follow scripted curriculum to the letter and no longer do little things, like bringing the baby chic to K classroom unless they can in writing justify and demonstrate how it toes to their script.

 

If they are doing that, then it is because of their local government, not the federal government.

 

 

Myth: The Standards tell teachers what to teach.

 

Fact: The best understanding of what works in the classroom comes from the teachers who are in them. That’s why these standards will establish what students need to learn, but they will not dictate how teachers should teach. Instead, schools and teachers will decide how best to help students reach the standards.

 

http://www.corestand.../myths-vs-facts

 

 

Totilatarian governments DO use national curriculum as a propaganda tool to "brainwash" their citizens. Research Nazi Germany curriculum. It didn't seem to raise any red flags for them either, btw.

I'm NOT saying that is what CC is about bc it's not. However, we should be vigilant that we don't let go of our liberties, and CC is just another step towards centralized control. Every step away from the Constitution should be a cause of alarm, at least for those that wear their foil hats every day at high noon.

 

Just an FYI - http://en.wikipedia....odwin's_law

 

 

No idea what Mississippi has to do with it (never been there), but caring about others doesn't mean you get to tell them what to do.

 

You have knowledge of the inequity of the education system across the US from one state, county, city, subdivision to another? Mississippi is the bottom of the country in education. As far as caring for others, yes, I think it does mean that you help guide people on how to be better. If a loved one needed a job, you should help them if you have the knowledge to. They can accept your advice if they want, or walk away. The states had the same option.

[Heidi]

 

Just an FYI - http://en.wikipedia....odwin's_law

 

Just an FYI http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Nazi_Education.htm

 

[dmmm]

Abigail, you are really missing the point. Actually read what I posted.

[Amy in NH]

My issue with CC is that it is a set of ideals with no real mode of attaining.

 

Teachers need curriculum, human resources and parental commitment to get these standards to be met. In our state, none of these things will be provided. Instead, they are given a threat that their pay will be affected by students' performance.

 

No curriculum changes. No resources to accomplish it.

 

WIsconsin

 

 

But this is the part that is left up to the individual states & school districts. Being tied to a particular curriculum would help who? The curriculum provider. Where's the flexibility for different learners?

 

OTOH, I'd like to see all teachers hired and paid for at the state level.