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Common Core is not without its problems, but a lot of what you read is hyperbole. I strongly suggest taking the time to read carefully through the standards and to talk to your kids' teachers about how curriculum choices align with those standards. Attend school board meetings and ask questions. Lots of questions! Controversy over The Bluest Eye is a beautiful example of how incomplete information can be used to manipulate people. Please, folks, before you join the raging hoards, do your research and think for yourselves. Are you really opposed to creating consistent standards for our nation's students? I'm not. Having moved my kids multiple times from one end of the country to the other, I've seen first-hand how states vary in the quality of the public education they provide. I'd really like to see a more standardized progression. Is Common Core the answer? Erm, I'm not convinced that we're there quite yet, but I think the idea has a lot of potential to improve the state of public education. That's my $.02. YMMV.
Now, on to Syracusa's question: What should a caring parent do if the local public school's curriculum choices are less than desirable? There are plenty of tutoring options and academic clubs that can augment what a child is learning in school, but it's really up to parents to find the best options in their area. Kumon math is available pretty much everywhere, but the math club two university professors run out of my neighborhood elementary school clearly is not. You're going to have to do your own legwork on this one.
My son read The Bluest Eye in his junior year literature class. He found it to be a very thought provoking book. In fact, the kids had a choice of a few books for their research paper and he chose The Bluest Eye. This book is not appropriate for very young students but I did not think it was out of bounds for juniors in high school. By the time students are 16-17 years old they are familiar with sex, rape, incest, pedophilia and racism.
The book is very thought provoking. There is so much junk literature being taught in the name of multiculturalism it makes very little sense to ban good multicultural literature simply because the subject matter is difficult.
My son read The Bluest Eye in his junior year literature class. He found it to be a very thought provoking book. In fact, the kids had a choice of a few books for their research paper and he chose The Bluest Eye. This book is not appropriate for very young students but I did not think it was out of bounds for juniors in high school. By the time students are 16-17 years old they are familiar with sex, rape, incest, pedophilia and racism.
The book is very thought provoking. There is so much junk literature being taught in the name of multiculturalism it makes very little sense to ban good multicultural literature simply because the subject matter is difficult.
I agree. It is a very thought-provoking book, and I personally would not be opposed to my children reading it as older high schoolers. If other parents find it objectionable, they need to take it up with their kids' teachers rather than blame Common Core.
I don't know any rich people who homeschool because they can afford good (actual good, not just churchy good) private schools.
And many private schools do opt to align with state standards/the common core even if they're not required to for accreditation purposes. It's not as if you can avoid the common core circus by going the private school route, necessarily.
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And I would say to you that a much bigger detriment to society is generations of children being raised with two working parents, neither of whom really have time to get involved in their educations and emotional lives on a personal level every single day (but do a great job of lying to themselves about it).
Absolutely. What goes on and doesn't go on at home often affects childten's learning, attitudes about learning, and overall achievement much more strongly than anything going on at school.
I agree. It is a very thought-provoking book, and I personally would not be opposed to my children reading it as older high schoolers. If other parents find it objectionable, they need to take it up with their kids' teachers rather than blame Common Core.
My son read it in private school. As far as I know there is no Common Core requirement.
I am not against consistent standards across the nation.
However, it depends on what those standards are, how they are taught and how they are assessed.
Just saying "consistent standards across thre nation" is a good thing cannot alone exonerate CC.
Maybe it's my background as an English teacher and English major, but I simply cannot take people who get their panties in a twist over literature that is being taught seriously.
It's not one or the other. You misunderstand my post.
There are plenty more people I know who live nice middle class lifestyles and home-school their kids.
I was just saying that just because these people were poor didn't mean they couldn't get a good education - NOT that their education made them poor. They were already poor.
I don't know any rich people who home-school because they can afford good (actual good, not just churchy good) private schools.
And I would say to you that a much bigger detriment to society is generations of children being raised with two working parents, neither of whom really have time to get involved in their educations and emotional lives on a personal level every single day (but do a great job of lying to themselves about it).
Your insinuation that families in which both parents work are to be blamed because they CHOOSE to work without any valid reason, does not deserve even the minimum of attention it already got.
I know: oh, the depraved!
Once you are done preaching self-reliance, hard work and savings (you are part of that crowd, aren't you) and then you're also finished throwing stones at the heads of those who actually attempt to play by these rules...how about letting it go or simply addressing the question I asked in the title?
It's completely legitimate to point out that dual working parent households often lack sufficient time and flexibility to take as active a role as necessary in their children's education.
I'm concerned about common core as well as "Everyday Math" which is the math curriculum used in my child's school. I plan to do some work with her during the summer to help her get a firmer grasp on the basics. I will use Singapore Math. Other then that I will continue to encourage her to read, write, explore and play. I firmly believe that the family influence is greater then the schools so as long as we remain involved and work on certain things that need to be worked on (such as math) I believe that she will be just fine.
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