Common Core Math

[Fiddytree]

Good teachers love involved parents. We love involved parents as long as The involvement is about supporting a child and working with the teacher and not working against the teacher. I know they're a bad teachers out there and sometimes a parent needs to stand up for their child again such teachers. However , the vast majority of teachers want what is best for the child and would love to work with parents towards that goal.

Yes and no. Many teachers get it, but many do not. This is understandable, mind you, but what is usually the case is that each fulfills a role and each has a perception about those roles. Many times teachers, at their most beneficent, may see parents as an extension of their professional prestige, rather than a truly transdisciplinarian approach.

As has been the case since the early professionalization in the 19th cecntury, teachers used parents to satisfy their professional yearnings.

Then again, as is also the case, parents used teachers for their beneit.

Individually, it's usually interesting to see bureaucratic turf wars in action. I grew up in the so-called parent movement and got to see many confrontations up close and personal. When I moved into the education field as a student, I tended to clash with my fellow students and the education professors over how teachers were viewing parental involvement and parental rights. These days, I'm stuck between the disability rights movement, the parent movement, the teachers, and service providers.

To a significant respect, I'm immensely skeptical about the claim that teachers want and value parental involvement. It's most often parental involvement to benefit teachers rather than parents.

 

[bg85]

it's easy to leave parents out because it was never intended to let them in....without intending to sound too conspiratorial, our education system is intended to be run by the state, for the benefit of the state and our economy at large

our government takes a very "macro" approach to education

in any event, common core is bull****.... it's founding was corrupt, it's institution was corrupt, and it has no option but to produce corrupt results that are contrary to the sales pitch that was given.

hell, when i found out that the 2 leading opponents to common core standards were the ONLY 2 educational content experts on the common core validation committee...I knew something fishy was going on.

do you happen to know what their objections were?

 

[bg85]

A big concern that I have as a parent is that teachers are in such a rush to cover everything they need to for the test that they are not covering anything well. My daughter's seventh grade math class is doing things that I know I did not do until high school. They are going so fast through the book that I feel like the students aren't understanding any of it before the teacher move on to the next thing. I understand the teachers concerns about covering everything but what good does it do to cover something if the students don't understand it?

maybe they're farther along in math than you were at that age because our schools and educational standards have improved since you were in school.

 

[Layla_Z]

maybe they're farther along in math than you were at that age because our schools and educational standards have improved since you were in school.

Perhaps, and if so that's terrific. However I don't think that is the case. As a parent and a teacher I see many of the kids struggling to keep up. It's seems great to say you're covering algebra in 7th grade but it's not great if the students aren't understanding the material.

 

[bg85]

Perhaps, and if so that's terrific. However I don't think that is the case. As a parent and a teacher I see many of the kids struggling to keep up. It's seems great to say you're covering algebra in 7th grade but it's not great if the students aren't understanding the material.

why do you think students in this country have so much harder of a time learning algebra than kids of similar ages in other countries?

also: is it a bad thing that the curriculum is challenging?

 

[Layla_Z]

why do you think students in this country have so much harder of a time learning algebra than kids of similar ages in other countries?

The problem is that teachers move through the material too fast in an effort to cover everything that will be on the end of year tests. The teachers have no flexibility. They may realize their students didn't master the material but they don't feel they can take the time to go over it again.

 

[Layla_Z]

why do you think students in this country have so much harder of a time learning algebra than kids of similar ages in other countries?

also: is it a bad thing that the curriculum is challenging?

Challenging is good, it's great but there is such a thing as too challenging.

 

[Bodi]

Yesterday during our Thanksgiving gathering I learned that they are no longer teaching the cursive alphabet in our public schools. Reason, because it isn't something that is met with standardized testing. I was shocked. How are these kids going to read our founding documents and other manuscripts? Will it take a computer program to decipher it for them? My granddaughter, a junior in high school, writes in cursive. A new kid in her chemistry class asked to borrow her notes. When he saw they were in cursive he gave them back to her because he could not read cursive handwriting. So any of you with kids and grandkids currently in elementary/middle school may want to consider printing that note you include in that birthday card. There's a good chance he/she won't be able to read it otherwise. Because if it is something that some elite group of yahoos doesn't think is important, it is dismissed and evidently there are enough sheeple educators in the system that go along with it.

Why do we need cursive in today's day and age?

We don't.

 

[Bodi]

why do you think students in this country have so much harder of a time learning algebra than kids of similar ages in other countries?

Care to share as to why?

 

[bg85]

Care to share as to why?

i was asking her why.

i don't really know why although if i had to guess, i'd say it's a cultural issue. too many regions of the country simply do not place enough value on education and choose to treat the schools/teachers as the problem rather than actually work to improve outcomes for kids. in other areas of the country, we have some of the top ranked public schools in the world (see Fairfax County, VA and other wealthy public school systems in areas with high educational standards) and i think the reason for that is simply that the kids are held to a higher standard by their schools and also that parental involvement is relatively high.

just my opinion though based on observations i've made living in 4 very different regions of the country.

 

[The Mark]

Why do we need cursive in today's day and age?

We don't.

it's useful for....signatures?

 

[Bodi]

it's useful for....signatures?

But that is just a scribble, in reality.

 

[The Mark]

But that is just a scribble, in reality.

Mine tries to be cursive at first, but just trails off at the end....

 

[Bodi]

Mine tries to be cursive at first, but just trails off at the end....

I get my first letter great and then there is something but not even I can tell what it is... :lol:

 

[lizzie]

Why do we need cursive in today's day and age?

We don't.

I personally think we do. Not because of any additional need for intellectual pursuits, but because I believe that just the action of cursive script writing is good for the creative part of the mind. It flows and is graceful in form, and I think that just the action involved tends to help people have creative and associative thought processes.

 

[Bodi]

I personally think we do. Not because of any additional need for intellectual pursuits, but because I believe that just the action of cursive script writing is good for the creative part of the mind. It flows and is graceful in form, and I think that just the action involved tends to help people have creative and associative thought processes.

Maybe in an art class then?

 

[vesper]

Why do we need cursive in today's day and age?

We don't.

So you don't think it is important for children to learn the cursive alphabet in order to read historical documents or even a friggen wedding invitation written in calligraphy or a note from a parent or grandparent? Sorry I see that as a great loss.

The only reason it was eliminated is because it is not something that is required to be tested under standardized testing. Teachers only teach these days to the test which in itself is deplorable.

So here's my beef. I want the standardized testings stopped. I want teachers to give the children an education not teach them how to take friggin tests.

I want to see states create good standards within their own states and not be forced to do so under the federal government using a backdoor to influence states to accept the same standards by hanging a carrot on a stick with billions in funding attached through Race to the Top to conform to such standards during an economic downturn when every state was hurting for funding. And in first signing onto Race to the Top, they got to forego No Child Left Behind only to find out Common Core is No Child Left Behind on steroids when it comes to standardized testing. How we got to this point just pisses me off.

You know I have a great respect for those who enter the profession of teaching and do it well. No matter what background a child comes from, good teachers when given the opportunity do make a difference. Unfortunately, if all they do is teach to the test much of that opportunity is lost. Today in our society some kids may really need a hug and a teacher can no longer provide that. Some are so needy for affection as I have witnessed on several occasions being invited to read to the students. I always volunteered, took off work, to be able to go and read to the K-2nd grades. It started when my kids were in school and has continued with my grandchildren being invited to multiple districts within my state. Once you volunteer, they seem to call you back often during book fairs. They can't get close enough to you. They want to sit on your lap. They want to hug you but you aren't allowed to encourage any such contact. It's such a damn shame because many need a hug. But because of the amoral society we now live something like a hug can no longer be allowed.

It's time to let states rally to produce improved standards void of this feckless standardized testing.

As far as this new math goes, only a fool would throw years of tested successful methods away and replace it with something that hasn't been proved, and that many children can not get help from home because their parents don't understand it. Hell some teachers don't! That is about as asinine as it comes.

While I want to see teachers free to teach and not under the burden of producing test results, I also want to see an honest conversation occur about the Department Education that is more about teachers' pensions, pay and perks rather than the education of our children. It shouldn't take any district in this country countless years of expensive litigation to remove a bad teacher/professor. I shouldn't be on the hook for Cadillac healthcare and pensions through my taxpayer dollars that are greater than most can achieve for themselves. It's insane.

Rant off!

 

[lizzie]

Maybe in an art class then?

Well, maybe so, but I think it's a good practice just on general principle. Writing letters, writing poetry, journaling, etc. As I said, not for any intellectual purposes, but just for the personal effects it can have on the mind. Maybe it's a girl thing.

 

[imagep]

So you don't think it is important for children to learn the cursive alphabet in order to read historical documents or even a friggen wedding invitation written in calligraphy or a note from a parent or grandparent? Sorry I see that as a great loss.

The only reason it was eliminated is because it is not something that is required to be tested under standardized testing. Teachers only teach these days to the test which in itself is deplorable.

So here's my beef. I want the standardized testings stopped. I want teachers to give the children an education not teach them how to take friggin tests.

I want to see states create good standards within their own states and not be forced to do so under the federal government using a backdoor to influence states to accept the same standards by hanging a carrot on a stick with billions in funding attached through Race to the Top to conform to such standards during an economic downturn when every state was hurting for funding. And in first signing onto Race to the Top, they got to forego No Child Left Behind only to find out Common Core is No Child Left Behind on steroids when it comes to standardized testing. How we got to this point just pisses me off.

You know I have a great respect for those who enter the profession of teaching and do it well. No matter what background a child comes from, good teachers when given the opportunity do make a difference. Unfortunately, if all they do is teach to the test much of that opportunity is lost. Today in our society some kids may really need a hug and a teacher can no longer provide that. Some are so needy for affection as I have witnessed on several occasions being invited to read to the students. I always volunteered, took off work, to be able to go and read to the K-2nd grades. It started when my kids were in school and has continued with my grandchildren being invited to multiple districts within my state. Once you volunteer, they seem to call you back often during book fairs. They can't get close enough to you. They want to sit on your lap. They want to hug you but you aren't allowed to encourage any such contact. It's such a damn shame because many need a hug. But because of the amoral society we now live something like a hug can no longer be allowed.

It's time to let states rally to produce improved standards void of this feckless standardized testing.

As far as this new math goes, only a fool would throw years of tested successful methods away and replace it with something that hasn't been proved, and that many children can not get help from home because their parents don't understand it. Hell some teachers don't! That is about as asinine as it comes.

While I want to see teachers free to teach and not under the burden of producing test results, I also want to see an honest conversation occur about the Department Education that is more about teachers' pensions, pay and perks rather than the education of our children. It shouldn't take any district in this country countless years of expensive litigation to remove a bad teacher/professor. I shouldn't be on the hook for Cadillac healthcare and pensions through my taxpayer dollars that are greater than what I myself can achieve. It's insane.

Rant off!

So you blindly trust government employees to do their job with no standards and no accountability? That's mighty nice of you.

I suspect that if we outlawed testing today, in a few years, when we start noticing that our kids STILL aren't learning much in school (which is guaranteed, as they have never learned as much as us old folks think they should), that we would be demanding to have some sort of educational standards that are objectively measurable - like standardized testing.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

So you blindly trust government employees to do their job with no standards and no accountability? That's mighty nice of you.

I suspect that if we outlawed testing today, in a few years, when we start noticing that our kids STILL aren't learning much in school (which is guaranteed, as they have never learned as much as us old folks think they should), that we would be demanding to have some sort of educational standards that are objectively measurable - like standardized testing.

Who said anything about outlawing tests?

 

[imagep]

I personally think we do. Not because of any additional need for intellectual pursuits, but because I believe that just the action of cursive script writing is good for the creative part of the mind. It flows and is graceful in form, and I think that just the action involved tends to help people have creative and associative thought processes.

I think we do also, but it comes down to prioritizing.

When we expect children to learn more and more, but we fail to provide the resources for them to learn more and more (smaller classes, after school tutoring, longer school year, or whatever you think it would take), we have to prioritize, and everytime we add a new something to the list, something else will have to drop off.

In today's day, which is more important on the job, learning to use a computer (type), or learning to write cursive? I would think that they probably both take about the same amount of time.

 

[Bodi]

Well, maybe so, but I think it's a good practice just on general principle. Writing letters, writing poetry, journaling, etc. As I said, not for any intellectual purposes, but just for the personal effects it can have on the mind.

We can do all that with printing so I am not all that bothered... lots of things get replaced or tossed aside as we move forward. *shrugs*

Maybe it's a girl thing.

Maybe... :lol:

 

[imagep]

Who said anything about outlawing tests?

No one, thank God.

That was hypothetical.

 

[imagep]

Perhaps, and if so that's terrific. However I don't think that is the case. As a parent and a teacher I see many of the kids struggling to keep up. It's seems great to say you're covering algebra in 7th grade but it's not great if the students aren't understanding the material.

Which is the reason that I keep suggesting that the future of our education system is in computerized learning, so that each student can learn at his/her own pace, without holding back others, and without becoming board.

The primary role of the teacher, in tomorrows schools, should be a mentor, not a presenter of information.

 

[lizzie]

I today's day, which is more important on the job, learning to use a computer (type), or learning to write cursive? I would think that they probably both take about the same amount of time.

Well, back when I was in high school, we did both. I took two years of typing, and have been writing cursive since age 7. I'm not sure that we can't be adequately teaching both. It's not as if it takes years to learn cursive. Iirc, we learned it in 2nd grade.