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And you sound a bit like my neighbor the education "expert" who just pissed himself.
Bitter? No. My terminal leave is health related so my retirement now is my choice. If I was a prick I could just use up all my sick leave (2 years worth) and not retire until then, making my system reserve my position for that time.
I am irritated that my system is one of two in the state allowed to suspend certification for retirements, thereby throwing me into the list with people who committed some sort of malfeasance.
If you think Rhee shook anything up in DC you need to look at her "results". Not what she's claimed. Which ties in with her veracity "issue". The criticism of her is bi-partisan.
Revisionism is as popular as ever. And common core criticism is "bi-partisan" also no? Based on the particular part that somehow is deemed to clash with the dogma.
Changing the status quo requires breaking eggs - there will be some mess.
Of course some look at the mess, and some look at the omelet.
Now - lets consider how many lie and cheat in order to "meet" new standards instead of doing the work required to get to the new standards. Blaming that on the chief.... That's reasonable right?
This is a social welfare issue.
It should NOT be an expectation of a public school system to remedy.
But it is an expectation! And will continue to be because it raises "difficult" questions otherwise.
People confuse equal or equivalent access with equivalent results. The truth that different behaviors (cultures) usually lead to different outcomes, though straight common sense, is an anathema to a PC normative construct. So people bend logic and peddle specious arguments every which way to blame the system, which is just one part of a two part equation.
The majority of school children in the top public school in NYC are Asian, even though Asians are only 14% of the school population. In that school, 40% of students are entitled to free or reduced price lunches. And most of that 40% are Asian. Socioeconomic level and race are not destiny. But because of the correlation seen, a "causation" has been assumed. And promoted also, since it is beloved by sociology profs.
Take that whole school population and put them in a bottom quarter NYC public school. keep the facilities and, more importantly, the same teachers in that bottom quarter school. Then look at the outcome in a years two years' time. Does anyone seriously doubt the outcome?
In the end different behaviors rarely result in the same outcome, and most often result in different outcomes. This is a truth in life. Education is not magically immune to that truth. Cultures are defined by - their differences.
Fortunately, culture is not genetic. Its voluntary.
The problem is, whenever someone disagrees with any of these movements, they are quickly marginalized as not caring about education or by use of derogatory language "boohoo, your special snowflake isn't" or as the OP did here "why do conservatives ...?" All of these have the intent that language puts the person who disagrees on the defensive, all of which are false arguments. The real argument is CC proponents should be required to prove why it's better and why change is needed rather than those who disagree having to prove it isn't.
In business, and in reality within our homes, we carry on conversations about making changes all the time.
For example:
(Q) Should we buy a new car? (A) Can we afford a new car now and why do we need one?
(Q) Should we move to a different house? (A) why do we want/need to move?
Where is the discussion and evaluation of needs and the display of how this system will meet the needs? Instead we get told this is being instituted or else you don't get Uncle Sam's money.
In business, and in reality within our homes, we carry on conversations about making changes all the time.
For example:
(Q) Should we buy a new car? (A) Can we afford a new car now and why do we need one?
(Q) Should we move to a different house? (A) why do we want/need to move?
Where is the discussion and evaluation of needs and the display of how this system will meet the needs? Instead we get told this is being instituted or else you don't get Uncle Sam's money.
Anyone who thinks this thread is bringing any clarity to the issue has not read it.
The point now appears to be whether we need a standard. Now we have had them since the 90s at least and some go back way before that. So apparently we used to know that we needed a standard but no longer are convinced that is true. So the question is there any need to define what is learned in school?
And another school appears to agree that a standard is desirable but that the heterogeneous population may require many or each state should have their own...so we have California Math and Oregon Math and NY Math. Do we really hold that Math is geographic or demographic? Do the poor need different math than the well off?
Before I say anything else, I have make a point. Living in poverty is a huge disadvantage for students, as a whole. The reasons why are legion and is worthy of discussion and debate. If, however, you do not believe this premise, stop reading now. My next point is going to be predicated on the fact that you know and understand this.
Let's say and eighth grade math teacher is teaching pre-algebra to inner city students in an impoverished area. I've seen this scenario played out many times: Ten percent of the students know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide with mastery. And have a fairly decent understanding of numeracy. The other 90% are somewhere on the continuum between 2nd and 6th grade in their mathematics skills.
The teacher and the school have no flexibility in placing them in an appropriate class. Sure, they might be able to place them in a support math class which the students can pass, but the students will still fail pre-algebra. If you have ever taught disadvantaged children, then you know the problems are far beyond just putting them in the right class. Discipline is huge. Absenteeism is huge. The value the parents place on education is, by far, the largest predictor of success in school. The list is much longer that this, but anyone who knows anything about education, knows that.
And everyone will interpret that standard differently. And if you are an adult who is already good at math, you might be thinking, "What's the big deal? Linear equations and systems of equations are easy." No, they are not. Not to an emerging learner. But you don't know that because you do not have any practical experience in a classroom.
When I started teaching, I had the flexibility of teaching any standard from any grade. Students made huge gains in my classes. I knew what was important for their future math classes, and if we did not get around to bisecting a line using a compass...oh well. We used to use a test at the end of the year that was, actually, quite good at showing growth. Now the tests only test grade level material. So I have to plow through it at a pace that is not good for my demographic.
If I taught in Connecticut, maybe - not such a problem. Inner city LA; it's a problem. I need to take the kids from where they are to as far as I can get them. If they can increase their mathematics knowledge base by two years in one, that's a beautiful thing. And I used to do it. No more, though.
Clearly, most of the proponents of CC on this forum will, yet again, tell me I'm wrong with some silly fallacy. After all, why would I, or any other boots-on-the-ground teacher, know what is actually going on in America's schools.
Try this, though. Get a sub license - they are easy to get. Take a long-term, subbing position. Again, pretty easy to get in an urban district. In full disclosure, make no mistake...I'm setting you up. I've seen this change the hearts and minds of more than one person.
I believe one reason that the older people in the country are against Common Core as study after study proves it is producing dumb students, instead of intelligent ones. Young people get angry at the idea that they have to take tests, before they are considered for hiring. Young people today, are angry that the employer wants proven ability and experience to be hired.
I firmly believe, that the older people see the change in education that is producing students that need classes dumbed down so they can handle the coursework instead of stiffening standards to handle the ever increasing abilities to handle the jobs that come open. They tell us in just 10 years, 67% of the jobs available have not even been invented yet.
These are the type of studies, that prove the common core method so popular today is failing, and the young people entering college cannot read well enough and handle math well enough to be able to even be able to take STEM courses and the other jobs that are in demand and pay high incomes.
I won't touch on the ELA standards, because that's not my area of expertise. However my issue with the math standards is not that they're not dumbed-down, but rather that the creators have pushed more advanced content to lower grades. If you agree with the significant amount of research that argues that children develop at different rates and children don't begin being able to develop abstract thinking skills until their early teen years, then there's a problem with demanding that every child in the country be at the same bare minimum level, and a level that is intellectually inappropriate for many of them.
There are a lot of things about Common Core Math that I do like, though. I do think that they prescribe a general way of thinking about math that my state's previous standards were lacking.
The reality is people in the end judge things by the results. They start to demand change when the results get really bad. That is where education is now; IMO.
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