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THere is so much going around slamming common core.
I'm not exactly sure what the problem is.
From what i can tell, it makes the child think differently.. and really think (especially in math). It may be challenging, but I think this is EXCELLENT. Because we are lagging behind other nations who, from what I understand, teach in a similar fashion (which is what the core is based on).
I've heard parents complain that it's "too hard" for their kids.
Mine is doing great in school.
But,I want to understand what the issues have been with common core issues.. because I'm not quite sure why some are so upset about it.
Is it that they find it too challenging (and how is that bad - we want them to excel)
From what I can tell, it is lack of planning that may make common core difficult. My daughter is attending an excellent preschool that was recommended by some of my teacher acquaintances. I know this is not elementary but please bear with me. Anyway, she receives no homework but my friend's children do receive homework. We were warned that she may end up being too advanced for kindergarten and not because of her genes (just from personal experience).
She is now starting to read and write but the school is not what you might expect. Everything is learned through play. My husband sat in for a lesson and he said that everything was planned out and clear. The material related to a bigger picture.
Now that we are looking for an elementary school, I asked my daughter's preschool why they could do what the elementary schools seem to struggle with. They said that with many struggling elementary schools, it is lack of planning. They look at the end goal and teach from there. However, they should be breaking down the concepts in to steps. Also, the children have a big role in deciding the curriculum at this preschool. The teacher' find out what they know, what they are curious about and start from there.
According to them, they have been teaching common core concepts for 20 years and the schools are barely catching up. So a teacher's lack of planning can hurt a child's education. Imagine a school where this problem is on every grade level.
ETA: My sister-in-law commented on how my daughter seemed to have better number sense than her 6 year old. She complained that her daughter still hadn't memorized her addition facts. I guess I am going to have to find out what they are doing at her preschool.
From what I can tell, it is lack of planning that may make common core difficult. My daughter is attending an excellent preschool that was recommended by some of my teacher acquaintances. I know this is not elementary but please bear with me. Anyway, she receives no homework but my friend's children do receive homework. We were warned that she may end up being too advanced for kindergarten and not because of her genes (just from personal experience).
She is now starting to read and write but the school is not what you might expect. Everything is learned through play. My husband sat in for a lesson and he said that everything was planned out and clear. The material related to a bigger picture.
Now that we are looking for an elementary school, I asked my daughter's preschool why they could do what the elementary schools seem to struggle with. They said that with many struggling elementary schools, it is lack of planning. They look at the end goal and teach from there. However, they should be breaking down the concepts in to steps. Also, the children have a big role in deciding the curriculum at this preschool. The teacher' find out what they know, what they are curious about and start from there.
According to them, they have been teaching common core concepts for 20 years and the schools are barely catching up. So a teacher's lack of planning can hurt a child's education. Imagine a school where this problem is on every grade level.
ETA: My sister-in-law commented on how my daughter seemed to have better number sense than her 6 year old. She complained that her daughter still hadn't memorized her addition facts. I guess I am going to have to find out what they are doing at her preschool.
Thank you for sharing this.
I have heard often that Europeans have a differnet way of teaching. Rather than teach to memorize, they teach to understand and think about the answer rather than just knowing the answer. I think this is brilliant. My understanding of what Core is is applying those teaching methods. I think that's fantastic.
I'm lucky to live in one of the best school districts in the state. I love my sons school. They seem to be handling common core well, from my perspective.
I have to admit that when my son comes home with is basic math , the approach is so that I was confused at first, but the way it makes them think of numbers - if I were taught that way I might not have such a struggle with numbers.
I have heard often that Europeans have a differnet way of teaching. Rather than teach to memorize, they teach to understand and think about the answer rather than just knowing the answer. I think this is brilliant. My understanding of what Core is is applying those teaching methods. I think that's fantastic.
I'm lucky to live in one of the best school districts in the state. I love my sons school. They seem to be handling common core well, from my perspective.
I have to admit that when my son comes home with is basic math , the approach is so that I was confused at first, but the way it makes them think of numbers - if I were taught that way I might not have such a struggle with numbers.
I agree about the math and I know that many parents have been confused about the math. My best friend used to be a teacher many years ago and couldn't understand why the strategies changed as her children were going through elementary. After showing me a math lesson, I was so surprised to see the strategy.
It was called make-a-ten.
When I went through elementary, I failed math every year. It wasn't until high school were I started to see success in math, even more so in college. When I started thinking about why I could not add "in my head", in other words, why I had to use my fingers, I started coming up with a solution on how to do mental math.
I had to visually remember what 8 fingers looked like and remember that 2 fingers will always be down. Therefore, 8 and 2 make a ten, are part of a fact family, etc. From then on, I was able to add larger numbers in my head, do square roots in my head. I developed "number sense."
So, yes, I am happy that my daughter will be receiving this kind of instruction. I think it is just a secret that has been let out. Finally. Even if common core was not adopted, I would have taught my daughter this way. In fact, I do hold up my fingers trying to get her to memorize what each number "looks" like and to remember how many are down.
I think the problem some parents are having is the implimentation of the program. I read a post on yahoo news that a lady's son got held back in the 3rd grade because he didn't pass one portion of the standardized test. She felt they didn't prepare him enough for the test. My believe is that teachers should modify the way they teach based on the child, because every child doesn't learn the same. Just as every class has a different "personality". I agree that something must be done to improve our educational system. We have to start somewhere, and I think common core is a good start.
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