Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control

[larryJ]

Ross, on this I would agree with you.  Helping my granddaughter with her 4th grade math is beyond me with the Common Core method of learning.  I look the problems, which are easy to solve the way I learned, and try to figure out what the heck they are trying to teach these kids.  Almost always I have to turn to the Internet and find out what it is that they want these kids to learn.  It is a totally stupid method of teaching math as far as I am concerned.  She is a smart kid and can easily work out the answers using plain and simple math, but the Common Core method is not really teaching her anything.  IMHO.

Larryj

[Ross]

Ross, on this I would agree with you.

She is a smart kid and can easily work out the answers using plain and simple math, but the Common Core method is not really teaching her anything.  IMHO.

Larryj

Larry I have heard for many years the term "Dumbing Down of America" but I chose not to believe it. Today however, I do believe it, wholeheartedly. Common Core is not about educating it's about training worker bees.

The elite of the country with their private schools do not teach common core. Obama's kids attend an elite school that does not teach common core. This should be the biggest red flag for everyone.

But education is even failing in the college arena. A great niece of mine was complaining just the other day about some of her fellow classmate that graduated with masters degrees. Their spelling is bad and they have trouble determining which there, their  or they're, they should use.

Some of her educated friends had a real good time with the subject of grammar, they were funny - but sad too.
I told her to remind them to us spell check and grammar check ---- LOL.

Some quotes from college graduates on Face Book for your reading pleasure:

That bugs me also, however the one that really irritates me is saying ideal when you mean idea!

My boss used to say "pacific" when she meant "specific" and always got mad when I corrected her. Use the right word and I won't. It drove me crazy!!!

Is she educated or what?

[Ross]

Really a Professor calling those highly educated people
"IDIOTS" !
There must be a lot of truth to calling college educated people
Arrogant Ignorants!

s!

COMMON CORE:
"Who Are The Idiots Who Designed This"
Asks Professor

December 7, 2014 By Bill Chandler

Educated Mom Comforts Her Child And Sends A Powerful Message To His Teacher On This Incomprehensible Take Home Math Assignment.

Students are turning to their parents for help but finding that their parents, in spite of advanced education, have no idea how to help their children with their homework. The Common Core Math component is particularly troublesome as it appears that the program has taken what were once simple math problems and turned them into some sort of abstract thinking exercise that eludes even the best of us.

"Who is stupid enough to design something like this?"

asked one parent with a Masters Degree in Journalism who was unable to help her Junior High child with her homework. There are still many people who haven't paid attention to how ridiculous this system really is. Consider this description from Charlotte Danielson, a highly regarded mainstream authority on teacher evaluation and a strong supporter of the Common Core:

I do worry somewhat about the assessments—I'm concerned that we may be headed for a train wreck there. The test items I've seen that have been released so far are extremely challenging. If I had to take a test that was entirely comprised of items like that, I'm not sure that I would pass it—and I've got a bunch of degrees. So I do worry that in some schools we'll have 80 percent or some large number of students failing. That's what I mean by train wreck.
Reports from the first wave of Common Core testing are already validating her concerns. This spring students, parents, and teachers in New York schools responded to administration of new Common Core tests developed by Pearson Inc. with a general rejection of their length, difficulty, and inappropriate content.

Ethan Heitner from Rethinking Schools wrote: "We know there have been many positive claims made for the Common Core:

That it represents a tighter set of smarter standards focused on developing critical learning skills instead of mastering fragmented bits of knowledge.
That it requires more progressive, student-centered teaching with strong elements of collaborative and reflective learning.
That it equalizes the playing field by raising expectations for all children, especially those suffering the worst effects of the "drill and kill" test prep norms of the recent past.
We'd like to believe these claims and efforts can trump the more political uses of the Common Core project. But we can't.

For starters, the misnamed "Common Core State Standards" are not state standards. They're national standards, created by Gates-funded consultants for the National Governors Association (NGA). They were designed, in part, to circumvent federal restrictions on the adoption of a national curriculum, hence the insertion of the word "state" in the brand name.

States were coerced into adopting the Common Core by requirements attached to the federal Race to the Top grants...

... and, later, the No Child Left Behind waivers. (This is one reason many conservative groups opposed to any federal role in education policy oppose the Common Core.)

Fortunately there is a rapidly growing contingent of parents and teachers who are rejecting Common Core standards.

As more and more parents become aware of just how ridiculous the system really is, it may not be long until, like all of the other national testing standards, Common Core becomes a thing of the past.

That's why it's more important than ever for parents, teachers and other community leaders to fight with everything they have to keep educational control at the local level where decisions are made by parent, teacher and the community.

http://viral.buzz/common-core-who-are-the-idiots-who-designed-this-asks-professor/

[Ross]

COMMON CORE:
"We Have Teachers Crying Here Everyday"

December 6, 2014 By Bill Chandler

Last week I went to the Washington Education Association office to hear what they had to say about Common Core. I had heard a lot of derogatory reports, but I wanted to hear from those in the trenches first hand.

I told the receptionist I wanted to talk to someone about Common Core. She pushed some buttons on her phone and said, "All I can tell you is that we have teachers in here crying every day." "That bad?" I asked. "That bad," she said. My subsequent meetings confirmed the receptionists observations.

So, teachers don't want it, students don't want it, parents don't want it, and the states don't want it. What's wrong with this picture? How long are we going to tolerate Common Core?

As a professor at our state's primary education university I watched our state WASL testing program flounder for over ten years before it was finally eliminated. How long are we going to let a Federal Government, who can't seem to regulate itself, dictate to us how to educate our children? I am quite certain that we are infinitely more able to make those decisions than they will ever be.

Let's not wait ten years. The time to eliminate Common Core is Now.

http://viral.buzz/common-core-we-have-teachers-in-here-crying-every-day/

[Ross]

COMMON CORE BE LIKE:

[Ross]

EDUCATION/NEWS

Legislation Lets States
Cut Ties
Between Common Core and
Federal Grants

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has drafted legislation to prohibit the federal government from "mandating, incentivizing or coercing" states to adopt the national education standards known as Common Core, The Daily Signal has learned.

The intent of Vitter's bill is to enable states to more easily exit the national standards, which more and more parents and educators have come to oppose, by voiding requirements attached to previously issued waivers from federal law.

States likely could retain their waivers from the law, called No Child Left Behind, even if they chose to pull out of Common Core.

Opponents have criticized the Obama administration for "incentivizing" states to sign on to the Common Core standards by offering $4.35 billion in grants and waivers under its "Race to the Top" program.

Of his bill, Vitter, a former supporter of Common Core, told The Daily Signal:

I've fought tooth and nail for local control of education and against the enormous growth of federal power under President Obama. That includes prohibiting the federal government from mandating, coercing or bribing states to adopt Common Core or its equivalent.

Vitter quietly filed his legislation, the Local Control of Education Act, as a standalone bill last week but intends to propose it as an amendment to the spending bill that Congress must pass this week.

The bill aims to "prohibit the federal government from mandating, incentivizing or coercing states to adopt the Common Core state standards or any other specific academic standards, instructional content, curricula, assessments, or programs of instruction."

Vitter, who intends to run for Louisiana governor in 2015, changed his position on the Common Core standards. Four months ago, in an interview with C-SPAN, the Republican lawmaker said he "strongly supports" the standards.

Of his reversal, Vitter said in a Dec. 1 press release:

After listening to literally thousands of parents, teachers and others since then, I don't believe that we can achieve that Louisiana control, buy-in and success I'm committed to if we stay in Common Core. Instead, I think we should get out of Common Core/PARCC and establish an equally or more rigorous Louisiana system of standards and testing.

PARCC, which stands for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, is a group of states working to develop a set of assessments in math and English to measure whether students from kindergarten through 12th grade are on track to succeed in college and career.

Vitter joins Louisiana's current governor, fellow Republican Bobby Jindal, in challenging Common Core.

>>> Bobby Jindal Explains Why He 'Flipped' on Common Core

In June, Jindal bypassed the state legislature and issued a series of executive orders withdrawing Louisiana from Common Core and all federally subsidized standardized tests.

Jindal also filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education alleging that the U.S. Department of Education, under President Obama, used the $4.35 billion grant program and waiver policy to trap states in a federal "scheme" to nationalize school curriculum.

Louisiana's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education teamed with a group of parents to challenge the legal groundwork for that lawsuit. In filing a countersuit against the governor, they left the status of Common Core in Louisiana murky.

Meanwhile, Louisiana continues to use PARCC, the federally funded Common Core testing and assessments group.

Stafford Palmieri, assistant chief of staff to Jindal, told The Daily Signal:

The federal government's actions are in violation of the Constitution and federal law, which is why we filed a lawsuit to fight Common Core in federal court. We also joined our state legislators in a state court suit against Common Core, and we will work next legislative session to create high Louisiana standards that are best for our children and keep education left to local control.

Vitter, with his eye on Jindal's job, wants to see states be eligible for federal grants regardless of whether they signed on to Common Core.

Lindsey M. Burke, The Heritage Foundation's Will Skillman fellow in education policy, said Louisiana is home to some of the most innovative school choice options in the country. For  parents there, she said, "retaining control of education decisions is critically important for ensuring that type of innovation and customization can continue in the future."

Burke added:

National standards and tests are a threat to the welcome proliferation of school choice, which Louisiana has been a big player in advancing in recent years.

>>> Commentary: It's Not Too Late for States to Reject Common Core

Michael Brickman, national policy director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education policy think tank that supports Common Core, said he "absolutely agrees" with efforts to separate federal funds from implementation—although most of the Race to the Top grants have been distributed.

In a telephone interview, Brickman said:

The federal government should not be in this business of incentivizing standards, but just because the federal government is incentivizing them doesn't mean they're bad—anymore than charter schools are bad, which were incentivized in the exact same grants. Nobody's saying we should stop having charter schools just because the federal government is incentivizing them.

The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers first developed the idea of Common Core standards in 2009 as a way to boost education standards across the board. In the years since, parents, politicians and political organizations have become deeply divided on how the standards and tests are implemented in their states.

In addition to Louisiana, three states—Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina—acted to pull out of Common Core this year. More than a dozen others either have exited or downgraded their involvement with the assessment component.

Critics argue the adoption of Common Core surrenders control of the content taught in local schools to political organizations and bureaucrats in Washington. They say the standards are not likely to improve student performance in comparison to other nations.

Champions argue that Common Core sets better education standards without dictating curriculum. They say states are free to opt in or out, or make adjustments as they see fit.

"Louisiana has the option to change the Common Core if it wishes," Fordham Institute's Brickman says. "Other states have made changes to Common Core or opted not to use the standards at all."

But Palmieri, who has been deeply involved in Jindal's education battle in Louisiana, dismissed as a "smokescreen" the narrative that Common Core is simply academic standards. She told The Daily Signal:

Curriculum is the product of standards and assessments—and educators know that what's tested is what's taught. And what's tested is controlled by the federally funded testing consortia, PARCC and Smarter Balanced, and states held hostage by federal grants like Race to the Top. The bottom line is that Common Core is about controlling curriculum. These are big government elitists that believe they know better than parents and local school boards.

>>> What's in Common Core National Standards?

With reading proficiency in the early grades at a dismal 23 percent in Louisiana, the debate over Common Core standards is likely to persist as a top issue in the race for governor.

Regaining local control of education is essential, Vitter said:

In Louisiana, we need a system in place that truly prepares our children to be successful in higher education and the workplace that is as or more rigorous than Common Core.

http://dailysignal.com/2014/12/08/bill-cut-ties-common-core-federal-grants-easing-states-way/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoksq7PZKXonjHpfsX56O4kWqa%2BlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4FT8JiI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D

[Ross]

Osceola Co. teachers resign
en masse over
Common Core demands

resigned or decided to retire from the Osceola County School District in just the past month -- and the district already had a shortage with more than 50 vacant teaching jobs.

The teachers' union told Channel 9's Deneige Broom that some of them quit because they're fed up with standardized testing.

At Kissimmee Elementary, they need to fill two spots. At the nearby middle school, three spots are open.

The union president believes many of the now vacant spots are because of testing.

Apryl Jackson fights to help Osceola County teachers, but said the education association's latest fight should concern parents, too.

"Ultimately, the problem that we're having now is the quality of education that our students is getting is not what it should be," said Jackson with the Osceola County Education Association.

In November, about 20 teachers resigned or retired from the school district.

Jackson said that's higher than they typically see and several teachers claim the way they're forced to teach now and the stress of Common Core were the deciding factors in leaving.

"They're required to do more and more in their classrooms in less time," Jackson said.

Those resignations include more than 50 teaching positions open throughout the district.

It has left substitute teachers in classrooms, sometimes for an entire school year, and also could mean additional students are added to classes.

Jackson said teachers are doing all they can.

Channel 9's Ray asked Osceola County School Board member Jay Wheeler if the district could end up suing the state's Department of Education over Common Core like other districts have.

"If we sue the Department of Education, that's taxpayers suing taxpayers," Wheeler said. "That's not a good use of resources."

Wheeler hopes they can get lawmakers on their side.

"The state needs to get out of the teacher evaluation business," Wheeler said.

See video at:
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/osceola-co-teachers-resigning-en-masse-over-common/njPXY/

[Ross]

100-year-old math teacher shreds Common Core

A 100-year-old teacher has seen a lot in the classroom.
But one thing Madeline Scotto doesn't want to see any more of is the Common Core curriculum and its strange way of teaching math.
In an interview with Business Insider, Scotto said she's never seen teaching method quite like it.

See video at:
Read more: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/12/08/100-year-old-math-teacher-shreds-common-core-164051#ixzz3M7HkxrpL

[Warph]

 

Students Given Common Core Vocabulary Lesson
That Promoted Mohammed And Islamic Faith

(This came from a state-adopted workbook which means
this isn't the only school, and it was approved...)

Via Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/12/19/school-islamic-vocabulary-lesson-part-common-core-standards/

    Parents in Farmville, North Carolina want to know why their children were given a Common Core vocabulary assignment in an English class that promoted the Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic faith.

    "It really caught me off guard," a Farmville Central High School student who was in the class told me. "If we are not allowed to talk about any other religions in school – how is this appropriate?"

    The Islamic vocabulary worksheet was assigned to seniors.

    "I was reading it and it caught me off guard," the student told me. "I just looked at it and knew something was not right – so I emailed the pages to my mom."

[Diane Amberg]

It's interesting how the interpretations of "teaching" religion have changed over the years. Part of the high school history course I took in 10th grade in 1960 was about the world's great religions. It was about the various  large world religions, including Christianity, how they were alike and different and the history of their beginnings and what they were about. In no way did the course promote any of them. It was very objectively taught and I personally enjoyed it.
Having read the above, I don't see how it "promotes" anything. Mohammed was a real person. The little partial piece doesn't suggest anyone should agree or disagree with Mohammed. He was who he was and he was part of history.
The vocabulary words shown have nothing to do with Islam. How do the words ''astute","conducive," and "erratic" as advanced vocabulary words, promote any religion? These kids were seniors! Surely they should be allowed to be exposed to things that cause them to think and decide, not just censor certain things out of existence.
If everything is controlled, criticized and censored, so much will be tossed out that critical thinking and coming to conclusions  will be impossible. It would be just "learn what you are told and don't think for yourself." I thought parents wanted their kids to learn to think ,not just memorize and parrot it back, in classes that provide for such.I guess I'm too old and over the hill.