I have followed only superficially the topic of Common Core (CC) because foolishly I felt that it only pertained to public schools and to those going through the elementary grades. I know, I know. Ridiculous.
Today I went to Pearls Homeschool Support Group -and I am going to say right now that I wish that it was at least twice a month and not just once- to listen to Sarah Fowler, District 7 Ohio State Board of Education representative {not my district apparently} talk about CC. I'm going to request her presentation to share because I thought it well put together.
In the meantime here are a few suggested articles and links she gave:
And although she didn't specifically recommend this link, I saw it when browsing at Pioneer Institute: What Reporters Think They Know about Common Core I'm recommending it here because this is important to what is being 'fed' to people. Television and newspapers are big when it comes to 'knowing' what's going on. If we listen to just the reporters, we're going to be missing a lot of the picture. And boy will we be in for a surprise when we see what it is really.
Common Core is not truly about being a more rigorous curriculum nor about making students think harder. It is about molding them into a particular kind of person. One thing Ms. Fowler pointed out was the benchmarks for CC are supposed to be internationally aligned when in fact they are up to 3 years behind the best. Ah, and I must add this in, because while I do not enjoy proofs in geometry they are fundamental: apparently the core aligned geometry is without proofs. How does that work?
Another red flag that should have been evident at the start is that there are no research references in CC. Where there would be a footnote with a relevant study pertaining to a practice to be implemented, there is none. Or if I've misunderstood that it at least is not presented in the correct and current format that are expected.
Right now the state of Ohio has said that they are only implementing CC for math and English but CC is in the process of writing new curricula for social studies. What's to stop them from messing with science and history?
And let's not get started on the database that they (CC) want to implement with 435 different identifiable "points"...
Common Core affects public schools -students, teachers, parents, employers- but it also affects private schools. Ohio, if I understood correctly, is one of the only states {or is it the only?} that goes through the Department of Education to issue high school diplomas to private secular schools. That means that whatever standards are adopted for assessments {end of year testing, necessary to graduate} are going to be required in those schools. In order to align to the assessments, the curriculum will have to change. Colleges are going to be using these assessments to admit students. The SAT was changed and I believe the ACT is or will be. And while I was naive about the effect on homeschoolers, it is evident to me now that those assessments will be paramount to homeschoolers being admitted to colleges. Many homeschoolers do not adhere to public school curriculum; one of the beauties of homeschooling. At what point will the government decide that homeschoolers must align their curriculum as well?
{This part I'm paraphrasing big time and totally going off of memory- she said that she'd found three distinct points that it violated and unfortunately, I can't really recall the specifics.} Ms. Fowler also mentioned that really CC is in violation of the constitution which states that the states are free to choose their own curriculum, and the local school districts are free to choose. Apparently there are many who do not know this, or are afraid to go against what is in place. As she said, what teacher knowing their very job is tied to assessments will not use a prepackaged curriculum to fit with those assessments? Another thing is that under the wording of CC, while the school districts may 'change' the curriculum, it specifically states that it means the school may only add to the curriculum, and only in the proportion of 15%. That means that the schools are 85% controlled by the federal government. That is completely against the constitution!
I think I should end here because I do not know more about CC than what I learned today. I have seen the many math sheets floating around facebook, and while I find them to be frustratingly complicated, I cannot say that they are evil. I have also seen the approved reading lists for all grades and while there are many titles that I would not read myself because of the content, I can't say that the whole program should be tossed because of that. No, it is much more than those things. There is something wrong when a big business pays the government to implement a program that is not only faulty, not backed by any research, but not even legal in our country.
There are many who feel CC will brainwash the students. If by that they mean it will shove everyone into a mold where everyone is the same, I agree. Much of CC, from my understanding is not concerned with the right answers but how much effort is put in. But if that is how we are to be 'graded', on a curve, compared to everyone else's effort, isn't it just trying to make everyone equal and common? There would be no extraordinary.
Here is one last link that I just came across {via Pioneer Institute I believe}: Common Core Razes Charter School Standards
In the meantime here are a few suggested articles and links she gave:
- What's Good for Bill Gates Turns Out to be Bad for Public Schools, And, actually, bad for Microsoft too, as we learned recently {November 2013}
- Two articles at the Pioneer Institute: The Road to a National Curriculum and Controlling Education from the Top Down
- If you are curious as to what kinds of questions are on assessments through CC this site should give an idea: Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
And although she didn't specifically recommend this link, I saw it when browsing at Pioneer Institute: What Reporters Think They Know about Common Core I'm recommending it here because this is important to what is being 'fed' to people. Television and newspapers are big when it comes to 'knowing' what's going on. If we listen to just the reporters, we're going to be missing a lot of the picture. And boy will we be in for a surprise when we see what it is really.
Common Core is not truly about being a more rigorous curriculum nor about making students think harder. It is about molding them into a particular kind of person. One thing Ms. Fowler pointed out was the benchmarks for CC are supposed to be internationally aligned when in fact they are up to 3 years behind the best. Ah, and I must add this in, because while I do not enjoy proofs in geometry they are fundamental: apparently the core aligned geometry is without proofs. How does that work?
Another red flag that should have been evident at the start is that there are no research references in CC. Where there would be a footnote with a relevant study pertaining to a practice to be implemented, there is none. Or if I've misunderstood that it at least is not presented in the correct and current format that are expected.
Right now the state of Ohio has said that they are only implementing CC for math and English but CC is in the process of writing new curricula for social studies. What's to stop them from messing with science and history?
And let's not get started on the database that they (CC) want to implement with 435 different identifiable "points"...
Common Core affects public schools -students, teachers, parents, employers- but it also affects private schools. Ohio, if I understood correctly, is one of the only states {or is it the only?} that goes through the Department of Education to issue high school diplomas to private secular schools. That means that whatever standards are adopted for assessments {end of year testing, necessary to graduate} are going to be required in those schools. In order to align to the assessments, the curriculum will have to change. Colleges are going to be using these assessments to admit students. The SAT was changed and I believe the ACT is or will be. And while I was naive about the effect on homeschoolers, it is evident to me now that those assessments will be paramount to homeschoolers being admitted to colleges. Many homeschoolers do not adhere to public school curriculum; one of the beauties of homeschooling. At what point will the government decide that homeschoolers must align their curriculum as well?
{This part I'm paraphrasing big time and totally going off of memory- she said that she'd found three distinct points that it violated and unfortunately, I can't really recall the specifics.} Ms. Fowler also mentioned that really CC is in violation of the constitution which states that the states are free to choose their own curriculum, and the local school districts are free to choose. Apparently there are many who do not know this, or are afraid to go against what is in place. As she said, what teacher knowing their very job is tied to assessments will not use a prepackaged curriculum to fit with those assessments? Another thing is that under the wording of CC, while the school districts may 'change' the curriculum, it specifically states that it means the school may only add to the curriculum, and only in the proportion of 15%. That means that the schools are 85% controlled by the federal government. That is completely against the constitution!
I think I should end here because I do not know more about CC than what I learned today. I have seen the many math sheets floating around facebook, and while I find them to be frustratingly complicated, I cannot say that they are evil. I have also seen the approved reading lists for all grades and while there are many titles that I would not read myself because of the content, I can't say that the whole program should be tossed because of that. No, it is much more than those things. There is something wrong when a big business pays the government to implement a program that is not only faulty, not backed by any research, but not even legal in our country.
There are many who feel CC will brainwash the students. If by that they mean it will shove everyone into a mold where everyone is the same, I agree. Much of CC, from my understanding is not concerned with the right answers but how much effort is put in. But if that is how we are to be 'graded', on a curve, compared to everyone else's effort, isn't it just trying to make everyone equal and common? There would be no extraordinary.
Here is one last link that I just came across {via Pioneer Institute I believe}: Common Core Razes Charter School Standards
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