9 replies to this topic

[PERM BANNED]

So I've seen the common core criteria issue in the news a lot lately.  I guess the GOP governor of Indiana was the first to block its implementation.  I'll admit that I'm not very well read on the issue, but what is the opposition to it?  It seems having a unified criteria that all schools must touch seems like a great idea.  It will help assure that every student is presented with the material necessary to be well-rounded and competitive when they move on to college, trade-school or right into the work force.

 

So long as the agenda isn't hi-jacked to include politically correct nonsense (like an even amount of time to "insert race/culture" history to topics like American history or world history) I don't see how it's an issue and why someone should oppose it.  Again, this isn't an issue I'm well versed on (hence why I bring it up here) but so long as states and localities have some autonomy on how they present the material with space left available for subjects important to that district, this seems like a great idea to me.  It would do much to start holding teachers and students accountable and remove the plethora of excuses as to why some areas perform poorly compared to their peers.

[wedjat]

Remind me again, how does race/culture history not pertain to american or world history? You're only interested in the white folk history? I see how unbiased that is...rolls eyes.

[PERM BANNED]

I had to click the reveal button.  Anyway, I'll humor you.  I don't care what the color or culture of someone is.   If they did something important, they should be mentioned.  We shouldn't exclude people in order to fill in special attention to people because of the color of their skin or some other arbitrary trait.  If we quit making a point of people's differences, we'll see them as just people and can celebrate what they did, not their physical appearance or area where they were born from. 

 

But thanks for the thought provoking discussion on the topic at hand. I thought for a second there you might try to find something I said and distort it to fit some infantile ideal that doesn't stand up to intellectual scrutiny. 

[artcinco]

Michelle Malkin has the facts about Common Core every parent in America needs to know!

[wedjat]

I had to click the reveal button.  Anyway, I'll humor you.  I don't care what the color or culture of someone is.   If they did something important, they should be mentioned.  We shouldn't exclude people in order to fill in special attention to people because of the color of their skin or some other arbitrary trait.  If we quit making a point of people's differences, we'll see them as just people and can celebrate what they did, not their physical appearance or area where they were born from. 

 

But thanks for the thought provoking discussion on the topic at hand. I thought for a second there you might try to find something I said and distort it to fit some infantile ideal that doesn't stand up to intellectual scrutiny. 

Actually, you'd be excluding people simply based on their race or culture because you wouldn't deem them important. Do you think the civil rights/slavery era was unimportant simply because of their skin color? You can't understand that? Interesting.

[TAP]

One of my good friends consulted with NY State on Common Core standards. For me it;s very well thought out and addresses the underlying issues in the school education system well. It is supposed to work in such a way that testing is minor, and if implemented properly over the year, students will be more than prepared for the state tests. The trouble is that there is so much pressure on schools to get good test results that they still go crazy on test prep etc and the point is lost. My daughter's school had the best scores in NY state last year (yeah, humblebrag) and even they went crazy with pressure for tests.

[PERM BANNED]

Thanks for the response, Tap.  Being math is your field, what do you think of methods common core teaches students to do simple arithmetic?  I've only seen those images floating on facebook, but I have no idea the method they're trying to use to teach kids to add and subtract.

[Zimbochick]

https://www.youtube....xBClx01jc#t=135

 

http://www.commoncoremovie.com/

[TAP]

Thanks for the response, Tap.  Being math is your field, what do you think of methods common core teaches students to do simple arithmetic?  I've only seen those images floating on facebook, but I have no idea the method they're trying to use to teach kids to add and subtract.

 

I think they are good. I can do it the 'quick' way but it's not how I really think about it. For example, I always do mental subtraction as reverse addition which is common core. I can 'carry'  in my head but it's not really how I think about it. So those online examples all over are really BS in my opinion - it's people complaining that kids aren't being taught the mindless way they know it, and are actually being taught to think.

[TAP]

But have to say the question of how to teach arithmetic best is basically unanswerable. Depends on the person, and it's extremely skewed by societal attitude and by what really matters. We all carry around incredibly powerful computers which can be used to make phone calls - they do really complicated arithmetic really quickly which is great, but how do you make sure the user has enough number sense to know the answer makes sense? I don't think anyone knows.