Embrace The Common Core - Intelligence Squared US

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IQ2

13 December 2015 - 05:58 AM

I've been wondering for awhile what the demographic of the audience is. I looked at your audience photo and except for one or two faces, most of the people seated…

I've been wondering for awhile what the demographic of the audience is. I looked at your audience photo and except for one or two faces, most of the people seated there were white. It would be interesting to see a survey of audience members that gave an idea of their general background.

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IQ2

7 August 2015 - 18:17 PM

On 2015-08-07 14:17:45, Fourth Grade Teacher wrote:As a fourth grade teacher who LOVES the Common Core, I couldn't resist setting the record straight about one thing: Common Core does NOT…

On 2015-08-07 14:17:45, Fourth Grade Teacher wrote:
As a fourth grade teacher who LOVES the Common Core, I couldn't resist setting the record straight about one thing: Common Core does NOT call for standardized testing. The Common Core is only a curriculum--or what needs to be taught. Before forming a strong opinion, I suggest reading over the standards. They are very minimal, as the idea was to give teachers the freedom to meet the needs of their students. Be sure to distinguish between what is and is not a part of the Common Core. Otherwise, we will continue to run into the same problems with any new curriculum we adopt.

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IQ2

14 April 2015 - 18:06 PM

On 2015-04-14 14:06:28, Sherry wrote:It is interesting that of the 20 or so comments I have read, no one admits to changing their mind. How could so many watch the…

On 2015-04-14 14:06:28, Sherry wrote:
It is interesting that of the 20 or so comments I have read, no one admits to changing their mind. How could so many watch the whole debate and yet not glean a new insight that strengthens or weakens their beliefs about Common Core? Obviously most posters did not watch the video and their statements appear to be based on political ideology plus some conspiracy theories. I watched the entire video and my take away was that while I remain pro- Common Core I have much bigger reservations about it and in particular I worry that it is not developmentally appropriate for the youngest students (grade 3 and younger). All the panelists agreed that CC can be and will be modified and improved so fundamentally I still think it is on the right track and should be embraced. I hope future posters will actually watch the video before they comment..

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IQ2

19 March 2015 - 03:55 AM

On 2015-03-18 23:55:00, donny wrote:Anita Hoge exposes in great detail the hidden agenda of the common core. It's part of a national effort to give each child in the country…

On 2015-03-18 23:55:00, donny wrote:
Anita Hoge exposes in great detail the hidden agenda of the common core. It's part of a national effort to give each child in the country a unique ID, collect psychometric and biometric data on them (all of which are available to third parties including corporations that can use it for market research), and "reeducate" those who don't comply with common core standards of attitudes, values, opinions and beliefs. We need her to testify in Washington. Her research can be found at freedomoutpost.com

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IQ2

4 December 2014 - 02:35 AM

On 2014-12-03 21:35:06, Eric Rasmussen wrote:Common Core is silly. Anyone who has a young child or who is an elementary teacher will tell you about the negative effect Common Core…

On 2014-12-03 21:35:06, Eric Rasmussen wrote:
Common Core is silly. Anyone who has a young child or who is an elementary teacher will tell you about the negative effect Common Core has had. A bunch of supporters of Common Core do not have children and do not interact with teachers of young children on a daily basis. The new decomposition of numeric concepts at a kindergarten level is ridiculous; EVERY child at my school says they hate math. This is the effect, and it will be disastrous for our future. I don't care one bit about high school Common Core relevance. If you convince a young child that math is hard and frustrating, they will learn to fear math and avoid it. Common Core needed to START at kindergarten and then work up toward high school, basing the instruction on developmentally appropriate methods.

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IQ2

28 November 2014 - 23:40 PM

On 2014-11-28 18:40:21, David Chittenden wrote:The implementation of the tests is crucial. I was hired to write, for $6 a question, questions in 5-6 grade science a company selling these…

On 2014-11-28 18:40:21, David Chittenden wrote:
The implementation of the tests is crucial. I was hired to write, for $6 a question, questions in 5-6 grade science a company selling these tests to a government entity, Though I had taught only college science, I thought my questions were pretty good for the starting level, and for the short time I devoted to each for that wage.. But the employer had no one on their staff capable of testing or judging these questions; they were just a sales organization - saying to the state: "We are a professional organization. Trust us." Perhaps in cases of severe incompetency, that was not true. I received a second task of revising some questions on chemistry. They were extremely badly written - so that more than one or less than one of the multiple choice answers were correct. I think a poor chemistry teacher had thrown together some ill considered test question from his past, rather than make up some new questions really pertinent to the need. Conclude that companies will exploit both the employee and the customer unless the state or federal government has good quality control measures in place. They will feel that extra expense is unneeded.

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IQ2

19 November 2014 - 06:45 AM

On 2014-11-19 01:45:46, Evangeline Ray wrote:Many of the arguments for the Common Core sounded a lot like the buyer of a used car saying, well, gee, I've spent so much…

On 2014-11-19 01:45:46, Evangeline Ray wrote:
Many of the arguments for the Common Core sounded a lot like the buyer of a used car saying, well, gee, I've spent so much money on it already - I can't throw it out now. Carol Burris's comments were spot on: too many elements of the Common Core are not developmentally appropriate. I loved her observation that children don't grow from high school graduates back to kindergarten, so what kind of sense does it make to start with where you want kids to end up and then work your way backward? It's admirable - and sensible - to have an end goal, but you can't design a program without taking into account a child's development along the way.

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IQ2

14 November 2014 - 07:55 AM

I never took a higher level of math in highschool than basic algebra and basic geometry. I graduated in 2003, and a LOT of my contemporaries who DID take those…

I never took a higher level of math in highschool than basic algebra and basic geometry. I graduated in 2003, and a LOT of my contemporaries who DID take those higher levels of math, like trigonometry and calculus, today (11 years later) absolutely suck at math. They can't even figure out basic geometric figures like the area of a triangle or the circumference of a cylinder with a known diameter. This may sound ridiculous, but I work at an aircraft manufacturing plant and have to wrap Kevlar around aluminum mandrels, and many of my coworkers cannot figure out how much material they need from the plycutter without hunting down a tape measure and wrapping it around the mandrel. We even have a calculator right at the workstation, it isn't hard to multiply the known diameter of the mandrel (it's stamped right on the end) by 3.14 and adding an inch for your ply overlap, but these guys will waste time hunting down a tape measure to get that circumference. It's not about the kind of math you learn, it's how you learn it and how you are taught to apply it that matters.

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IQ2

27 October 2014 - 06:14 AM

On 2014-10-27 02:14:48, Catherine Martinez wrote:
The group arguing for the Common Core used some very obvious falsehoods to support their position plus some questionable assertions: e.g. Most special needs teachers embrace CCSS. They said that CCSS are not set in stone, but in reality they are copyrighted and so cannot be easily altered. The pair against the CCSS mentioned the standards created in Massachusetts. I have also wondered why they could not have used the standards created in Florida, which were created by teachers and vetted in the classroom.

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IQ2

25 October 2014 - 02:20 AM

On 2014-10-24 22:20:32, Someguy wrote:Best not to pay your taxes if this is how its spent.

On 2014-10-24 22:20:32, Someguy wrote:
Best not to pay your taxes if this is how its spent.

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IQ2

13 October 2014 - 07:53 AM

On 2014-10-13 03:53:53, Diane Woodward wrote:After watching the debate, I was shocked at the in-house results. Just the difference in attitudes of the for side and the against side was…

On 2014-10-13 03:53:53, Diane Woodward wrote:
After watching the debate, I was shocked at the in-house results. Just the difference in attitudes of the for side and the against side was stark to me. The "for Common Core" side seemed a bit smug and less prepared. There were several questions that they did not answer. The against side seemed more humble and down to earth. Plus, they actually had intelligent answers for all the questions. As a teacher who has been deemed "highly effective" for the two years since my state adopted CCSS (so not sour grapes), I can tell you that the stress, not only on teachers, but on students, is not conducive to good teaching or learning. Many of the standards, especially grade 3 and below are developmentally inappropriate. They assume a background that doesn't exist. The pressure is really awful. The behaviors in school have deteriorated a lot since COMPASS and CCSS. Kids who can't do what is being asked of them act out.

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IQ2

13 October 2014 - 00:01 AM

On 2014-10-12 20:01:02, danielsuggs wrote:I agree that any standard would work if the school system was held accountable through nonadjustable results. The common core seems to be higher for lower…

On 2014-10-12 20:01:02, danielsuggs wrote:
I agree that any standard would work if the school system was held accountable through nonadjustable results. The common core seems to be higher for lower grades and lower for higher grades. It should simply be higher for all grades. Higher standards, consistently, are the way out of mediocrity.

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IQ2

7 October 2014 - 00:16 AM

On 2014-10-06 20:16:31, Tom Cappelletti wrote:Lack of accountability is the biggest issue facing our public schools. In order to make our public schools accountable for teaching our kids we need…

On 2014-10-06 20:16:31, Tom Cappelletti wrote:
Lack of accountability is the biggest issue facing our public schools. In order to make our public schools accountable for teaching our kids we need standards and we need testing. A common set of standards and tests is a logical goal. We cannot leave this 100% to the states because many have proven not to be trustworthy because policy makers are ruled by the teachers unions, NYS is exhibit AAA. Teachers unions are all about the status quo and protecting teachers jobs full stop. We need standards and tests to unsure our kids are performing and evaluate teacher performance. We need accountability in our schools, right now we have none.

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IQ2

6 October 2014 - 06:45 AM

On 2014-10-06 02:45:53, Jennifer wrote:So far all I see with this is loss of administrative personnel who were advocates for our children, teachers so stressed that they can't take time…

On 2014-10-06 02:45:53, Jennifer wrote:
So far all I see with this is loss of administrative personnel who were advocates for our children, teachers so stressed that they can't take time to "care" about the students in their class and student's from K -4 so frustrated with the new material that they're starting to dread going to school and acting up in class because they don't know what to do and the teacher doesn't have time to help. Several of the students are having to seek outside tutorial g, which is good for the sylvan and Kumon companies.

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IQ2

29 September 2014 - 22:21 PM

On 2014-09-29 18:21:19, Dr. Joseph A. Ricciotti wrote:The developers of Common Core obviously know very little about child growth and development as I have indicated on Diane Ravitch's blog. (http://dianeravitch.net/?s=ricciotti)

On 2014-09-29 18:21:19, Dr. Joseph A. Ricciotti wrote:
The developers of Common Core obviously know very little about child growth and development as I have indicated on Diane Ravitch's blog. (http://dianeravitch.net/?s=ricciotti)

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IQ2

27 September 2014 - 10:41 AM

The in-house voting appears heavily biased. But the internet voting is very, very clearly baked by activists. Check other debates total vote count & spread, for comparison. Neither result is…

The in-house voting appears heavily biased. But the internet voting is very, very clearly baked by activists. Check other debates total vote count & spread, for comparison. Neither result is representative of what we would see if a random sampling of viewers were to have voted. Oh well.

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IQ2

24 September 2014 - 21:53 PM

On 2014-09-24 17:53:52, lfuller wrote:
I also find the discrepancy between the in-house results and the online voting interesting. My experience is that the concerns go far, far beyond a "conservative agenda." This is an important issue for a democratic society: what are the purposes of public schooling and who should make those decisions?

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IQ2

22 September 2014 - 22:35 PM

On 2014-09-22 18:35:32, Diana Per wrote:I think this debate would have been better served if all parties would have left politics out of the discussion. There were references to President…

On 2014-09-22 18:35:32, Diana Per wrote:
I think this debate would have been better served if all parties would have left politics out of the discussion. There were references to President Obama, to the Tea Party; even the moderator tainted the discussion with politics by making reference to a particular political party member putting his finger to the wind. How could the outcome of a debate about Common Core that includes references to Obama and Tea Party not affect the outcome of the result in today's polarized political climate?

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IQ2

22 September 2014 - 04:11 AM

On 2014-09-22 00:11:47, Monica wrote:I think it's sad that the math part of common core isn't getting traction but it's no wonder. The occasional oddball question combined with the inflexible…

On 2014-09-22 00:11:47, Monica wrote:
I think it's sad that the math part of common core isn't getting traction but it's no wonder. The occasional oddball question combined with the inflexible nature of common core is setting it up for failure. It really still is in beta form, yet they're trying to implement it now. Not a good idea. I made a video about it here... http://youtu.be/RPjYlfam16M

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 23:16 PM

On 2014-09-18 19:16:11, Michi wrote:I see so many arguing "why don't you want your kids to work harder" didn't really hear the argument that it isn't really about "workng harder"…

On 2014-09-18 19:16:11, Michi wrote:
I see so many arguing "why don't you want your kids to work harder" didn't really hear the argument that it isn't really about "workng harder" it s about what makes sense in how to teach kids properly in a way that makes sense to brains at that age. When these were first coming in, it was about ensuring kids were introduced to a variety of learning methods, not simply replacing x for y. I was all for that, but I am NOT for what it become. In a way, I feel like I'm back in 1st grade. We moved from a private school that taught reading by whole word method to a public one that taught phonics. So I failed the reading test that was not actually about reading words but breaking down the phonics. The remedial teacher wa astonished at how I never seemed to pay attention but could read when called upon. It wasn't until nearly the full year that they believed me tha I could actually read. Now, it was not a bad thing to learn phonics. But surely there was a way to do that without labeling me a "non-reader" and wasting a nearly a year of reading instruction. In actuality, I learned phonics because mom bought "Highlights" magazine. In the same way, it is fine to learn how to count by 10s, to estimate, to use a number line, but when it means you fail a 4th grader who can do a square root in their head but not estimate along a number line (even though they could do the actual problem in their head).

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 16:29 PM

On 2014-09-18 12:29:40, Jan Kasal wrote:I heard the CC opponents claiming that the audience consisted of Educators 4 Excellence (promoters of CC) who got the tickets in bulk. The naysayers…

On 2014-09-18 12:29:40, Jan Kasal wrote:
I heard the CC opponents claiming that the audience consisted of Educators 4 Excellence (promoters of CC) who got the tickets in bulk. The naysayers will always find something negative.

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 16:16 PM

A look at the on-line poll associated with this video is 89% against...maybe the studio audience starting out at 50% for and only 13% against has something to do with…

A look at the on-line poll associated with this video is 89% against...maybe the studio audience starting out at 50% for and only 13% against has something to do with the studio results?!!!

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 05:14 AM

On 2014-09-18 01:14:45, Nina Seifert Bishop wrote:For those of you who cannot understand why parents would not want to make their kids work harder in school; you obviously don't have…

On 2014-09-18 01:14:45, Nina Seifert Bishop wrote:
For those of you who cannot understand why parents would not want to make their kids work harder in school; you obviously don't have kids in school or understand Common Core and the strings attached to it or the harm it does special needs kids and elementary school children. The experts hired to validate Common Core refused; Sandra Stotsky and James Milgram. Neither believe Common Core will have our students ready for university. Senseless hours of testing at great cost to states and a massive push for student data collection which is shared WITHOUT parental consent. Parents were given no seat at the table when the Common Core and privacy issues were discussed. Our children only get one chance at a free, quality and equitable education; why not allow the teachers to do what they do best and that is to instruct our students NOT excessively test them. Address the real problem which is poverty and stop holding teachers accountable for social issues, outside their control, which affect testing. No student EVER learned anything from taking a test. Do some research for crying out loud. Read anything by Diane Ravitch, Alfie Kohn, Deborah Meier, Yong Zhao, Jonathan Kozol, Stephen Krashen; all of them oppose what's going on with education reforms. Student data collection and the feds interfering in state affairs is unconstitutional. They're designed Common Core and paid states enough money to circumvent that little issue. FERPA privacy regulations are meaningless thanks to Common Core. They are tracking our students from cradle to coffin and it's the first time in history they've had the technology to do it. They are literally marketing human beings. That's why parents object to Common Core. What's the price for your kid?

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 04:58 AM

There were really 3 debaters for the motion and only 1 really against the motion. That in itself skews the results. The online poll of those who watched the debate…

There were really 3 debaters for the motion and only 1 really against the motion. That in itself skews the results. The online poll of those who watched the debate outside the room is at 89% against. And a 3% win is not a landslide or anything to write home about!

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 00:39 AM

On 2014-09-17 20:39:31, Mary wrote:I cannot for the life of me understand why so many people, mostly parents and teachers, would have such strong objections to making kids work harder…

On 2014-09-17 20:39:31, Mary wrote:
I cannot for the life of me understand why so many people, mostly parents and teachers, would have such strong objections to making kids work harder in school (and thereby making teachers work harder), I am not anti-teacher; my mother and several relatives were teachers. Too much homework?? I hand carried 5 -6 textbooks home every night for 2-3 hours of homework in high school. And no, it wasn't that many years ago. You're arguing against higher standards and I'm watching empty school buses (that I pay for) go down my street every day while kids drive their own cars to school. And have after school jobs to pay for the fun stuff. From my observations of many young adults, the exploration learning and education electives instead of requirements hasn't made them all that smart, or equipped to handle life in the real world when things get tough. Sorry. For all the money and effort we throw at education Johnny still can't read. Or maybe it's OK to admit kids to college and give them college credit for remedial courses to bring them to the level they should be?

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 00:36 AM

The people in the audience were bought and paid for by Michael Petrilli a huge proponent of CCSS! He bought their seats, so this poll is a farce. There is…

The people in the audience were bought and paid for by Michael Petrilli a huge proponent of CCSS! He bought their seats, so this poll is a farce. There is NO way people support common core unless they were paid off! Seriously? Why even bother debating when it was a setup?

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 00:28 AM

On 2014-09-17 20:28:54, James A. Ritchie wrote:Debates in matters like this are as meaningless as a a burp in a tornado. Show me a thousand people who have actually read…

On 2014-09-17 20:28:54, James A. Ritchie wrote:
Debates in matters like this are as meaningless as a a burp in a tornado. Show me a thousand people who have actually read through all the Common Core tests, and then have a poll. Common Core is not only bad, it's not only senseless, it's also political, and this is inexcusable. Anyone who says Common Core is about raising standards is either a liar, or a fool. Common Core was conceived by idiots, and implement by those who have no clue what's in it, or who simply don't care, as long as it betters their status. Someone in power needs to look at the tests in every area of all the countries who rank above us, and compare what those countries do, how they teach, and the immense differences between their methods and Common Core. The differences are staggering. Between the unforgivable political aspects of Common Core, and the completely asinine teaching methods in some subjects, math in particular, but in other subjects, as well, it's insanity to use it in classrooms. Insanity, however, is just another way of spelling "Liberal Teacher's Union". No debate can remove the asinine, ludicrous elements of Common Core, and it is NOT going to be implemented in my state. I suspect most other states will feel the same way, once enough parents actually read the material, rather than listening to blowhard know-nothings in a debate.

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 00:22 AM

On 2014-09-17 20:22:13, Gary Tobin wrote:Parents HAVE to get involved and understand what CCSS are and all it's attachments, ie the collection of the kids data, states taking control of…

On 2014-09-17 20:22:13, Gary Tobin wrote:
Parents HAVE to get involved and understand what CCSS are and all it's attachments, ie the collection of the kids data, states taking control of local education, the feds bribing the states and parents, communities and teachers being removed from the kids education and education systems.

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IQ2

18 September 2014 - 00:22 AM

The argument is about what our kids should leave schooling know ... I think the problem is what our kids are leaving school being ... and I am not really…

The argument is about what our kids should leave schooling know ... I think the problem is what our kids are leaving school being ... and I am not really sure it has all that much to do with just school. Schools can be better, but not by sweeping gestures of regimentation or reform ... our schools used to work better and we knew much less about "schooling" and the way the human mind works then than we do today. That's not the issue, though process improvement in schools could be light-years better. The problem is that in order to preserve the status quo, we have jettisoned morality and civics from our schools. We have allowed the public airwaves to be used for the most vile garbage, we have essentially clogged our civil space just poisonous toxic junk under the aegis of "freedom and liberty" ... in short, how can a country that does that do anything right, except at a very top microcosmic culture of the status quo where these mass sickness can be isolated for the most part?

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IQ2

17 September 2014 - 20:43 PM

On 2014-09-17 16:43:23, Rosemary wrote:I have seen the results of Common Core in our schools and will not give up trying to stop it. There is no argument that can…

On 2014-09-17 16:43:23, Rosemary wrote:
I have seen the results of Common Core in our schools and will not give up trying to stop it. There is no argument that can be given, in truth, to support common core.

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IQ2

15 September 2014 - 00:55 AM

On 2014-09-14 20:55:08, Savay Lieu wrote:The Debate on embracing CCSS is admirable and both sides have valid points of emphasis. Personally, I welcome the change of CCSS from NCLB. I…

On 2014-09-14 20:55:08, Savay Lieu wrote:
The Debate on embracing CCSS is admirable and both sides have valid points of emphasis. Personally, I welcome the change of CCSS from NCLB. I believe that the policy shift is meant to assist with more vigorous and real learning goals for students, but also feel that the changes in policy have short comings. Like most educational policies, they are targeted in aiding our teachers perform at a higher level. I would like to see education policies be primarily directed at students' learning. Student and not teachers or administrators should be the target of policy changes. I understand that this would mean directing policy at minors and it is the adult in education that are responsible for implementing and focusing learning outcomes. Perhaps this is the real problem in education. We are trying to make our children do something that they have very little association with. We tie up education with standards and test scores and we seldom promote learning. We let achievement and accomplishments hinder growth and real learning. Real learning is when children are invested in the ideal of self improvement and not just achieving high marks on a test or acceptance letters to colleges. It is the not tangible but idealistic. What better outcome for students and teachers alike than to strive for idealism and practice to improvement of self.

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IQ2

14 September 2014 - 03:07 AM

On 2014-09-13 23:07:03, andrea wrote:This is laughable. The ONLINE poll represents thousands of votes and shows 89% AGAINST CCSS. The "results" polls the site plays up represent the opinions of…

On 2014-09-13 23:07:03, andrea wrote:
This is laughable. The ONLINE poll represents thousands of votes and shows 89% AGAINST CCSS. The "results" polls the site plays up represent the opinions of those who ATTENDED the debate, certainly a far smaller polling sample, which included many in attendance who work for the sponsoring organization. The online poll is the one most likely to be accurate, and it is clearly anti-CCSS.

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IQ2

14 September 2014 - 02:29 AM

On 2014-09-13 22:29:18, Nick wrote:Doesn't seem to be much of a debate to me. Currently 39,000 to 5,000 of the public vote think Common Core is the biggest scam since…

On 2014-09-13 22:29:18, Nick wrote:
Doesn't seem to be much of a debate to me. Currently 39,000 to 5,000 of the public vote think Common Core is the biggest scam since "The King's Camel Leopard."

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IQ2

12 September 2014 - 05:08 AM

On 2014-09-12 01:08:33, James Clark wrote:This is clearly not accurate. The people watching must have been in the "embrace" category before they entered the arena... Seriously this is not accurate-…

On 2014-09-12 01:08:33, James Clark wrote:
This is clearly not accurate. The people watching must have been in the "embrace" category before they entered the arena... Seriously this is not accurate- Were the people voting paid?

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IQ2

11 September 2014 - 21:04 PM

On 2014-09-11 17:04:34, Leonie wrote:The audience was stacked with members of the Gates-funded pro-Common Core organization, Educators for Excellence. I would like to know who paid for their tickets!

On 2014-09-11 17:04:34, Leonie wrote:
The audience was stacked with members of the Gates-funded pro-Common Core organization, Educators for Excellence. I would like to know who paid for their tickets!

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IQ2

11 September 2014 - 03:59 AM

On 2014-09-10 23:59:20, Dan Baker wrote:The cooperate approach to education has been going on for some time now without success. Want an alternative? Go to http://www.studentsteach.net or http://www.iepkids.com

On 2014-09-10 23:59:20, Dan Baker wrote:
The cooperate approach to education has been going on for some time now without success. Want an alternative? Go to http://www.studentsteach.net or http://www.iepkids.com

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 23:42 PM

On 2014-09-10 19:42:00, Vicki Cobb wrote:
As a children's nonfiction author who has actually read the Common Core State Standards, I see it as an opportunity for including more nonfiction literature in the classroom. Most people don't know the names of the top children's nonfiction authors who write with voice and a point of view that makes nonfiction inspiring and informative. Unlike text books, we don't have a captive audience so we must write to captivate. If you don't know what excellent children's nonfiction literature looks like, go to http://nonfictionminute.com to experience this resource of teachable moments for memorable learning. FREE! On the web! Every day!

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 22:58 PM

On 2014-09-10 18:58:24, Exelbirth wrote:Wow, looks like this was well circulated on conservative websites. Most of these videos never see this number of online voters, unless the topic is something…

On 2014-09-10 18:58:24, Exelbirth wrote:
Wow, looks like this was well circulated on conservative websites. Most of these videos never see this number of online voters, unless the topic is something that conservatives really want people to be against.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 20:18 PM

On 2014-09-10 16:18:19, shirley wrote:Common core is trash the kids are taught 2 fast and are not robots they dont learn that quick my child wonders if she is dumb…

On 2014-09-10 16:18:19, shirley wrote:
Common core is trash the kids are taught 2 fast and are not robots they dont learn that quick my child wonders if she is dumb the answer is no they need 2 slow down.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 12:59 PM

On 2014-09-10 08:59:57, randy wrote:common core is liberal crap ,plan and simple

On 2014-09-10 08:59:57, randy wrote:
common core is liberal crap ,plan and simple

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 08:53 AM

On 2014-09-10 04:53:08, Todd Anderson wrote:
Let's make things "EASIER", LESS CHALLENGING (for Students & Teachers) and let's abandon CONTINUING to implement Common Core Standards. Teachers won't have to do as much CREATIVE work because the ALTERNATIVE CURRICULUM will spell everything out ... like a Color-By-Number task for Teachers. Listen... You and I both attended years upon years of WORTHLESS SUBJECT MATTER IN ELEMENTARY & GRADE SCHOOL...(especially Grade School) WHICH IS NEVER PUT TO APPROPRIATE USE... With the Common Core, kids will USE THEIR BRAINS TO FIGURE THNGS OUT CREATIVELY.... no more Robotic Thinking!!!! Common Core ALL THE WAY!!!! We (the Country as a whole) are soooooo far behind children in say... China...WHY????? ... because we have lazy teachers, administrators and parents who would rather

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 04:25 AM

High standards for Federal Govt and states to fund education and address poverty!

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 04:22 AM

"NO Common Core cops?" What!!!! Why are teachers being evaluated and fired for not having all their students pass standardized tests that have had their content based on developmentally inappropriate standards that simply put previous 5th grade standards to 4th and 2nd to 1st and so on. "Common Core is a lemon" -Yes it is! And did anyone mention Poverty!!!

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 04:18 AM

On 2014-09-10 00:18:59, k. k. more wrote:While it is a good thing to raise expectations and standards, excellent teachers already do this. This is not to measure student performance as…

On 2014-09-10 00:18:59, k. k. more wrote:
While it is a good thing to raise expectations and standards, excellent teachers already do this. This is not to measure student performance as to measure teacher effectiveness. The stuedents are over tested and equated to a number instead of taught how to learn for themselves and think for themselves.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 04:17 AM

On 2014-09-10 00:17:16, Don wrote:How can anyone defend a system that relies on the same old shame based techniques to education?

On 2014-09-10 00:17:16, Don wrote:
How can anyone defend a system that relies on the same old shame based techniques to education?

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 04:12 AM

On 2014-09-10 00:12:10, Richard Innes wrote:RE: Carmel Martin's claim that Kentucky's College and Career Readiness rose from 34 to 47% in just one year This is not correct. This was…

On 2014-09-10 00:12:10, Richard Innes wrote:
RE: Carmel Martin's claim that Kentucky's College and Career Readiness rose from 34 to 47% in just one year This is not correct. This was the change over a two-year period from 2009-10 to 2011-12 while schools were adjusting to several additional ways students could demonstrate college or career readiness (which may have made early scores somewhat non-comparable). Furthermore, there have been issues raised about one of the tests now used to determine college readiness in Kentucky. The test in question is the ACT Compass test. Recently the ACT, Inc. changed Compass testing conditions as a result of those issues. The issues impacting Compass may have inflated Kentucky College and Career Readiness rates.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 04:11 AM

Rigorous - rigid, inflexible, deathlike, rigor mortis

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 04:09 AM

"Standards dont mean standardization" - what? that is what is happening. High stakes testing and teacher evaluations that do not make sense and are harsh and forcing teachers out!

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:58 AM

On 2014-09-09 23:58:03, cindy wrote:So before the CCSS children could never make inferences? What arrogant disregard for history. Education was never just about "rote memorization."

On 2014-09-09 23:58:03, cindy wrote:
So before the CCSS children could never make inferences? What arrogant disregard for history. Education was never just about "rote memorization."

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:56 AM

On 2014-09-09 23:56:28, JulieKramschuster55 wrote:Ms. Martin, I have looked extensively at these new tests -- OF COURSE, you can teach to them! And that is what teachers will do, under…

On 2014-09-09 23:56:28, JulieKramschuster55 wrote:
Ms. Martin, I have looked extensively at these new tests -- OF COURSE, you can teach to them! And that is what teachers will do, under penalty of losing their jobs -- and according to the strict instructions of their administrators -- teach to that test, and get good scores! Nothing else will matter. The SBAC tests are a huge disappointment -- but perhaps we really shouldn't be surprised.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:55 AM

I'm saddened that the IQ2 proponents for Common Core are for-profit, corporate representatives.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:53 AM

On 2014-09-09 23:53:31, Elizabeth Mullins wrote:As a parent who is living and experiencing first hand with a SPED child; this individual CAN succeed successfully; as an individual at his own…

On 2014-09-09 23:53:31, Elizabeth Mullins wrote:
As a parent who is living and experiencing first hand with a SPED child; this individual CAN succeed successfully; as an individual at his own pace...how simplistic I may sound...Common Core is not acknowledging nor recocognizing each individual child.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:41 AM

On 2014-09-09 23:41:16, Stella wrote:Is that it for round one? Not convincing augument to oppose CCSS.

On 2014-09-09 23:41:16, Stella wrote:
Is that it for round one? Not convincing augument to oppose CCSS.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:39 AM

On 2014-09-09 23:39:57, Richard Innes wrote:RE: The issue of secrecy. The fact is a 2009 news release from the National Governors' Association clearly states that the work of the actual…

On 2014-09-09 23:39:57, Richard Innes wrote:
RE: The issue of secrecy. The fact is a 2009 news release from the National Governors' Association clearly states that the work of the actual "Work Groups" that would create the CCSS would be conducted under confidential conditions. The real decision making was not open to the public. Furthermore, the 10,000 comments supposedly received from the public comment period have not been released for analysis, either. There is no way to know if those comments actually received a fair evaluation.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:23 AM

If Common Core weren't so closely tied to large, for-profit, corporate interests, I might be able to support it. But I'm more inclined to get in line with organizations who…

If Common Core weren't so closely tied to large, for-profit, corporate interests, I might be able to support it. But I'm more inclined to get in line with organizations who don't profit from the premise and don't need a business model to succeed. We've gotten way too far away from real student-centered models and too willing to adopt unproven tries and attempts. I get tired hearing about the achievement gap from "experts." Children of color and of poverty and those lacking supportive environments need public education to meet their nutrition, housing, clothing, nurturing, and education needs in order to compensate for the lack of same at home. We can do this. Some large cities are doing this right now. What if Maytag pairs with X City Public Schools to provide washers and dryers for clean clothes for children who need clean clothes? What if Bruegger's pairs with X City Public Education to provide bread and meat for lunches for children who need sandwiches because they don't get one at home? What if a recycled clothing store pairs with X City Public Education to supply clothing and shoes for children who don't have them? Meet the child where the child is today. We can do this. It isn't rocket science.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:17 AM

On 2014-09-09 23:17:09, Karleen Lake wrote:Incidental conversations are not proof that Common Core works, in fact there is no research that proves CC works.

On 2014-09-09 23:17:09, Karleen Lake wrote:
Incidental conversations are not proof that Common Core works, in fact there is no research that proves CC works.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 03:10 AM

On 2014-09-09 23:10:03, Kathleen wrote:Seriously, the pro people are going to ignore the poll results? 18% for...82% against. Debate all you want.

On 2014-09-09 23:10:03, Kathleen wrote:
Seriously, the pro people are going to ignore the poll results? 18% for...82% against. Debate all you want.

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IQ2

10 September 2014 - 02:54 AM

On 2014-09-09 22:54:07, CCSSIMath wrote:Common Core is not a black and white, for or against, debate. The standards and their manifestation in schools present far more nuanced issues, as we…

On 2014-09-09 22:54:07, CCSSIMath wrote:
Common Core is not a black and white, for or against, debate. The standards and their manifestation in schools present far more nuanced issues, as we discuss in our blog: http://ccssimath.blogspot.com

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IQ2

9 September 2014 - 20:21 PM

On 2014-09-09 16:21:05, Sandra JoAnne wrote:As a past school director in a small district mid-Washington town we were given the vote by our Superintendent to apply for grant dollars that…

On 2014-09-09 16:21:05, Sandra JoAnne wrote:
As a past school director in a small district mid-Washington town we were given the vote by our Superintendent to apply for grant dollars that preceded CCS. The Board President and Superintendent pursued the grant money because Obama's administration tied all federal dollars to participation in CCS. Our District services several high need students on contract, and we would not be able to service those children without federal assistance. I protest CCS because of that hammer. Also because the on-line testing cannot be amended or corrected. There is room for error but students and parents cannot challenge what may define a child's social and economic future. There IS mandatory curriculum -- look at the "show-your-work" answers required in the math section. This creates publisher monopolies. The platform for testing is Microsoft which developed the test. Far from "altruistic" motives, Gates has given his company Wall Street perpetuity -- you cannot test students on systems that are not familiar to them. A child enters the classroom with a disability due to "new" technology, unless their instruction has been Microsoft platform. All school technology purchases must follow suit giving Microsoft academic environment monopoly. And, as every School Director knows, technology is the big black hole of budgeting. Security systems must also accommodate the technology. There are no "quality" attachments to standards; so of what use are those except to force mind compliance.

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IQ2

9 September 2014 - 15:27 PM

On 2014-09-09 11:27:34, Michael Ferguson wrote:
Standards would be good. All of us, including our children, need expectations. The Common Core was developed by a small group (Achieve, Inc) and controlled by them. Approval by the National Governors Association doesn't mean that all Governors approved. Achieve, Inc has a very close relationship with Pearson Education, which expects to realize a very large financial gain from testing services and materials. Common Core 11th grade recommended reading list(s) contain multiple graphically pornographic materials. This reason alone, causes me to want Common Core scrapped. If the philosophy behind any of the standards can include presenting minors with pornographic materials, I believe all the standards must be questioned. If they are so good, then let them be reviewed by groups of parents. While standards would be a good thing - not these standards!

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IQ2

8 September 2014 - 21:09 PM

On 2014-09-08 17:09:29, Janet wrote:I hope that the moderators are paying close attention to the comments here. For the majority of parents and teachers, it is the TESTING and NOT…

On 2014-09-08 17:09:29, Janet wrote:
I hope that the moderators are paying close attention to the comments here. For the majority of parents and teachers, it is the TESTING and NOT the STANDARDS that are the issue. The polling question doesn't really get to the heart of the matter. Personally, I love the idea of high standards for all children as long as they are seen as the floor and not the ceiling. However, I DO NOT TRUST the SBAC or PARCC. This massive over-testing of our children simply must stop.

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IQ2

7 September 2014 - 23:57 PM

On 2014-09-07 19:57:18, Lara wrote:My vote against the CC is not a vote against having standards per se. Or even having standardized tests in a reasonable fashion. It is against…

On 2014-09-07 19:57:18, Lara wrote:
My vote against the CC is not a vote against having standards per se. Or even having standardized tests in a reasonable fashion. It is against the fact that the Common Core represents, in my mind, a silver bullet mindset that tries to create a simplistic algorithm for great education where it doesn't exist. It is the tip of an iceberg that devalues and actively undermines the professionalization of teachers. I object to pouring so much money and time (all scarce in our educational system) in a Captain Ahab type of effort to overhaul education. There is no evidence that standards will work to close achievement gaps or even raise achievement. It's not just lack of evidence FOR the Common Core that is lacking, it's the analysis of existing evidence AGAINST that should cause us all to question the platitudinous silver bullet marketing around CC. Read Tom Loveless' 2012 analysis in which no set of state standards (even those deemed excellent by the very same people at Fordham who later advocated for Common Core, or those deemed poor had any effect on achievement gaps. Or for that matter when you look at countries with standards -- they are equally represented at the high and low performing ends of the spectrum as measured by TIMSS and PISA). There is no correlation period. And for people to assert a causal relationship in absence of any correlation is laughable. The Common Core in my mind could be renamed Lowest Common Denominator or Rush to the Bottom. Let us be cautious of other claims where correlation does not exist and be evidence based.

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IQ2

7 September 2014 - 21:20 PM

On 2014-09-07 17:20:52, Bertis Downs wrote:I will tell you the precise moment when I will perhaps re-consider my view of testing, data collection, online learning, more testing, misuse of testing…

On 2014-09-07 17:20:52, Bertis Downs wrote:
I will tell you the precise moment when I will perhaps re-consider my view of testing, data collection, online learning, more testing, misuse of testing results to grade schools and evaluate and fire teachers, Common Core, and all the interconnected other elements of the New Status Quo of the Testing Industrial Complex for what they are-- pernicious developments in the education of our nation’s public school children: when Lakeside Prep in Seattle, Harpeth Hall in Nashville, The Heschel School in NYC, Sidwell Friends in DC and other august and prestigious private academies decide to sign their students up for these "bold and innovative" programs. If these are such good ideas, why aren't the private schools adopting them too?

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IQ2

7 September 2014 - 16:36 PM

On 2014-09-07 12:36:57, ELeonardi wrote:I take no issue with a uniform set of standards developed by educators to be used as signposts. However, these sets of standards were drafted by…

On 2014-09-07 12:36:57, ELeonardi wrote:
I take no issue with a uniform set of standards developed by educators to be used as signposts. However, these sets of standards were drafted by politicians and special interest groups, not educators, and are being used to educate our children in a one size fits all manner. Both the gifted and challenged students will suffer. The average students are being thrown into curricula midstream and being asked to adapt to a new set of standards, often with poor teacher training and no textbooks for them to refer to, To adequately roll out a curriculum, the process needs to begin in kindergarten, grandfathering in the rest. Only then can a true comparison be made. But this is NOT what is being done. All across the country, we are seeing poor implementation and poor results. Your usupport of this mess is shameful. You are supposed to represent ALL parents and students

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IQ2

7 September 2014 - 08:59 AM

On 2014-09-07 04:59:51, Mike Archer wrote:I was asked to join a small group of teachers reviewing common core in 2009. So I studied it and later decided it's a bad…

On 2014-09-07 04:59:51, Mike Archer wrote:
I was asked to join a small group of teachers reviewing common core in 2009. So I studied it and later decided it's a bad idea. Common core perpetuates the misuse & overuse of standardized testing, imposes unhealthy levels of regimentation upon younger students, narrows curriculum when students need a well-rounded education, channels money away from students into the hands of corporations, and furthers the destructive trend of converting schools into testing centers.

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IQ2

7 September 2014 - 00:41 AM

On 2014-09-06 20:41:17, Erica wrote:This is a joke, right?! I mean, look at the poll! Clearly the majority don't want Common Core. Notice those arguing for it stand to profit…

On 2014-09-06 20:41:17, Erica wrote:
This is a joke, right?! I mean, look at the poll! Clearly the majority don't want Common Core. Notice those arguing for it stand to profit from it.

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IQ2

6 September 2014 - 18:44 PM

On 2014-09-06 14:44:07, Tracy Eddins wrote:These standards are part of a money making scheme ...PERIOD! They claim these standards are based on research yet zero research to back these claims…

On 2014-09-06 14:44:07, Tracy Eddins wrote:
These standards are part of a money making scheme ...PERIOD! They claim these standards are based on research yet zero research to back these claims have not been produced. However, if one were to examine decades of solid research in neuroscience, child development and early childhood education, one would see that these standards ignore the research. The standards for our youngest learners are developmentally inappropriate and harmful. Parents need to fight for their children's right to an education that is appropriate!

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IQ2

6 September 2014 - 18:32 PM

On 2014-09-06 14:32:22, Anna Shah wrote:
While Common Core supporters boast of confidence in this untested, unproven method, their enthusiasm is greatly misplaced. Lyndsey Layton's Washington Post article on Bill Gates and the Common Core demonstrates that Common Core wasn’t “state led,” it was “Gates led". http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-bill-gates-pulled-off-the-swift-common-core-revolution/2014/06/07/a830e32e-ec34-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html From the left, education historian Diane Ravitch has put the call out for a congressional investigation of the ties between the Gates Foundation and the US Education Department, and of the role of both in imposing Common Core on the states. http://dianeravitch.net/2014/06/09/time-for-congress-to-investigate-bill-gates-coup/ From the right, Stanley Kurtz of the EPCC agrees that a congressional investigation is now in order. He further posits that Congress is obliged to investigate. http://eppc.org/publications/time-for-congressional-hearings-on-common-core/ What is noticeably absent from CCSS is educator input. The CCSS fail miserably to take into consideration early child development, the needs and best interests of students instead relying on conclusory and hyped propaganda and prose. Anthony Cody elegantly brings these concerns to the foreground. http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/11/common_core_standards_ten_colo.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2 Dr. William Crain, child development expert, opines that the Common Core pushes abstract concepts too early. http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/06/20/letters-common-core-education/11125483/ Global comparisons and scores are harshly skewed and drive education policy here in the US. I applaud the signers of the Open Letter below who courageously bring light to the fact that global benchmarking is the force behind RTT and other policies students here in the US are subjected to involuntarily and that these policies are skewed and flawed. Common Core is supported by the 1% who back these draconian measures at the expense of students. http://oecdpisaletter.org/ NYS is BILLION$ behind in adequately funding schools so that schools can meet Constitutional obligation to provide a sound basic education to our students manifesting in cut art, music and sports programs, firing of teachers and large class sizes among other things. http://www.aqeny.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/REPORT-NY-Billions-Behind.pdf In my opinion, common core standards and Governor Andrew Cuomo are failing NY. http://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/08/29/view-shah-common-core/14809461/ Anna Shah

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IQ2

6 September 2014 - 15:21 PM

On 2014-09-06 11:21:48, Lesa Wilbert wrote:I am not in support of cc$$ at all. This top down corporate reform is disgusting. I'm upset that the national PTA took money from…

On 2014-09-06 11:21:48, Lesa Wilbert wrote:
I am not in support of cc$$ at all. This top down corporate reform is disgusting. I'm upset that the national PTA took money from the Gates Foundation and then supported common core for that money. The 'standards' are very developmentally inappropriate especially at K-2. Products that are common core aligned are being sold at breakneck speeds to districts. Pearson and Gates are making a fortune off little kids. The pressure is ridiculous. New York was working on great standards when BAM! We were forced into this in a mad rush to solve some made up problem. The problems in public education are poverty and a lack of funding. The problems in public education are lack of local control and a one-size-fits none approach to very different learners. It's illegal for the USDOE to control state ed departments, so they used Gates and others to do it privately. WAKE UP! Stop supporting this corporate takeover of public education.

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IQ2

6 September 2014 - 15:12 PM

On 2014-09-06 11:12:45, Deb Escobar wrote:The child-abusive and nontransparent testing regime that is tied to Common Core has done damage to an entire generation of students. We may not know…

On 2014-09-06 11:12:45, Deb Escobar wrote:
The child-abusive and nontransparent testing regime that is tied to Common Core has done damage to an entire generation of students. We may not know for years what effect on their lives this dreadful "experiment" has had. In 23 years of teaching, I saw increased hatred toward school/learning, children crying during these tests, and increased stress and physical symptoms around the testing dates. Worst of all is the fact that all of this is only for some magical number by which to judge teachers - it has absolutely no effect on improving instruction, identifying weaknesses or strengths in the student. It is a thinly veiled attempt to destroy teachers, and hence, destroy public education and move our society to a segregated, paid charter system. Do your homework if you think the standards have improved anything at all. In New York State, we already had teacher and State Ed-created standards that were 100% better and covered subjects like science and social studies..the only people benefitting from CC are those who want privatization of schools and testing/publishing companies who are sucking billions out of our public ed system - causing schools to have to eliminate classes, make larger class sizes, and lay off staff/teachers.

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IQ2

6 September 2014 - 05:35 AM

On 2014-09-06 01:35:33, Sheryl wrote:
Teachers in the classroom are finding Common Core standards to be developmentally inappropriate in the primary grades. In addition, CCSS are not more "rigorous" than the already high standards in states like Florida and New York; they are less so. CCSS are also linked to testing companies and profiteering, which continue to drain education funds. Those millions of dollars should be spent on student instruction, not gains for corporations.

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IQ2

6 September 2014 - 03:45 AM

On 2014-09-05 23:45:20, Angry Mom wrote:The PTA sold out. It used to stand for Parents and Teachers (and, presumably, students too). Now, it's just another paid-off appendage of the Gates…

On 2014-09-05 23:45:20, Angry Mom wrote:
The PTA sold out. It used to stand for Parents and Teachers (and, presumably, students too). Now, it's just another paid-off appendage of the Gates Foundation, et.al. Shame on all of you.

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IQ2

5 September 2014 - 15:47 PM

On 2014-09-05 11:47:51, Brenda wrote:Pretty simple, if the child's best interests are the goal then data mining and standardized testing them into panic attacks and anxiety would not be part…

On 2014-09-05 11:47:51, Brenda wrote:
Pretty simple, if the child's best interests are the goal then data mining and standardized testing them into panic attacks and anxiety would not be part of it

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IQ2

5 September 2014 - 10:23 AM

On 2014-09-05 06:23:38, Happy Elf Mom (Christine) wrote:The Common Core is simply the next logical step in the amalgamation of public education. Let's get all those children to learn the…

On 2014-09-05 06:23:38, Happy Elf Mom (Christine) wrote:
The Common Core is simply the next logical step in the amalgamation of public education. Let's get all those children to learn the same things, to think the same thoughts, to have the same worldview. You, Dear Reader, have no input in what Junior learns this year in Miss Smith's class. You haven't for a long time, and you know it. So shut up and let the feds decide what is best for your kid. If you want to be an involved parent, you will be allowed to attend some back-to-school "how to help your child with Common Core homework" session for pointers on how add multidigit numbers from left to right, and learn how to draw word problem doodles and "show what you know." You are also allowed to fundraise for the school. We want involved parents in our public schools, but we don't want them to have any decision-making power whatsoever. Thankfully most have not only learned their place, but some have even gone so far as to post photographs of themselves on social media, jumping for joy as the school bus drives away. Excellent.

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IQ2

5 September 2014 - 07:40 AM

On 2014-09-05 03:40:53, Tina wrote:Common core is wrong in so many ways. The top of the list is that it is wrong for our country and our form of government.…

On 2014-09-05 03:40:53, Tina wrote:
Common core is wrong in so many ways. The top of the list is that it is wrong for our country and our form of government. There should be zero input from the federal government into our local schools. ZERO. Save our country money by eliminating the department of education and Arne D. Second, I AM sitting with my child as he goes through classes in a cyber school setting. I am the one teaching him. He is frustrated that he can do the math in his head and on paper but has to sit and do these multiple step processes in a variety of ways to get the same answer he could achieve quickly otherwise. And by the way, when the cyber school became compliant this year with the new common core we are repeating some of the third grade lessons in fourth grade. This does not sound like increasing the rigor to me. The only thing that is increasing is "busy work" that is boring, confusing, and pointless for the child and time consuming to the educator who is truly interested in teaching. This program also hurts those families that choose to homeschool as this national government takeover of education extends to testing and of course all schools and parents want to see their children do well. So everybody, especially the schools, teach to the test. And states set their standards for homeschooling accordingly. This also effects the text books that are available to those that disagree with the constant pushing of global warming and other liberal issues that not everyone agrees with. It is an indoctrination program that is supposedly disguised as rigorous standards to help the child achieve a great job for some employer who is funding money into the program. Colleges will start to dumb down their standards as well. People are being fooled by this silly money and personal information gathering farce known as common core. And Bill Gates, his foundation donations are in actuality business investments. He will make out quite well if common core stays. As will all the others. Our states have sold our children to the federal government like a bunch of pimps!! What does that make the federal government?

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IQ2

5 September 2014 - 07:13 AM

On 2014-09-05 03:13:34, Aimee Rogers wrote:I am a parent of 2 elementary aged children. Common Core standards, and the curriculum that came with it, has been a disaster. My children…

On 2014-09-05 03:13:34, Aimee Rogers wrote:
I am a parent of 2 elementary aged children. Common Core standards, and the curriculum that came with it, has been a disaster. My children aren't learning what they need to learn to move on and I have one going into middle school next year. I am having to hire tutors and get outside help so she knows her basic math facts. Something she should be learning at school. I dont want anyone collecting data on my children. I don't want to see 3 months of testing out of a 9 month school year. I hate to see my children stressed over this, teachers given scripts, history being rewritten. Common Core and Arne Duncan need to go.

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IQ2

2 September 2014 - 04:55 AM

On 2014-09-02 00:55:12, Jefferson wrote:
Common Core was never tested, anywhere, on anyone. The states do NOT control their own curriculum. They can suggest ADDITIONS to common core guidelines, but nothing can be removed and even additions can not exceed 15%. Teachers were not consulted or involved in developing it. Massive databases are being built with the federal government's duplicitous hand at the back of SBAC and PARCC, whose contracts are with the DOE and require them to hand over any data the feds want, at any time, in any format. And btw, the DOE removed the clause in FERPA that requires parental notification of such database abuses. There is no empirical evidence to support the claims being made about it. Therefore, its inventors are nothing more than snake oil salesmen who happen to control the process. The lemmings are the educators and parents who are going along with it. Going along with what? The Emperor has no clothes, and as usual, those brave enough to say so are ridiculed rather than the morons who pretend otherwise.

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IQ2

1 September 2014 - 18:32 PM

On 2014-09-01 14:32:28, Christine Langhoff wrote:
The Common Core is not an education plan; it's a business plan for marketing materials and testing to our public school systems. Millions of dollars flow away from schools, students and the teachers who work in the community to make profits for Pearson, Microsoft, Apple and their shareholders. The real crisis in education is the movement of public funds into private coffers. That is precisely what the Common Core is designed to do.

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IQ2

1 September 2014 - 10:24 AM

On 2014-09-01 06:24:05, Rene Diedrich. wrote:
The reasons CCSS should not be implemented are numerous. Academic freedom is lost when teaching to tests and relying on scripted lessons. Who likes canned dialogue that refrains from discourse? Not students that's for sure . Trying to standardize lessons may seem like a good idea, and to some degree we have . There are benchmarks and certain expectations for students that are derailed, ironically, by the constant churn of these tests and the whims of reform and the free market trends, which is what reform and CCSS is really about.. Think of it! Every school in the nation expected to buy Pearson and the edtech that is necessary to test with. Trillions of dollars in the education industrial complex and good bye expense tenured teachers .all you need is interns who follow directions! Nevermind that there are issues with language, learning disabilities and oh yeah, those iPads are pretty expensive. And here is the rub, the contract is set up so that by the time they privatize the edtech will go from $750 a unit to the $50 it should be when you buy wholesale ( @ LAUSD at leat 700,000 units) . That our own government, the Demicrats no less, selling out taxpayers like this makes me understand the militia and gun nuts thumping NRA a lot better. If you have been paying attention you know Arne Duncan gets a little peeved when states thwart the common core . He and his standards have forgotten all about the 10th amendmant . If he gets his way, everyone will forget it . Right now there are earnest discussions about dropping social studies classes. LAUSD all but cut Arts without much discourse despite the requirements for arts to graduate and in my mind, become college ready. Duncan should not be the face for public education in America given his outbursts. Dissing suburban soccer moms worried when 70% of kids are failing CCSS, which has created stress & anxiety for students beside speaks to the hedge fund baby's lack of empathy & insight. So does the test itself, It became a national joke in no time after Louis K and Colbert got a crack at it. The math problems and critical thinking boondoggle could have been written by Mad magazine . Obtuse, poorly written and full of test banked multiple choice questions that do not line up to grade level standards , CCSS is going to be frustrating for other reasons as students take these exams on line another mandate that will line pockets but defy success because wifi is not stable thus crashes are likely , which means lots of lost work, upset parents, and kids who give up. Drop out factories are what CCSS will create not end. Because the one size fits all approach is written by Nin teachers the content is not classic, nor is it engaging . One novel is written by a crony . It is romantic pulp not Steinbeck nor Shakespeare. Believe it or not, teaching is not all that easy . Student's must be accommodated, remediated, assessed and mentored . Can you do that with 44 Kindergartners? Or 6 classes of 50 teenagers each day? While teaching to some crazy test that reinvents basic addition and subtraction formulas so they're very complicated? Do you want to help Bill Gates richer, our kids angrier and further behind? Do you want to pay exorbitant taxes to support charter schools that pay teachers next to nothing while CEOs get millions in salery and regularly discriminate against kids in special Ed? Do you want schools to generate data and give it over to gates so he can "mine" it ? Do you want art, music, drama, AP and up perl level science and math to be available only in schools the Rich can afford? Do you like being a chump? Well, then the common core is just what te despots ordered.

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IQ2

31 August 2014 - 08:55 AM

On 2014-08-31 04:55:03, Nina Seifert Bishop wrote:There is no evidence that supports excessive testing is beneficial to learning. I am so discouraged that I no longer allow my students to…

On 2014-08-31 04:55:03, Nina Seifert Bishop wrote:
There is no evidence that supports excessive testing is beneficial to learning. I am so discouraged that I no longer allow my students to take any testing other than regular classroom curriculum testing. No district, state or national tests; none. I've asked for assessment by portfolio. I also object to the collection of student data and that FERPA laws were changed to accommodate the collection of our children's data without parental consent or control. We pay the taxes which support schools and their OUR kids; yet parent have no voice in the education of their own. The state and federal government over steps its authority circumventing parents. I also object to the involvement of the NGA and big business in the hostile take over of public education in an effort to privatize it for profit. Our kids are not for sale. Stop the misuse of education tax dollars on Common Core, student data collection and excessive high stakes standardized testing.

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IQ2

30 August 2014 - 20:04 PM

On 2014-08-30 16:04:13, Cori Yablon wrote:
Everyone should have standards. That doesn't mean common core meets a teachers' needs for excellence (yes, teachers want to be excellent and inspiring and challenge kids to meet their potential). Nor does it accurately measure anything helpful for growth mastery or learning. It seems the only ones benefiting from this approach are slanderous politicians and a textbook company that is driving the testing and materials. So really, who needs this, the kids or the political system?

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IQ2

30 August 2014 - 19:12 PM

On 2014-08-30 15:12:21, Jennifer Pines wrote:While I have no problem with the concept of a Common Core it seems to have been developed in a vacuum, without input from teachers,…

On 2014-08-30 15:12:21, Jennifer Pines wrote:
While I have no problem with the concept of a Common Core it seems to have been developed in a vacuum, without input from teachers, education professionals or parents. The roll out in NY has been a disaster. Our district handed out a variety of curriculums to different elementary schools, resulting in idiocies like a note telling parents not to teach their kids standard long division as they were not supposed to learn it until 5th grade. Math has been swallowed alive by the much feared Math Story Problem, filled with extraneous information in the name of reading for content. Worst is the rigging of the scoring parameters to induce failure. My daughter scored in the 99% in the ELA portion on the 4th grade test - one of the very best in the state, and not a surprise since she's gifted in ELA, but which barely put her into the top category, (at about 79% overall) despite getting 94%marked correct. If this was graded on a curve she would get an A. If it was graded on percents- she'd get a 94. By setting the parameters so NO child could excel, all the children were forced into lower brackets, showing the "failure" of the existing standards (because NY had pretty rigorous standards previously) . I would guess that in a couple of years, they will jigger the parameters, scores will miraculously rise and Voila! Common Core is a success.

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IQ2

30 August 2014 - 18:39 PM

On 2014-08-30 14:39:52, Sue Akre wrote:MN has implemented CCSS since SY 2012-13. The Common Core State Standards are not the problem, the testing is the problem. We have ramped up…

On 2014-08-30 14:39:52, Sue Akre wrote:
MN has implemented CCSS since SY 2012-13. The Common Core State Standards are not the problem, the testing is the problem. We have ramped up our testing rigor three times since NCLB and our first set of tests were difficult. Minnesota students have ranked #1 in the nation on the ACTs for the last NINE years; MN ranks within the top 5-7 in the world on the math and science tests (TIMMS) when disaggregated from the US test results...and we have the lowest exclusion rate of any other state or country on these tests (4%). My questions are: Why are we looking to other countries (and states) to lead the way for our students? Why is the US dessimating the teaching profession when a great model of teacher excellence used to exist in MN?

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30 August 2014 - 18:21 PM

On 2014-08-30 14:21:29, Timothy Higginson wrote:Get facts straight. Watch this common core documentary. http://m.youtube.com/results?q=building%20the%20machine&sm=3

On 2014-08-30 14:21:29, Timothy Higginson wrote:
Get facts straight. Watch this common core documentary. http://m.youtube.com/results?q=building%20the%20machine&sm=3

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IQ2

30 August 2014 - 17:38 PM

On 2014-08-30 13:38:49, Don wrote:So, Common Core is just a guide. A guide to provide a shared and common experience and expectation. If that is true, how come there is…

On 2014-08-30 13:38:49, Don wrote:
So, Common Core is just a guide. A guide to provide a shared and common experience and expectation. If that is true, how come there is no Common Core Science and Social Studies? I don't want to hear that those subjects can be found and taught within the ELA. If those who support believe that CC is just a guide, then it seems to me that Science and Social Studies should be an explicit part of CC, not just implied. I'm also curious why none of the Smarter Balanced and Parcc "assessments" can't be viewed by teachers and more importantly, parents. So let me get this straight, every other thing my child does in school is assessed and sent home but the new assessment is protected from a parents prying eyes? Hmmm, oh wait, let's remember Pearson and the other controlling interests need to protect the data. CC is a scam designed to line the pockets of the corporate education "partners", all of whom stand to make oodles of money without addressing one of this nations fundamental problems...poverty. Maybe Pearson will design a curriculum and test to solve our childhood poverty problem.

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30 August 2014 - 08:09 AM

On 2014-08-30 04:09:11, Mercedes Schneider wrote:Based upon results of its poll, looks like NYT needs to change the name of its debate.

On 2014-08-30 04:09:11, Mercedes Schneider wrote:
Based upon results of its poll, looks like NYT needs to change the name of its debate.

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IQ2

30 August 2014 - 08:06 AM

On 2014-08-30 04:06:57, LisB wrote:In the first paragraph it states, "based on extensive research"... THIS IS NOT TRUE!!! Everything from Common Core says this, but have they EVER released such…

On 2014-08-30 04:06:57, LisB wrote:
In the first paragraph it states, "based on extensive research"... THIS IS NOT TRUE!!! Everything from Common Core says this, but have they EVER released such "research"? No! Because there HAS NOT BEEN ANY RESEARCH on this. Our kids today are being used as the guinea pigs for this experimentation. The people who created CC were not teachers in the classroom. Follow the money!!! This is about control, indoctrination and MONEY!!! It's NOT about providing a better education for our children!

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IQ2

30 August 2014 - 03:26 AM

On 2014-08-29 23:26:15, Barbara Haughey wrote:
As a retired educator of 31 years, teaching high school and middle school English and reading, I support standardized testing to determine the individual growth of students. National standards are essential-- having lived and taught in 4 states I saw many different interpretations of what was acceptable. And I know that many states have had much lower standards than those of Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio, where I taught. Common Core may still need tweaking, but it is much better than more of the same that has occurred nation wide without it.

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29 August 2014 - 22:17 PM

On 2014-08-29 18:17:30, Christine Marmé Thompson wrote:
Common Core is not popularly supported by parents or teachers, no matter how frequently that unsupportable claim may be repeated by those who stand to gain (and gain financially) from its imposition. Common Core flies in the face of everything that we have learned through centuries of educational research and practice. It interrupts a movement in education toward more agentic practices that teach children and youth what they truly need to know in the contemporary world: i.e., how to continually learn and adapt and invent themselves. The joy that can and should exist in education, in communities of parents and teachers and students, is forcibly eliminated by this punitive system that deprofessionalizes teachers and pathologies the children of the poor and the working class. When Bill Gates' children, Barack Obama's children. Arne Duncan's children leave their progressive schools in order to partake in the Common Core, it might be possible to see this as less cynical, but it will still be wrong, based upon nothing substantial, and deeply harmful to American democracy/

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29 August 2014 - 22:08 PM

On 2014-08-29 18:08:27, Mom and educator wrote:As an educator I see huge gaps in what special education students know and what they're expected to learn, we're not meeting them where…

On 2014-08-29 18:08:27, Mom and educator wrote:
As an educator I see huge gaps in what special education students know and what they're expected to learn, we're not meeting them where they're at. It's very unfair and impossible. How helpful is this to them??? Just a lesson in futility and leaving them hating school and feeling bad about themselves. As for my own kids, we're in NYS, we had great standards already. Why leave my caddy for a Vega?? Also if my son decides to write a historical fiction book about NYS, it cannot be adapted to the curricula. It's airtight, for marketing reasons, how can anyone trust a program like this???

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IQ2

29 August 2014 - 22:08 PM

On 2014-08-29 18:08:16, Mom and educator wrote:As an educator I see huge gaps in what special education students know and what they're expected to learn, we're not meeting them where…

On 2014-08-29 18:08:16, Mom and educator wrote:
As an educator I see huge gaps in what special education students know and what they're expected to learn, we're not meeting them where they're at. It's very unfair and impossible. How helpful is this to them??? Just a lesson in futility and leaving them hating school and feeling bad about themselves. As for my own kids, we're in NYS, we had great standards already. Why leave my caddy for a Vega?? Also if my son decides to write a historical fiction book about NYS, it cannot be adapted to the curricula. It's airtight, for marketing reasons, how can anyone trust a program like this???

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IQ2

29 August 2014 - 19:22 PM

On 2014-08-29 15:22:30, Timothy wrote:If Common Core is not federal, then how/why did Arne Duncan just punish Oklahoma for dropping Common Core?

On 2014-08-29 15:22:30, Timothy wrote:
If Common Core is not federal, then how/why did Arne Duncan just punish Oklahoma for dropping Common Core?

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IQ2

29 August 2014 - 18:52 PM

On 2014-08-29 14:52:56, Karen wrote:I am not opposed to standards. ALL states already had standards before CC. The idea that students, districts or states are STANDARDIZED and thus should have…

On 2014-08-29 14:52:56, Karen wrote:
I am not opposed to standards. ALL states already had standards before CC. The idea that students, districts or states are STANDARDIZED and thus should have the exact same expectations is not accurate. But ok, let's say that kids will suffer if every school in every city in every state isn't on the exact same page. I'd still be opposed to CC because #1 the implementation has been all about profit making on the backs if students and teachers. #2 they are not developmentally appropriate for the lower grades. #3 the only reason it was adopted by so many states is the coercion done by Arne Duncan tying it's adoption to money. In a cash strapped field districts could not and would not turn that money down. Turns out this adoption has cost districts more than they got however. #4 no matter how many times they say that these were written with teacher input, they were NOT. Look up who was on the committee. Initially there was one public school educator and she refused to sign off on the standards because they were so bad. #5 states are supposed to direct their own education. CC and the tests (that Pearson's is designing and making BILLIONS off of) are federally imposed and controlled. States have lost their say in their own districts. This must stop! If refusing to adopt CC is the way to do it, then so be it. If the federal government, Pearson, Gates, et al. would get their fingers out if it and let lifetime, informed EDUCATORS direct it then I have no problem with common standards for all.

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29 August 2014 - 17:26 PM

On 2014-08-29 13:26:21, Stephanie wrote:As a 6th grade English teacher in an urban upstate district, I support the standards as a stand alone guide for instruction, NOT the interpretation, tests,…

On 2014-08-29 13:26:21, Stephanie wrote:
As a 6th grade English teacher in an urban upstate district, I support the standards as a stand alone guide for instruction, NOT the interpretation, tests, ELA modules, or inappropriate lexile expectations as demanded in NYS. I also believe that a national curriculum best supports the transient families and their children as they move from district to district and state to state. The discussion should be about the developmentally inappropriate rigor, expectations, and state tests NOT the CC standards, which, by the way, are not much different from our previous set of 6-8 NYS standards.

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IQ2

29 August 2014 - 17:14 PM

"A school is not about testing or teaching a child to test well, but rather uses test scores simply to help understand each individual child's needs and strengths, not equating…

"A school is not about testing or teaching a child to test well, but rather uses test scores simply to help understand each individual child's needs and strengths, not equating a child's worth with those scores."

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IQ2

29 August 2014 - 08:32 AM

On 2014-08-29 04:32:27, Jan Kasal wrote:As a parent I don't feel fully competent to debate the quality of the "new standards". As a parent I am confident to debate what…

On 2014-08-29 04:32:27, Jan Kasal wrote:
As a parent I don't feel fully competent to debate the quality of the "new standards". As a parent I am confident to debate what came attached to the standards—testing and personal data collection. The impersonal standardized testing that can be "tweaked" in the computer by some algorithm is rather ridiculous. The data mining is scary given the leaks—Target, banks, NSA. In addition, both testing and data collection cost as much as standards to implement. If standards are not separable from testing and data collection, as their promoters claim, then the whole package has to go.

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IQ2

28 August 2014 - 09:46 AM

On 2014-08-28 05:46:20, Yao Kra wrote:I support the Common Core principles, because I think it fulfills most of the issues advanced by those who oppose it. First and foremost, there…

On 2014-08-28 05:46:20, Yao Kra wrote:
I support the Common Core principles, because I think it fulfills most of the issues advanced by those who oppose it. First and foremost, there is nothing fairer, than when all students are subjects to a uniformed and standardized system. This is , maybe with some slight differences, what most western European countries use as a model for their educational systems. In France and Italy for example, there is a national exam for all senior high school students, trying to get into college. For those who argue that such a system would increase the gap between "privileged students" and "underprivileged ones", I would allow myself to say that their reasoning has no foundations in the facts. Preparing students for the competitive world of today and tomorrow, can be effective, if from the early stages, they are allowed to be confronted to the realities of the real world, they will have to live and compete on. There are no challenges impossible to overcome, when there is determination, will to succeed, and consistency in the efforts to achieve greatness. allowing each state to set its own standards, would result on an uneven playing field that would be unfair to some students who might be confronted to more stringent standards. The Common Core allows everyone to play by the same rules, and that is the fundamental principle of fairness and equal opportunity.

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27 August 2014 - 15:37 PM

On 2014-08-27 11:37:29, A.P. Dillon wrote:
Common Core is a fundamentally flawed experiment created by non-teaching educrats and unaccountable DC trade groups for the purpose of pigeon-holing our kids into various workforce roles. Common Core and the myriad of non-profit 'supporters' are backed not by tax dollars of the voting public, but by corporations who will exact their pound of profit flesh off the backs of our kids. Common Core is a sub-basement of standards, not a floor or a ceiling or anything in between. Common Core is not about giving our kids an education or unlocking their potential, it's about dictating their futures. Teachers swallowing Common Core should take a moment to consider they are signing the death warrant on their job as being a profession. Consider all aspects of what that statement means. Common Core represents the final blow in a long line of punches to education. Don't let it be the knock out punch.

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IQ2

27 August 2014 - 02:15 AM

On 2014-08-26 22:15:15, Ed Silha wrote:
Every negative comment on this page has one thing in common. Each and every one is debunked as a myth at http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/myths-vs-facts/ For example: The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices created and are responsible (now and in the future) for the Common Core, not the federal government. The CC standard does not specify any requirements for data collection (a process totally controlled by each state independently). If we allow paranoia to interfere with the improvement in education, our children will lack the skills to compete with those in other countries, putting the US at a large competitive disadvantage.

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IQ2

27 August 2014 - 01:11 AM

On 2014-08-26 21:11:28, Michael Sall wrote:How has the quality of education done since the federal government began playing a role? Answer: a college education today is the equivient of a…

On 2014-08-26 21:11:28, Michael Sall wrote:
How has the quality of education done since the federal government began playing a role? Answer: a college education today is the equivient of a high school education 40 years ago. This is another example of wild imagination trumping experience, real data and common sense.

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IQ2

26 August 2014 - 01:30 AM

On 2014-08-25 21:30:10, Anne wrote:
The lead information included in the "against the motion" category is misleading - teachers did indeed have input into the Common Core. Politifact Florida debunked the myth that they did not here: http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/oct/21/public-comments-common-core-hearing/teachers-were-not-involved-developing-common-core-/ Also, I think it is interesting that the only two links included under support for the "against" proposition are essentially op-eds - are there no other publications that support the position?

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IQ2

25 August 2014 - 19:42 PM

One of the most damning aspects of Common Core lies not in the standards themselves, though there is plenty there to criticize, but in the P-20 (Preschool through workforce) mandatory…

One of the most damning aspects of Common Core lies not in the standards themselves, though there is plenty there to criticize, but in the P-20 (Preschool through workforce) mandatory data collection process. FERPA has been reshaped to allow detailed indentifiable student profiling that will follow students from childhood through employment like a criminal record. Big Brother is knocking on the school house door and adoption of Common Core standards AND national assessments provide the opening. http://www.hslda.org/commoncore/topic10.aspx

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IQ2

24 August 2014 - 01:51 AM

Published in the Jewish Journal, August 13, 2014 Those Who Can’t Teach … Ellie Herman points out that many of those driving education policy in the U.S. have never taught…

Published in the Jewish Journal, August 13, 2014 Those Who Can’t Teach … Ellie Herman points out that many of those driving education policy in the U.S. have never taught (“Why Aren’t We Listening to Our Teachers?” Aug. 8). The situation is even worse: Education policy makers are also ignorant of educational research. They are unaware that scientific studies published in professional journals provide no support for the massive amount of testing done in schools today, and that study after study shows that the most serious problem facing American education is our high rate of poverty, not the lack of tough standards. Educational practice should be influenced by the insights of experienced professional educators, as well as competent educational research. Policy makers today are ignoring both of these sources of wisdom. Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus--University of Southern California This letter posted at: http://tinyurl.com/ou4s2d5

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IQ2

22 August 2014 - 11:06 AM

On 2014-08-22 07:06:32, Hannah wrote:So parents out there should be looking through the materials that their kids bring home from school now that we have Common Core... These two sentences…

On 2014-08-22 07:06:32, Hannah wrote:
So parents out there should be looking through the materials that their kids bring home from school now that we have Common Core... These two sentences were among many in my daughter's vocabulary book this year: Muslim women obey the injunctions to wear a chador. and In many Islamic cultures students learn the Koran by _____?\ We are supposed to have church and state separation so schools don't teach about the Bible in public school. I guess it's okay though to teach our kids about Muslims and the Koran. This is one of many reasons that I don't trust the political agenda behind Common Core.

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IQ2

21 August 2014 - 18:20 PM

On 2014-08-21 14:20:52, tracy marander wrote:"The 46th annual PDK/Gallup poll, released Wednesday, found that 80 percent of Americans have heard about the Common Core and nearly half say they know…

On 2014-08-21 14:20:52, tracy marander wrote:
"The 46th annual PDK/Gallup poll, released Wednesday, found that 80 percent of Americans have heard about the Common Core and nearly half say they know at least “a fair amount” about the standards. Those numbers are way higher than last year. And that familiarity has apparently bred distrust: Fully 60 percent of respondents said they opposed using the standards to guide instruction in their community. Among those naysayers, more than three-quarters told pollsters their opposition was motivated at least in part by a belief that local teachers don’t support the standards. They also overwhelmingly expressed concern that the Common Core would limit teachers’ flexibility in the classroom." Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/common-core-public-approval-polls-110168.html#ixzz3B2G9tMWo

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20 August 2014 - 22:17 PM

On 2014-08-20 18:17:10, Rick David wrote:I wrote a column awhile back about how the fight against Common Core has made some strange bed fellows. Conservative leaning parents who reject most…

On 2014-08-20 18:17:10, Rick David wrote:
I wrote a column awhile back about how the fight against Common Core has made some strange bed fellows. Conservative leaning parents who reject most of the liberal leaning curriculum associated with (but really predating) Common Core are uniting with teachers against the new standards. What is interesting to me is that many of the teachers tend to focus their opposition on the testing aspect of Common Core. Few seem to have any problem with the associated curriculum. I question if much of the opposition from teachers is merely an effort to avoid accountability for their performance. In the myriad of anti- CC Facebook groups to which I belong I encounter teachers who are vehemently pro union and supportive of the top down government control of education. Most fail to realize that their unions are little more than fund raising organizations for the liberal politicians and business people that brought us Common Core. The unions helped to elect Obama, who is behind CC. Obama gave us Duncan, who is enforcing this foist. The corporate thugs at Pearson, Gates Foundation and College Board, who stand to make money off of CC have been loyal Democrat/ Obama supporters. Your unions support CC. Some may say they don’t publicly, but behind your back they are funding the people who brought you this boondoggle.

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IQ2

20 August 2014 - 22:15 PM

On 2014-08-20 18:15:07, Rick David wrote:Public education is run by a criminal cabal of big government, big labor and big business. They want to manipulate you and your children for…

On 2014-08-20 18:15:07, Rick David wrote:
Public education is run by a criminal cabal of big government, big labor and big business. They want to manipulate you and your children for power and money. They don't care about children or teachers. Indoctrination of children into socialist ideas and immorality is a strategy for maintaining a permanent liberal majority of dependent slaves and low information voters. https://www.facebook.com/groups/536415279763727/ Dedicated to the destruction of the government run public education monopoly and indoctrination of America's youth.

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20 August 2014 - 20:19 PM

On 2014-08-20 16:19:51, Vicki Cobb wrote:If you read the standards you see that they are benign. Standards don't change education. They just provide an opening for textbook companies to repackage…

On 2014-08-20 16:19:51, Vicki Cobb wrote:
If you read the standards you see that they are benign. Standards don't change education. They just provide an opening for textbook companies to repackage their materials under the umbrella of the new standards. We could replace the CCSS with something else and nothing would change in education. The problem is with the stakes and money attached to the standardized tests the purportedly measure how well students and their teachers are meeting the CCSS. If you want to know what good education looks like, go see Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society. How're you going to scale that kind of teaching?

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18 August 2014 - 02:15 AM

On 2014-08-17 22:15:59, Barbara Gini wrote:Jane Gabbert, can you show me or tell me exactly what extensive research went in to the creation of the standards and/or the related curricula?…

On 2014-08-17 22:15:59, Barbara Gini wrote:
Jane Gabbert, can you show me or tell me exactly what extensive research went in to the creation of the standards and/or the related curricula? I can't seem to find any reputable and reliable cited studies or sources that discusses the research. I have only heard people SAY that it was researched. I would appreciate the assistance in clarifying. Thx!

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17 August 2014 - 16:47 PM

On 2014-08-17 12:47:33, Sharon Turner wrote:
Common Core is not successful here because we have an informed populace, teachers that have experience in how children learn, and citizens that believe that data mining of our personal information is an intrusion that is protected under our Constitution. We believe that our children are human beings and not commodities to be exploited by those that profit from educational tools. Common Core is not successful here because because we believe that the standards are inappropriate, that children are being dumbed down rather than educated because an ignorant population is easier to control. That is why it was illegal to teach a slave during the Civil War era. Common Core will not be successful here because we do not have a homogenous population like they do in Japan. We also do not track our children into college bound or vocational. We also educate our special education students. In Japan the only scores that are gathered are from the successful college bound students. In America all of our children are educated the same and all of their statistics are included in our testing scores. Common Core will not be successful here because we have awakened to the evil the Progressives are attempting to impose on our country.

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17 August 2014 - 01:26 AM

On 2014-08-16 21:26:17, Mo wrote:
Petrilli and Martin have NO teaching experience. They have predilections; they advertise ideas, nothing more. They'll continue to think of themselves as experts in the field of education, but there's a vast distance between a teacher (a practitioner, an expert) who's been teaching for fifteen years and a think tanker like Petrilli and a policy wonk like Martin. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute receives funding from College Board & The Gates Foundation...huge backers of the Common Core...go figure.

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16 August 2014 - 10:04 AM

On 2014-08-16 06:04:34, jeff brodhead wrote:The FERAL (sp!) govt BOUGHT the pathway for Obamacore and slithered it into OUR States; into OUR schools. There is no "fix" for such unconstitutional…

On 2014-08-16 06:04:34, jeff brodhead wrote:
The FERAL (sp!) govt BOUGHT the pathway for Obamacore and slithered it into OUR States; into OUR schools. There is no "fix" for such unconstitutional actions - except to terminate the entire agenda and FIRE EVERY COMPLICIT OATH-BREAKER INVOLVED! Maybe the People should start filing claims against the bonds of these "public servants" and put a bunch of them out of public sector permanently! HEY webmaster: Is Obamacore used in counting the "two words" in the reCAPTCHA below? I count... let me work on this..... ONE word (3-digit number) ONLY.

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16 August 2014 - 01:41 AM

On 2014-08-15 21:41:49, Maria Hirsch wrote:Common core standards are beneficial to ALL! After 15 years of NCLB standards and testing, nothing changed for any group. We have more students unable…

On 2014-08-15 21:41:49, Maria Hirsch wrote:
Common core standards are beneficial to ALL! After 15 years of NCLB standards and testing, nothing changed for any group. We have more students unable to compete in college or if they manage to make it through college, unable to compete in the work world.

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15 August 2014 - 23:36 PM

On 2014-08-15 19:36:15, Silas Kulkarni wrote:
I appreciate those genuine teacher voices on this comment board. Contrary to all the political nonsense and weird conspiracy theories that people keep throwing around, most teachers who are reading, using, and trying the standards are discovering that they are reasonable and generally helpful. Across the country nearly 2/3 of teachers support them. I was an 8th grade math teacher and before I had to teach over 100 topics in one year, so I had to do each one superficially. Now it's more like 40 or 50. Probably still too many, but way better than before, and the ones that are in the CCSS are the most important ones, like linear algebra, which prepares students for all the higher math in HS and college. As far as I can tell 90% of the complaints about Common Core are from people who have never read them. Otherwise they'd realize that saying "you should learn to add in K-2 and multiply and divide in grades 3-5" isn't going to promote Communism or corporate wealth. It's just being reasonable. If you don't believe me, read them yourself here http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/ and you'll see what I'm talking about.

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15 August 2014 - 09:11 AM

On 2014-08-15 05:11:35, Lisa wrote:Common Core was written by non-educators with no understanding of K-12 education or child development. It is designed to label all schools as failures so that…

On 2014-08-15 05:11:35, Lisa wrote:
Common Core was written by non-educators with no understanding of K-12 education or child development. It is designed to label all schools as failures so that they can be stolen from the taxpayers and privatized. At the same time, it is designed to enrich the companies who had representatives on the committee that promulgated he so called standards.

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15 August 2014 - 04:10 AM

On 2014-08-15 00:10:08, Barbara wrote:How can we differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students, of all abilties and backgrounds, when CCore expects them to all learn the very…

On 2014-08-15 00:10:08, Barbara wrote:
How can we differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students, of all abilties and backgrounds, when CCore expects them to all learn the very same thing at the same pace and demonstrate proficiency in the same way? CCore does is not more 'rigor', its traumatic. It harms the very students it claims to be helping, such as those who are in transition, in poverty and those with obvious and hidden social and cognitive challenges. This is just a big social expetiment that is going to end vety badly for our kids if we dont step back and re-evaluate the approach and the content. Professionals needto be involvedin the discusdion. 5 of the original development team refused to sign off on this, citing large flaws and yet it was put out there 'as is' (read the disclaimer on the CC website) anyway. This clearly is not about helping kids succeed, its about profit.

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15 August 2014 - 01:06 AM

On 2014-08-14 21:06:56, Sarah K wrote:As a parent, I am disgusted that this "standard" has infiltrated this far. I am tired of hearing how great, rigorous, and competitive they are,…

On 2014-08-14 21:06:56, Sarah K wrote:
As a parent, I am disgusted that this "standard" has infiltrated this far. I am tired of hearing how great, rigorous, and competitive they are, all while watching it destroy kids and their confidence. I don't understand why I'm clipping box tops and doing raffles to build a playground, while we seem to throw tax dollars at new curriculum and possibly giving a 26% pay raise to Tommy Bice. This system is totally backwards. I will fight the Core till I see it end.

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IQ2

15 August 2014 - 00:54 AM

On 2014-08-14 20:54:31, Greg wrote:Without going into the whole slew of educational problems with the common core (many of you have already pointed these out), the major issue I see…

On 2014-08-14 20:54:31, Greg wrote:
Without going into the whole slew of educational problems with the common core (many of you have already pointed these out), the major issue I see with the Common Core is its constitutionality. The more recent endeavor of the Dept of Ed. oversteps the constitutional boundaries of the federal government. The tenth amendment was designed for this reason. The federal government has no place to tell states how they should or shouldn't run their educational systems. Historically, and for good reason, states and local municipalities have been given the right to organize systems of public education. This is a pretty cut and dry constitutional issue.

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15 August 2014 - 00:42 AM

On 2014-08-14 20:42:34, Robert Reck wrote:Consider this: In my state, Oklahoma, Common Core was adopted in the spring legislative session the 2010. The English language arts and math standards for…

On 2014-08-14 20:42:34, Robert Reck wrote:
Consider this: In my state, Oklahoma, Common Core was adopted in the spring legislative session the 2010. The English language arts and math standards for Common Core were released on June 2 of 2010. There is no logical reason to believe that the claims made for Common Core are accurate. An essential step in the process was intentionally skipped. Without a pilot of the Common Core Standards they have no claim to validity. Since there are nations that have no educational standards that out score the USA on the PISA assessment, there is no reason to believe that standards of any kind will improve education in the United States of America. Perhaps the problem is not standards based at all.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 23:37 PM

On 2014-08-14 19:37:26, Heather wrote:Stop Common Core.

On 2014-08-14 19:37:26, Heather wrote:
Stop Common Core.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 23:36 PM

On 2014-08-14 19:36:30, Heather wrote:Stop Common Core.

On 2014-08-14 19:36:30, Heather wrote:
Stop Common Core.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 22:26 PM

On 2014-08-14 18:26:56, Donna wrote:"The Common Core is a set of clear and consistent standards, based on extensive research, that encourage critical thinking skills." It is NOT research based. It…

On 2014-08-14 18:26:56, Donna wrote:
"The Common Core is a set of clear and consistent standards, based on extensive research, that encourage critical thinking skills." It is NOT research based. It is NOT developmentally appropriate at all levels (standardized testing at PreK and K????). NO teacher was in the group that initiated nor developed the standards. It does NOT close the achievement gap - closing the POVERTY gap will close the achievement gap. It focuses so much on math and reading that it does NOT allow for time for art, music and physical activity that research had PROVEN will improve understanding. And finally, NOT every student has to go to college to be a productive member of society. Forcing students to take high level math classes is helping to decrease graduation rates. Careers can be blue collar, too. Ones where Calculus are NOT necessary.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 21:03 PM

On 2014-08-14 17:03:18, Anne M. wrote:
The Center for American Progress is Chaired by no other than Tom Daschle, others on board, Madeline Albright, Tom Steyer. Well-known Democrats who promote progress at the expense of the founding principles of this nation. Those who are "for" Common Core do not know its true origin, its, agenda, or its goals. They are hidden beneath the layers of propaganda and marketing. There is an element of great profit for those who promote it.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 18:45 PM

On 2014-08-14 14:45:05, elizabeth wrote:Children are neither Standard, nor Common. The only ones who benefit from the CC$$ are the private corporations who publish them.

On 2014-08-14 14:45:05, elizabeth wrote:
Children are neither Standard, nor Common. The only ones who benefit from the CC$$ are the private corporations who publish them.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 17:30 PM

On 2014-08-14 13:30:28, Karen wrote:Common Core is damaging our teachers, students, and communities! Highly educated parents are pulling their kids from public school left and right! Return decision-making to the…

On 2014-08-14 13:30:28, Karen wrote:
Common Core is damaging our teachers, students, and communities! Highly educated parents are pulling their kids from public school left and right! Return decision-making to the parents and communities!

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 15:34 PM

On 2014-08-14 11:34:49, Melissa wrote:We will not conform. I do not why I am surprised by the number of parents who have no idea this is being implemented in our…

On 2014-08-14 11:34:49, Melissa wrote:
We will not conform. I do not why I am surprised by the number of parents who have no idea this is being implemented in our schools! I plan on changing that.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 15:30 PM

On 2014-08-14 11:30:42, Gary Tobin wrote:CCSS are not just standards. These standards are no different than when congress rights a bill or law, there is so much unrelated expenses and…

On 2014-08-14 11:30:42, Gary Tobin wrote:
CCSS are not just standards. These standards are no different than when congress rights a bill or law, there is so much unrelated expenses and regulation hidden in the 100s and 1000s of pages, intentionally, not to be seen or found. Increasing standards and requirments by the statss would not be such a negative thing but add the laundry list laws and regulation to the so called "better standards" wouldn't be so terrible. -Keep Corporate America Greed out of the school systems -Keep the federal government out of the state education systems -Limit data collection to education data and used for local districts and even states use ONLY -Curriculum not to be in line with the standards but instead curriculum to be instructed by the teachers to meet the standards -Teacher evaluations, completely a district matter with district rules and regulation There are so many others things that are wrong with the CCSS but basically, leave education to the district's responsibilities and specially keep Corporate America out of the education system. Let them keep screwing us with their products on the retail side, you know, more chemicals, less quality, less quantity and more money.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 13:04 PM

The Common Core standards are harming children, parents and teachers. They are not developmentally considerate or appropriate, not created by professional educators, and are flawed in their expectations of children, but especially special needs children. It is time to end the Common Core and allow the states to retain control of their standards based upon student, parent and teacher needs, NOT corporate profits by the likes of The Gates Foundation and Pearson, StudentsFirst and The Walton Family. Follow the money...

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 11:52 AM

On 2014-08-14 07:52:56, Diane wrote:I have done my own research. I am informed. I am a parent that is AGAINST common core. Common core has to go. Also, I will…

On 2014-08-14 07:52:56, Diane wrote:
I have done my own research. I am informed. I am a parent that is AGAINST common core. Common core has to go. Also, I will not support any candidate that is for common core. Plain and simple.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 09:40 AM

On 2014-08-14 05:40:30, Carlee wrote:My child is not your lab rat! I want him to learn values & morals at home & leave the sexuality education OUT of the schools.…

On 2014-08-14 05:40:30, Carlee wrote:
My child is not your lab rat! I want him to learn values & morals at home & leave the sexuality education OUT of the schools. He will not be taught to hate learning because Common Core wants to teach fictional math. He will not read pornographic novels or be taught that it's okay to touch yourself for pleasure. He will be taught the reasons this country was founded on and that it is a Republic, not a Democracy. If you want to teach lies in the classroom, go to China. My child will not be taught them here. #stopcommoncore

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 07:54 AM

On 2014-08-14 03:54:21, Vicki Rockwell wrote:Stop the core

On 2014-08-14 03:54:21, Vicki Rockwell wrote:
Stop the core

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 07:44 AM

On 2014-08-14 03:44:44, Kathy Johnson wrote:
Maybe people should read the constitution. It is unconstitutional for the federal government to have any say or control over education systems. Schools are state mandated. Since common core was developed and instituted by the federal department of education, it is unconstitutional.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 07:34 AM

On 2014-08-14 03:34:36, Dawn wrote:I quit teaching because of Common Core. I wasn't able to provide my students with the education I'd want for my own child and surely did…

On 2014-08-14 03:34:36, Dawn wrote:
I quit teaching because of Common Core. I wasn't able to provide my students with the education I'd want for my own child and surely did not want my child to be educated this way. There is nothing good about the standards. The focus on testing is despicable. The standards in the early elementary grades are not developmentally appropriate and cause children to become frustrated and hate learning. There is no foundation built for learning to be built upon. The money that Bill Gates and others influencing education is atrocious. Everything that he pushes, Charters, Common Core, Teach for America Teachers, excessive testing and data collection he would not want to have happen upon his own children. As far as I'm concerned, the standards are child abuse and our country is in grave danger because of it. I'm grateful to be able to homeschool, and I can't help but wonder for how long.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 06:49 AM

On 2014-08-14 02:49:34, Shelly Stevens wrote:This is from your statement on the "for" Common Core. This is NOT a true statement and if you're conducting a poll, true statements should…

On 2014-08-14 02:49:34, Shelly Stevens wrote:
This is from your statement on the "for" Common Core. This is NOT a true statement and if you're conducting a poll, true statements should be required. NYS was BRIBED with $700 million dollars, the governor didn't "freely" choose. AND business people such as chamber of commerce ALSO were bribed with money.... "The Common Core has a great deal of support, from educators, the public, business leaders, and the over 40 states that have freely adopted its standards."

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14 August 2014 - 06:10 AM

On 2014-08-14 02:10:18, Korey Gore wrote:
Common Core is definitely not just a reform of standards. The standards were written by Non-educators, are developmentally inappropriate, NOT rigorous--CC stops at algebra, which means more remedial classes for college entrants). CCSS drives curriculum because states have to adopt PARCC or SBAC tests. What gets tested gets taught (David Coleman and Bill Gates both agree on this point). And hey, don't forget that because of the RTTT assurances, states MUST report data to state wide data base (SLDS), agencies like Dept of Corrections, human services, Dept of Labor, Vendors and third parties. Don't forget that EVERY time a kid logs onto a computer in school, tons of data is collected by these vendors. Try googling Knewton at the white house datapalooza. teachers are you aware that you are handing data to these corporations to track kids? STOP COMMON CORE. Keep education in the hands of local districts, teachers and parents.

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IQ2

14 August 2014 - 05:28 AM

On 2014-08-14 01:28:47, D. wrote:
What's wrong with the specific standards? If one is really interested to know, please take the time to read this explanation of the math standards http://hoosiersagainstcommoncore.com/dr-james-milgrams-open-letter-hoosiers/ and for the ELA standards, please watch this video by Terrence Moore. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=FRBwshWn1lA

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14 August 2014 - 05:25 AM

On 2014-08-14 01:25:02, vjh wrote:Carolyn said: "It's the fact that the CCSS was conceived, created, and "sold" by 1% corporate interests that draws the criticism, I think. Most Americans have…

On 2014-08-14 01:25:02, vjh wrote:
Carolyn said: "It's the fact that the CCSS was conceived, created, and "sold" by 1% corporate interests that draws the criticism, I think. Most Americans have had more than enough of billionaires dictating to them what they should do. People have figured out that such advice almost always enriches the 1% interests at the expense of the middle class. With CCSS, everyone from the original think tanks, the NGA and the CCSSO, to the paid salespeople (including the federal DOE) were all paid by Bill Gates's money. Those facts alone make CCSS highly suspect. People are right to be leery of this non-teacher-created national phenomenon. The money thing is a huge red flag and probably should be!" AMEN!!!!!!!

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13 August 2014 - 18:54 PM

On 2014-08-13 14:54:15, Jane Gabbert wrote:The Common Core outline as created here in the U.S. is successful in Japan but not in our own U.S. States where the curricula was…

On 2014-08-13 14:54:15, Jane Gabbert wrote:
The Common Core outline as created here in the U.S. is successful in Japan but not in our own U.S. States where the curricula was born. Why? Because we haven't been dedicated to the follow through, i.e., training each and every teacher in HOW to teach Common Core. We have great ideas and then we fall short w/failed execution. The Japanese, however, have been slow and deliberate and consistent in their approach to Common Core. Not unlike the patience of learning the tea ceremony as mentioned in the recent NYTimes article. We are an "immediate gratification" culture. That's a problem ... and a "one size fits all" just handcuffs creative teachers.

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IQ2

13 August 2014 - 05:32 AM

On 2014-08-13 01:32:44, Sharyle wrote:CC was developed by NON-Educators!

On 2014-08-13 01:32:44, Sharyle wrote:
CC was developed by NON-Educators!

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IQ2

13 August 2014 - 04:44 AM

On 2014-08-13 00:44:39, carolyn wrote:It's the fact that the CCSS was conceived, created, and "sold" by 1% corporate interests that draws the criticism, I think. Most Americans have had more…

On 2014-08-13 00:44:39, carolyn wrote:
It's the fact that the CCSS was conceived, created, and "sold" by 1% corporate interests that draws the criticism, I think. Most Americans have had more than enough of billionaires dictating to them what they should do. People have figured out that such advice almost always enriches the 1% interests at the expense of the middle class. With CCSS, everyone from the original think tanks, the NGA and the CCSSO, to the paid salespeople (including the federal DOE) were all paid by Bill Gates's money. Those facts alone make CCSS highly suspect. People are right to be leery of this non-teacher-created national phenomenon. The money thing is a huge red flag and probably should be!

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IQ2

13 August 2014 - 02:26 AM

My sons were able to take Algebra and Geometry in middle school and their high school math sequence included AP Calculus, Multivariable Calculus, and Linear Algebra along with AP Computer…

My sons were able to take Algebra and Geometry in middle school and their high school math sequence included AP Calculus, Multivariable Calculus, and Linear Algebra along with AP Computer Science. The progression of the CC math sequence means fewer advanced math course options for gifted math students. CCSS does not prepare students for rigorous STEM programs at the college level. I am so glad that Virginia is NOT a CCSS state!

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IQ2

12 August 2014 - 02:49 AM

On 2014-08-11 22:49:42, alec shantzis wrote:i am 100% against the common core. It is not tested, the younger grades are developmentally inappropriate, it is copy written and owned, so it…

On 2014-08-11 22:49:42, alec shantzis wrote:
i am 100% against the common core. It is not tested, the younger grades are developmentally inappropriate, it is copy written and owned, so it can not be a "work in progress". it is conceived of profit, not education.

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IQ2

12 August 2014 - 02:24 AM

On 2014-08-11 22:24:17, Tracy Monroe wrote:
I am putting together a social studies lesson right now that integrates Common Core. Nobody is being tortured, I'm teaching basically the same curriculum as I have for the past decade with the usual tweaks I make to it, I just have to make sure that the CCSS skill is embedded in the lesson (Describing how a text presents information: sequentially, causally, etc...) simple as that! The Common Core are ten reading and ten writing skills. How is that so scary? I get students from all over the country in my classroom and I can tell you that they are NOT experiencing equity in their education. I agree that the Common Core hasn't been rolled out smoothly in many states but that isn't the fault of Common Core. The standards seek to promote equity so that all students have a solid base of core skills and there is nothing telling me what to teach, my state content standards remain in effect. I feel obliged to point out that the Common Core don't PREVENT you from teaching anything else you want.

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10 August 2014 - 03:08 AM

On 2014-08-09 23:08:39, Joy Wagner wrote:With the research that I have done, there is NO evidence of any research done to prove common core was better than the current curriculum…

On 2014-08-09 23:08:39, Joy Wagner wrote:
With the research that I have done, there is NO evidence of any research done to prove common core was better than the current curriculum in place. The 40 state did NOT "freely" adopt these standards but were coerced with the promise of stimulus money during a recession only if they accepted the common core curriculum before it was completed. No evidence of any educators or child development specialists were involved with writing up this curriculum. The control being taken out state and local control is against the law therefore, common Core or anything that resembles it must be removed and never brought back.

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IQ2

10 August 2014 - 02:57 AM

On 2014-08-09 22:57:08, Beth Hallgren wrote:Just ask Dr. Sandra Stotsky and Dr. James Milgram, the only two education experts on the verification committee. There are a lot of great comments…

On 2014-08-09 22:57:08, Beth Hallgren wrote:
Just ask Dr. Sandra Stotsky and Dr. James Milgram, the only two education experts on the verification committee. There are a lot of great comments written, here. Thank you to each one of you.

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IQ2

10 August 2014 - 00:32 AM

On 2014-08-09 20:32:01, Francee wrote:The above choices have missed the topic of DATA MINING! Data collection on everything your child does k-12. Anyone/company can access this. FERPA??? Gone. Unconstitional.

On 2014-08-09 20:32:01, Francee wrote:
The above choices have missed the topic of DATA MINING! Data collection on everything your child does k-12. Anyone/company can access this. FERPA??? Gone. Unconstitional.

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IQ2

9 August 2014 - 23:00 PM

On 2014-08-09 19:00:06, S Morgan wrote:I have done my own research, thoroughly. I AM informed. I am a parent that is AGAINST common core. Common core has to go. Also,…

On 2014-08-09 19:00:06, S Morgan wrote:
I have done my own research, thoroughly. I AM informed. I am a parent that is AGAINST common core. Common core has to go. Also, I will not support any candidate that is for common core. Plain and simple.

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IQ2

9 August 2014 - 21:54 PM

On 2014-08-09 17:54:01, Attilashrugs wrote:The essential issue with Common Core is that there is no longer a common culture. Any sense of there being a particularly American culture has been…

On 2014-08-09 17:54:01, Attilashrugs wrote:
The essential issue with Common Core is that there is no longer a common culture. Any sense of there being a particularly American culture has been under sustained attack for more than half a century. Education has ALWAYS been about propagating a culture's sense of itself, its history, its values, its literature, art, music and the entire gamut. The effort to educate students without reference to a particular culture is to create a hierarchy of empty categories. This is the victory of Platonism's idealism over Aristotelean particularity. Education without the dissemination of a particular culture is necessarily a mindless list of factoids.

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IQ2

9 August 2014 - 19:42 PM

On 2014-08-09 15:42:48, Mike wrote:Common Core, driven by Corporate America and their $$, seeks to create subservient workers to fill corporate jobs. Why does Art always get cut from school…

On 2014-08-09 15:42:48, Mike wrote:
Common Core, driven by Corporate America and their $$, seeks to create subservient workers to fill corporate jobs. Why does Art always get cut from school programs? Why does music get cut? Those things don't fit the 'Corporate Agenda'. 'Communist Core' seeks to dumb down our kids to be good little Chinese factory workers, to grease the wheels of corporate greed. Don't buy into the hype, kids come out thinking LESS.

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IQ2

9 August 2014 - 05:41 AM

On 2014-08-09 01:41:30, Cora G wrote:
Common Core is wrong on so many levels. The standards (which didn't involve teacher input- WE KNOW this), the standards in developmentally inappropriate. Math is definitely not 'rigorous' in high school-stopping at algebra. (stem ready?) They are not just standards. With a mandatory cc aligned test, you must teach to the test, therefore cc aligned parcc and sbac determine cc curriculum. And data mining. It is every parents' dream to have their child's personal information tracked, and given to large corporations to further sell/share with third parties. Lots of money to be made on common core but very little to do with helping children.

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IQ2

9 August 2014 - 04:36 AM

On 2014-08-09 00:36:05, Elena wrote:Common Core is NOT about education--it is about PROFIT and CONTROL. The only people who support it are those who have either not read/looked into it…

On 2014-08-09 00:36:05, Elena wrote:
Common Core is NOT about education--it is about PROFIT and CONTROL. The only people who support it are those who have either not read/looked into it enough or those who are making money off of it. Those who have bought the candy coated "leveling of the educational playing field" don't realize this is not lifting any student--it is reducing everyone to the lowest common denominator and the underprivileged students stand to suffer the most. Those who do not see this and just accept the Common Core propaganda without further thinking have not seen the children struggle to grasp unnecessarily complicated and abstract concepts before they are developmentally ready to engage in such activities and high school seniors not be prepared for a real university--but for a 2 year community college because the curricula actually stops short of where it should be to get them there--it leaves them about 2 years behind compared to the International standards . So those fooled by the Common Core rhetoric may be confused enough to believe its unfounded claims. However, educators true to their profession and parents involved in their children's education will NOT be fooled. Everything about Common Core is wrong in a free country--its elitist funded inception, its unqualified and heavily paid off creators, its top-down federal government implementation with a chance to win grant money carrot and a waiver from NCLB stick--it's ongoing data mining outside of FERPA laws which leaves our children vulnerable to unacceptable data collection via various surveys and daily activities on-line --- the tracking of personal information, psychological profiling and emotional, attitude and behavior changes via educational products specifically designed to socially engineer students in the desired mold. Experienced teachers are being forced out and will be replaced by a fresh batch of Teach For America educational workers who will recite the Common Core scripts and keep the students orderly and plugged into the educational products adapted for their specific indoctrination needs. Again--if Common Core was just about standards it would be bad enough because the standards are inappropriate developmentally at the lower levels and insufficient at the upper levels--but the fact that there was no transparency--no teacher/parent input, no testing, and no evidence that any of this will improve student learning outcomes--Common Core is nothing but a farce that aims to dismantle our public education system and replace it with an unaccountable to anyone charter/private system. The public and the parents will no longer have an elected school board to appeal. We are now just seeing the beginnings of this atrocity-- and as more an more people wake up to the Common Core coupe reality to the fact that it amounts to taxation without representation and it aims to control our children and the future generations-- there will be a n even stronger opposition that will not be ignored as it is now. And the irony of it all is that it is being done with our tax dollars. If we let it! Parents, educators, all humans--please take a good look and see what this is all about. Common Core is most certainly NOT about education--but about CONTROL and PROFITS. Follow the money and see how much of it was funded by Bill Gates and his elite group of billionaires who have a vested interest to take full control over our children and our future.

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9 August 2014 - 03:35 AM

On 2014-08-08 23:35:44, Melissa wrote:Honestly I wish the federal government would stop interfering with state education!

On 2014-08-08 23:35:44, Melissa wrote:
Honestly I wish the federal government would stop interfering with state education!

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IQ2

8 August 2014 - 07:32 AM

On 2014-08-08 03:32:07, Jenn wrote:I am a professional educator who works in a district where the CCSS has been implemented in the right way. Teachers have been given training and…

On 2014-08-08 03:32:07, Jenn wrote:
I am a professional educator who works in a district where the CCSS has been implemented in the right way. Teachers have been given training and time to develop curriculum around the standards instead of having a canned "aligned" curriculum handed to us. I can guarantee that over 75% of the teachers here support the actual standards. Using the standards as a base, we are collaborating and designing incredible lessons that meet the needs of our students - and that students are engaging in. The problem lies in communities who don't trust that teachers are competent professionals. And in anti-CCSS special interests who don't want to have a future work force that is capable of thinking critically and questioning their decisions. Hence a lot of the false "facts" that get pushed every chance they get. For the past year and a half, I have been asking some of these people in my community to identify a specific standard (by number and grade level band, with exact wording) that they object to and to explain in detail, why it is objectionable. To date, no one has been able to do so. Instead they spout generalizations, falsehoods and complaints about things that aren't actually the standards. Maybe one of the opponents being so vocal here can finally do so.

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5 August 2014 - 02:55 AM

On 2014-08-04 22:55:07, Deb Brady wrote:I've watched the development of the CCSS as it was made public for comment in Massachusetts. I've worked with educators as they grappled with the…

On 2014-08-04 22:55:07, Deb Brady wrote:
I've watched the development of the CCSS as it was made public for comment in Massachusetts. I've worked with educators as they grappled with the challenging (international) standards for literacy in all content areas and in mathematics. I've read the research on which the CCSS were based in Appendix A that demonstrates that our expectations for students have decreased since 1966. In addition, high school graduates are about three years below college readiness. 30% of college students are in remedial college courses and when students drop out of college, 75% of them leave because they can't keep up with the reading. I don't think the CCSS is perfect; the Massachusetts MCAS was not either, but aiming to get our students to be at least the academic equals of other countries seems to me to be a good investment for our students' futures as well as for our country's. I have seen positive change in classrooms where formerly our mile wide and inch deep curriculum exacted memorization, worksheets,, and onerous work instead of creative, inquisitive, actively engaged and challenging work. Yes, there are profiteers. And, yes, there are people who misinterpret those standards and see them as standardization, when what they say is, for example, what narrative writing looks like in grade 8 and what eighth graders need to know and do that is a cognitive step up from the narrative in grade 7. I am so sorry to have gone on and on, but I know from reading, using, and teaching with the CCSS that it is a worthy series of documents. I invite you to read them.

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5 August 2014 - 02:33 AM

On 2014-08-04 22:33:09, Dee Dockery wrote:The purpose of public school has not changed since its inception in the late 19th century. It was designed to educate Little Johnny Farm Boy…

On 2014-08-04 22:33:09, Dee Dockery wrote:
The purpose of public school has not changed since its inception in the late 19th century. It was designed to educate Little Johnny Farm Boy so that he could operate machinery and equipment found in factories in the Industrial Age. If Little Johnny could do above average work in public school, he might be rewarded with a supervisory or low-level management position instead of hard labor on a factory assembly line. Public school was never intended to turn out intelligent and successful people. Anyone who thinks so is either naive or has been deceived. The bulk of public school graduates make less than 50k per year. Whether the schools use No Child Left Behind or Common Core, it makes no difference. They're both a ticket to mediocrity. The children who are our future will be homeschooled or go to private schools. Those we leave behind in the public school system will not have the ability to work even the simplest of jobs. And when they are adults and cannot find work, they will be our next generation of welfare recipients or criminals who steal to survive. Let that sink in for a minute or two...

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5 August 2014 - 01:13 AM

On 2014-08-04 21:13:47, Sylvia wrote:
Non-educators: Carmel Martin: Center for American Progress has collected well over 5 million dollars related to education. But I'm sure that money doesn't influence her stance on CC at all. Michael Petrilli: Fordham has collected over $6.5 million related to education. These two are paid to promote CC. Educators: Carol Burris and Rick Hess have actually been in the classroom. Carol Burris, as a principal, has to deal with CC and its effects on the students, teachers, and learning on a daily basis. If I hadn't researched CC on my own, I would still trust her opinion over a Bill Gates minion any day. And as for the comment re: 75% of teachers support CC? Try again. The polls suggesting teachers support CC have repeatedly been shown to have serious flaws, or the results are skewed to make it sound like CC is supported. I am an education student, a substitute teacher, and a classroom volunteer. The majority of my friends are teachers with years of experience. I have only found one elementary teacher that embraced CC. She was a first year teacher, and she couldn't stand her students. If you want to see if these standards are appropriate, grab a copy and a child development book. It will clearly show these students are being required to do things that their little brains are not developed enough for.

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4 August 2014 - 18:49 PM

On 2014-08-04 14:49:42, Lynne wrote:Common Core Standards are MORE than K-12, they encompass Pre-K and Adult Education as well. Start sharing the whole picture! Common Core Standards are a product…

On 2014-08-04 14:49:42, Lynne wrote:
Common Core Standards are MORE than K-12, they encompass Pre-K and Adult Education as well. Start sharing the whole picture! Common Core Standards are a product of Public, Private Partnerships, no any legal accountability is not applicable. This is how we treat education? Common Core is a multi-billion dollar industry that isn't JUST standards, it is curriculum, products. Not what we've been told via 'its only standards'! Common Core breaks at least 3 federal laws & violates the Tenth Amendment. Not 'state led'! Common Core discriminates against any student outside a prescribed compass of ability, skill or understanding. Not equity OR equal! Common Core is inappropriate on ALL levels. Mastery of subjects NOT competency is what equips people for life!

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IQ2

4 August 2014 - 18:48 PM

On 2014-08-04 14:48:34, Lynne wrote:Common Core Standards are MORE than K-12, they encompass Pre-K and Adult Education as well. Start sharing the whole picture! Common Core Standards are a product…

On 2014-08-04 14:48:34, Lynne wrote:
Common Core Standards are MORE than K-12, they encompass Pre-K and Adult Education as well. Start sharing the whole picture! Common Core Standards are a product of Public, Private Partnerships, no any legal accountability is not applicable. This is how we treat education? Common Core is a multi-billion dollar industry that isn't JUST standards, it is curriculum, products. Not what we've been told via 'its only standards'! Common Core breaks at least 3 federal laws & violates the Tenth Amendment. Not 'state led'! Common Core discriminates against any student outside a prescribed compass of ability, skill or understanding. Not equity OR equal! Common Core is inappropriate on ALL levels. Mastery of subjects NOT competency is what equips people for life!

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IQ2

4 August 2014 - 07:57 AM

On 2014-08-04 03:57:37, AkiraBe wrote:It is interesting to me that those profiteers pushing this initiative have children who attend private schools where they are not engaging in 2 solid months…

On 2014-08-04 03:57:37, AkiraBe wrote:
It is interesting to me that those profiteers pushing this initiative have children who attend private schools where they are not engaging in 2 solid months of non-standardized, high stakes testing. And these profiteers are not demanding this for their own children - only the kids of the middle class and the poor get this push. Campbell Brown, Arne Duncan, and Bill Gates do not want Pearson test co's regimen in their own children's schools. Hypocrites and liars, all of them.

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IQ2

4 August 2014 - 01:26 AM

On 2014-08-03 21:26:24, virginia rallis wrote:I am opposed to Common Core.

On 2014-08-03 21:26:24, virginia rallis wrote:
I am opposed to Common Core.

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 23:51 PM

On 2014-08-03 19:51:57, Rosemary wrote:Common core was in our school for two years before we were even told. The problems and stress the children had were a mystery to us…

On 2014-08-03 19:51:57, Rosemary wrote:
Common core was in our school for two years before we were even told. The problems and stress the children had were a mystery to us until we were told that the school was using Common core. We were also told NOT to believe anything we read about it on the internet. So of course I looked it up. Now for over a year I have researched all aspects of Common core, and along with what I have actually seen, the damage done to a child, I want common core gone from our schools before it does more harm. My grandson was reading before pre k, he loved learning, now going in to third, he hates school, he hates reading thanks to common core. We saw no text books, only math work sheets, one page stories with questions, and almost all math sheets had "TEST PREP" written on them. We have no idea what our children are even being taught, we don't see what is on the computer or the tests and this is wrong. You can debate this but we parents, teachers and citizens will not give up until our schools throw out common core and our children have a chance to learn. The other problem is now they are offering grants for schools to run two hours longer to teach Common core? These children can't take more stress with this untested experiment. No child should be away from home that many hours, it is child abuse.

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 23:05 PM

On 2014-08-03 19:05:07, Patrick Carlin wrote:Well said, Katie! Friend and post on FB page: ADVOCATESfor EXCELLENCE inEDUCATION

On 2014-08-03 19:05:07, Patrick Carlin wrote:
Well said, Katie! Friend and post on FB page: ADVOCATESfor EXCELLENCE inEDUCATION

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 21:11 PM

On 2014-08-03 17:11:15, Zachary Anderson wrote:Funny how only one person on this panel is a person who actually (currently) works in a public school. But I trust Ms. Burris will…

On 2014-08-03 17:11:15, Zachary Anderson wrote:
Funny how only one person on this panel is a person who actually (currently) works in a public school. But I trust Ms. Burris will make the case pretty plainly...as she has done so repeatedly online and in print already. The main problem with CC is, and has always been, too much "think tank"ing and not enough frontline input. There are 600,000 public school teachers in the state of NY alone, millions of us across the country, and our collective wisdom is almost universally ignored whenever education "reform" is up for serious debate.

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 19:23 PM

On 2014-08-03 15:23:26, Kathleen Zebzda wrote:If we want to improve school performance, we have to look at the failing schools and address the issues. Poverty is a big factor in…

On 2014-08-03 15:23:26, Kathleen Zebzda wrote:
If we want to improve school performance, we have to look at the failing schools and address the issues. Poverty is a big factor in poor school performance. Inequities in school funding is a good place to start. Successful schools should not need to lower their expectations for their students in an effort to "raise the bar." Let teachers teach their students, meeting objectives that make sense for their students. Teach all students, including those with IEPs using tried and true methodologies. The entire system is not broken. Some parts are working well. Look to the ones that are producing good results and identify the commonalities. Why the rush to a pre-packaged, corporate product that was prepared by non-educators, and relies on faulty statistics to justify the need? A generation of children are at risk. We cannot afford to lose them for a corporate backed experiment.

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 19:07 PM

It's all about the testing. And the testing is all about the money. Follow the money and it is all about corporatizing education through charter schools, vouchers, and venture philanthropy…

It's all about the testing. And the testing is all about the money. Follow the money and it is all about corporatizing education through charter schools, vouchers, and venture philanthropy (with 39% tax breaks.) and turning K-12 education into a profit making enterprise using public tax dollars.

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 18:23 PM

On 2014-08-03 14:23:27, Lynne M. Lafer-Halvorson wrote:
The Common Core Standards were not designed by anyone actually IN education--no teachers, no child psychologists, no administrators. They are extremely developmentally inappropriate at the younger grades, and they are forcing our nation's schools to cancel nap-times and play-time for the Kindergartners (they're beginning algebra instead), as well as to cancel recess, music, art, and drama at the middle school and high school level. The Common Core requires the use of high-stakes testing, which is not only demoralizing teachers across the nation but is producing a phony appearance of low-performing schools (when in fact our schools are doing extremely well on the PISA Scores when our country's excessively high poverty rate and its attendant effects on children are factored out).

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 18:22 PM

The CCSS are simply a marketing program created by Pearson and Achieve, Inc. in order to gain easier and cheaper access to the education market nationwide. The plan is to…

The CCSS are simply a marketing program created by Pearson and Achieve, Inc. in order to gain easier and cheaper access to the education market nationwide. The plan is to create a national set of standards of which they control the copyright (the $$$). Get these standards pushed on the nation quickly so everyone is scrambling. Create tests where you get to control how people score on the tests. Create a crisis. Offer a ready made curriculum, test prep materials, remediation materials, and sets of tests aligned to the new standards. Voila! Instant demand for and entry into the market. Brilliant!

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 18:19 PM

On 2014-08-03 14:19:37, Mom wrote:
This should be educator versus non-educator; child-centered versus business-centered. Blech. How does Martin qualify for the phrase "extensive background in the education field?" Why our lawyers and politicians directing my children's education? How about some parents on this panel? http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2009/01/usde-no-one-puts-carmel-in-the-corner.html#.U95EV0gsSRk

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3 August 2014 - 17:51 PM

On 2014-08-03 13:51:42, L. Graykin wrote:As a public school teacher and parent, I am concerned about Common Core. Not for the standards themselves--the actual document is lacking in spots and…

On 2014-08-03 13:51:42, L. Graykin wrote:
As a public school teacher and parent, I am concerned about Common Core. Not for the standards themselves--the actual document is lacking in spots and lackluster in general, but usable--but for the increasingly evident linkages being found to privatization, high-stakes testing, and attacks on teachers.

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IQ2

3 August 2014 - 17:50 PM

On 2014-08-03 13:50:56, Pfzlady@aol.com wrote:
These standards were laid out in a "top-down" approach where 12th grade standards were written first and down the line to kindergarten. This process resulted in the lower grades having DEVELOPMENTALLY INAPPROPRIATE standards. In addition, these standards are COPYRIGHTED and cannot be tweaked or changed in any way.

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3 August 2014 - 17:31 PM

On 2014-08-03 13:31:51, StandingProud wrote:
It's very clear, professional educators are against this fiasco and the monied interests support it. Our USDOE seems to support those who are 'for profit' instead of those who are 'for students'. This is the 'for profits' against educators. Pearson, Murdoch, Gates, Achieve and Walton vs those who actually teach. Those who care about profits vs those who care about kids. The concept of national standards is not a bad one, in my opinion. But THESE standards are WRONG for students. They are developmentally inappropriate in lower grades. They come attached to constant, irrelevant, poorly constructed and incompetently scored assessments. This idea was brought to Gates by Gene Wilhoit, director of state school chiefs, and David Coleman president of the College board (heavily funded by Gates), pushed through in record breaking time, if states wanted a waiver from NCLB, they were REQUIRED to adopt these standards -which were not even written at the time. Standards, even national, are a good thing. No one is saying that they're not. What professional educators are saying is that these standards, and their accompanying assessments are wrong. http://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/the-common-core-memorandum-of-understanding-what-a-story/

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