This is an email I (Karen Bracken) received from a Mom
Today, my second grade son sat down to do the CC enVision Math work sheet below. He instantly became frustrated by the visually chaotic display on the page, and started complaining. After calming him down, I attempted to assist him.
At (name removed) my son has mastered triple digit addition and subtraction using the standard algorithm and has moved on to multiplication. So, it was difficult for me to explain why he was now being instructed to start in the tens column, rather than the ones.
Next, he was unclear about when, why, and how he was to use estimation in solving this messy problem. I was confused as well, not seeing estimation being employed in the example, so we decided to skip this.
As you can see, telling my son what I do as often as possible, "just use the standard algorithm and you'll get the right answer," wouldn't work in this instance.
I thought I had explained to him the senseless approach they were expecting him to use, and walked away. I returned, only to find that in all of the unnecessary chaos, he had misunderstood or forgotten the original question and his answers in the far right column were incorrect! I am confident that had this problem been laid out in a more traditional fashion, with adequate room to work the problem using his choice of the standards algorithm, he would have gotten the final answers correct.
Common Core fuzzy math often needlessly scrambles the brain. It requires convoluted approaches, which create more opportunity for error. It keeps kids standing in place, turning in circles, rather than allowing them to advance to higher skill levels in arithmetic.
At (name removed) my son has mastered triple digit addition and subtraction using the standard algorithm and has moved on to multiplication. So, it was difficult for me to explain why he was now being instructed to start in the tens column, rather than the ones.
Next, he was unclear about when, why, and how he was to use estimation in solving this messy problem. I was confused as well, not seeing estimation being employed in the example, so we decided to skip this.
As you can see, telling my son what I do as often as possible, "just use the standard algorithm and you'll get the right answer," wouldn't work in this instance.
I thought I had explained to him the senseless approach they were expecting him to use, and walked away. I returned, only to find that in all of the unnecessary chaos, he had misunderstood or forgotten the original question and his answers in the far right column were incorrect! I am confident that had this problem been laid out in a more traditional fashion, with adequate room to work the problem using his choice of the standards algorithm, he would have gotten the final answers correct.
Common Core fuzzy math often needlessly scrambles the brain. It requires convoluted approaches, which create more opportunity for error. It keeps kids standing in place, turning in circles, rather than allowing them to advance to higher skill levels in arithmetic.
Librarian from Tennessee Speaks Out
I (Karen Bracken) recently did a presentation in Tennessee on Common Core. In the audience a guest (elementary school librarian) told the group that elementary kids in her school are being forced to read technical books instead of stories and they don't like it. They said the books are boring and they are losing interest in reading. The Librarian said she was instructed to tell the kids they must learn how to read these manuals if they expect to get a job at Volkswagen (VW has a facility in TN). This clearly indicated several reasons for concern to me. 1. Our children will lose interest in reading when the material is boring 2. It is clear are children are being trained to work not educated. I also feel our children's future career will be determined for them by the data collected instead of our children exploring and deciding their own future. She also stated that kids were not only required to get the right answer on a math problem they had to explain how they got the answer. And if they did not use the prescribed method of getting to the correct answer they would be marked wrong…even if the math result was correct.
Concerned Mom in GA - This story is shocking but not surprising
Please read this letter from a Georgia mom.
A MOM’S CONCERNS ABOUT COMMON CORE NATIONAL STANDARDS CURRICULUM
I am a mother of two amazing little girls ages 8 and 10 and I am extremely concerned about the use of Common Core in our schools. Like many other busy parents, my first introduction to the dramatic changes Common Core Standards would actually impose was at the open house at our children’s school. As the new methods were described, my husband and I quickly became “uncomfortable” and soon noticed that we were not alone. In fact, the majority of parents appeared to be caught off -guard and very surprised as well. Needless to say, we all had a number of questions and concerns particularly about the way our children would now be learning math. At the time I don’t think many of us (teachers included) truly knew what we were getting into – all were assured “this will be a good thing”. However, many were disturbed not only by the format itself, but by the fact that we were just being presented with this information now. No such details had ever been discussed before nor were we ever given the opportunity to openly debate anything regarding this curriculum prior to its implementation. Under the circumstances and left with no other available options, we did our best to approach it with an open mind and tested the waters together. Now, the school year is almost over and our experience with Common Core has been anything BUT good - We are angry and we are worried; and, once again, it would appear that we are not alone.
I believe that parents should have the strongest voice in their child’s education – not bureaucrats. I believe our educational system should be accountable to Georgia tax-payers and Georgia parents – not Washington. And I strongly believe it is wrong and extremely disturbing for the Executive branch to embrace a federal grant that fundamentally changes classroom goals and teaching strategies for our children without fully vetting everything with our local communities and duly elected representatives in the legislature. Whether this decision came from the Governor’s Office or The Department of Education, whoever made it had no constitutional right to dictate this horrible top-down approach to the education of our children and it must not be allowed to continue.
As more information became available about Common Core, I found the volume of contention surrounding it to be even more alarming. As a parent, I have a responsibility to be my children’s advocate and put their best interests first. Therefore, I decided to connect with other parents within our schools community in hopes of opening up a dialogue and sharing information. What happened next was almost as shocking as the Common Core controversy itself – I was called to the Principle’s office. To my amazement, the Principal of my children’s school expressed more of an interest in her disapproval of my contacting other parents and sharing information than in the now exposed flaws of the curriculum. In her words, she stated that she “wanted to make sure I wasn’t starting some kind of grassroots movement” and informed me that I was not to utilize any of the parents email address from our school or question any of the teachers regarding their professional opinions as educators about anything regarding Common Core. She then supported this by explaining that she and the staff were employees of the state and therefore their loyalties, efforts, support and unwavering commitment would be to implementing this curriculum regardless of how good or bad it may be. I don’t think there is even a word to describe how mortified I was to know that the top priorities of my children’s head educator were not dedicated to the quality of their education nor to the concerns of their parents but rather to satisfying the desires of bureaucrats in Washington – I found this to be extremely chilling.
In short, Common Core is flawed on too many levels to describe here. Not only is it destroying the achievement standards of our students and dumbing down our entire educational system but in its wake it is also leaving our budgets destroyed, our schools non-transparent, our privacy violated, and our children frustrated and confused. According to many experts, our children will now be 2 years behind in math. Algebra is pushed to 9th grade, division postponed to 6th grade and multiplication delayed until 5th grade! In the past, my second grader would have moved on to multiplication this year. However she spent the entire year going backwards and “re-learning” how to add and subtract via Common Core. Instead of adding the ones first, carrying the tens and so on, she now had to learn how to add and subtract by grouping the highest denomination of ten first and working backwards. For example the sum of 17 + 14 is now determined by grouping all of the 10’s first and then adding the 1’s.
The work they need to show looks something like this:
17 + 14 = ?
10 +10 = 20 ( group the 10’s and add them first)
7 + 4 = 11 (next, add the 1’s – but 11 can be divided into another grouping of ten so…)
10 + 1 (revise the grouping made my adding 7 + 4 to reflect the additional grouping of 10)
20 +10 + 1 ( the equation now becomes this: all of the 10’s + all of the 1’s)
or
10 + 10 + 10 + 1
30 + 1 = 31
It is cumbersome, it is confusing and it is absurd! They have spent the entire year going backwards and grouping every which way to Sunday without ever moving on. Each time a new strategy is introduced, it is so complicated and confusing it not only brings many of the children to tears, but the school needs to send home a detailed instruction sheet so the parents of second graders can help their children learn to add and subtract. It’s insane!
In closing, please understand me when I say, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to remove Common Core from our schools immediately.
Concerned Parent
A MOM’S CONCERNS ABOUT COMMON CORE NATIONAL STANDARDS CURRICULUM
I am a mother of two amazing little girls ages 8 and 10 and I am extremely concerned about the use of Common Core in our schools. Like many other busy parents, my first introduction to the dramatic changes Common Core Standards would actually impose was at the open house at our children’s school. As the new methods were described, my husband and I quickly became “uncomfortable” and soon noticed that we were not alone. In fact, the majority of parents appeared to be caught off -guard and very surprised as well. Needless to say, we all had a number of questions and concerns particularly about the way our children would now be learning math. At the time I don’t think many of us (teachers included) truly knew what we were getting into – all were assured “this will be a good thing”. However, many were disturbed not only by the format itself, but by the fact that we were just being presented with this information now. No such details had ever been discussed before nor were we ever given the opportunity to openly debate anything regarding this curriculum prior to its implementation. Under the circumstances and left with no other available options, we did our best to approach it with an open mind and tested the waters together. Now, the school year is almost over and our experience with Common Core has been anything BUT good - We are angry and we are worried; and, once again, it would appear that we are not alone.
I believe that parents should have the strongest voice in their child’s education – not bureaucrats. I believe our educational system should be accountable to Georgia tax-payers and Georgia parents – not Washington. And I strongly believe it is wrong and extremely disturbing for the Executive branch to embrace a federal grant that fundamentally changes classroom goals and teaching strategies for our children without fully vetting everything with our local communities and duly elected representatives in the legislature. Whether this decision came from the Governor’s Office or The Department of Education, whoever made it had no constitutional right to dictate this horrible top-down approach to the education of our children and it must not be allowed to continue.
As more information became available about Common Core, I found the volume of contention surrounding it to be even more alarming. As a parent, I have a responsibility to be my children’s advocate and put their best interests first. Therefore, I decided to connect with other parents within our schools community in hopes of opening up a dialogue and sharing information. What happened next was almost as shocking as the Common Core controversy itself – I was called to the Principle’s office. To my amazement, the Principal of my children’s school expressed more of an interest in her disapproval of my contacting other parents and sharing information than in the now exposed flaws of the curriculum. In her words, she stated that she “wanted to make sure I wasn’t starting some kind of grassroots movement” and informed me that I was not to utilize any of the parents email address from our school or question any of the teachers regarding their professional opinions as educators about anything regarding Common Core. She then supported this by explaining that she and the staff were employees of the state and therefore their loyalties, efforts, support and unwavering commitment would be to implementing this curriculum regardless of how good or bad it may be. I don’t think there is even a word to describe how mortified I was to know that the top priorities of my children’s head educator were not dedicated to the quality of their education nor to the concerns of their parents but rather to satisfying the desires of bureaucrats in Washington – I found this to be extremely chilling.
In short, Common Core is flawed on too many levels to describe here. Not only is it destroying the achievement standards of our students and dumbing down our entire educational system but in its wake it is also leaving our budgets destroyed, our schools non-transparent, our privacy violated, and our children frustrated and confused. According to many experts, our children will now be 2 years behind in math. Algebra is pushed to 9th grade, division postponed to 6th grade and multiplication delayed until 5th grade! In the past, my second grader would have moved on to multiplication this year. However she spent the entire year going backwards and “re-learning” how to add and subtract via Common Core. Instead of adding the ones first, carrying the tens and so on, she now had to learn how to add and subtract by grouping the highest denomination of ten first and working backwards. For example the sum of 17 + 14 is now determined by grouping all of the 10’s first and then adding the 1’s.
The work they need to show looks something like this:
17 + 14 = ?
10 +10 = 20 ( group the 10’s and add them first)
7 + 4 = 11 (next, add the 1’s – but 11 can be divided into another grouping of ten so…)
10 + 1 (revise the grouping made my adding 7 + 4 to reflect the additional grouping of 10)
20 +10 + 1 ( the equation now becomes this: all of the 10’s + all of the 1’s)
or
10 + 10 + 10 + 1
30 + 1 = 31
It is cumbersome, it is confusing and it is absurd! They have spent the entire year going backwards and grouping every which way to Sunday without ever moving on. Each time a new strategy is introduced, it is so complicated and confusing it not only brings many of the children to tears, but the school needs to send home a detailed instruction sheet so the parents of second graders can help their children learn to add and subtract. It’s insane!
In closing, please understand me when I say, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to remove Common Core from our schools immediately.
Concerned Parent
PhD from Bulgaria warns us of things to come if we don't wake up many people.
From: "Viktor Kostov"
The end result of the full application of the Common Core will be fully socialized communistic education, entirely controlled by the government.
This is not my partiality for "conservative values." I am speaking from the reality of post-communist Bulgaria (Eastern Europe). The state (government) Ministry of Education is the sole standard and source of ANY thought on the philosophy of education (or lack thereof). Private education is subject to the government's a) permission and b) curriculum. Homeschooling was unheard of until recently.
At a conversation with the chair of the parliamentarian commission on education last year I brought up the idea that the government-issued diploma should not be the sole verification of one's academic achievement. This was a novel idea to the gentleman -- he was sincerely amazed at the notion of a standardized test made up by educators unrelated to the state; and that the purpose of government education should be to provide an alternative for those who choose to, or cannot school their children privately or at home. He and even a "right wing" Bulgarian politician were stunned at the idea that a government school should not be a factory for citizens (as many European states see education).
Homeschooling here (Bulgaria), although now widely debated due to the latest events and our efforts, is still a largely non-existent category in the minds of the general public. The reason for this absence is in the worldview and the perception -- the god of the state provides knowledge for our children. For free. This thinking is a remainder from totalitarianism but is so deeply imbedded in the culture that any thought of education free from government control and intrusion is political and social heresy. And biblical heresy for most Christians here (until the debate started about a year ago with the Child Law).
While America is still relatively far off from fully aligning all education to a centralized government, that is the direction of the Common Core. However, the introduction of a globalist agenda and the push to socialism, so visible under the current federal government, will not let up any time soon in the U.S.
The issue of who controls education is deeply ideological, political, theological, value-based and worldview-based. It is a faith-issue and religious freedom issue. It is even a matter of who do we worship -- God or Caesar.
Viktor Kostov, PhD
The end result of the full application of the Common Core will be fully socialized communistic education, entirely controlled by the government.
This is not my partiality for "conservative values." I am speaking from the reality of post-communist Bulgaria (Eastern Europe). The state (government) Ministry of Education is the sole standard and source of ANY thought on the philosophy of education (or lack thereof). Private education is subject to the government's a) permission and b) curriculum. Homeschooling was unheard of until recently.
At a conversation with the chair of the parliamentarian commission on education last year I brought up the idea that the government-issued diploma should not be the sole verification of one's academic achievement. This was a novel idea to the gentleman -- he was sincerely amazed at the notion of a standardized test made up by educators unrelated to the state; and that the purpose of government education should be to provide an alternative for those who choose to, or cannot school their children privately or at home. He and even a "right wing" Bulgarian politician were stunned at the idea that a government school should not be a factory for citizens (as many European states see education).
Homeschooling here (Bulgaria), although now widely debated due to the latest events and our efforts, is still a largely non-existent category in the minds of the general public. The reason for this absence is in the worldview and the perception -- the god of the state provides knowledge for our children. For free. This thinking is a remainder from totalitarianism but is so deeply imbedded in the culture that any thought of education free from government control and intrusion is political and social heresy. And biblical heresy for most Christians here (until the debate started about a year ago with the Child Law).
While America is still relatively far off from fully aligning all education to a centralized government, that is the direction of the Common Core. However, the introduction of a globalist agenda and the push to socialism, so visible under the current federal government, will not let up any time soon in the U.S.
The issue of who controls education is deeply ideological, political, theological, value-based and worldview-based. It is a faith-issue and religious freedom issue. It is even a matter of who do we worship -- God or Caesar.
Viktor Kostov, PhD
Alabama fighting against progressive propaganda in AP text books
From the www.AUEE.org website:
Textbooks
Dick and Jane are long gone. Now textbooks are filled with national and international agendas. What used to be science fiction, socialist propaganda and new age-like writing is children and student literature. It's so hard to believe that political op eds have taken the place of classic literature.
Children and young adults are being transformed every day by the resources used for teaching in the classrooms. Do you really, really know what they are reading and discussing? If a teacher is a progressive and of liberal intent, the student receives a double whammy.
Look at the Advanced Placement Literature textbook reviews in the adjacent boxes (and they are listed below). I forewarn you that some are vulgar and pornographic. These books align perfectly with Common Core State Standards. They do not align with common sense content. Alabama is on the road to rejecting Common Core by rejecting these problematic textbooks presented to the state by the publishers as appropriate literature.
Refer to this link for a spread sheet with titles and authors of all English Language Arts Textbooks rejected by the State of Alabama. Copy and paste the link to your URL. Go to the link and open the document page.
http://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=14&footer=sections\
You can look at the list below for reviews of 3 of the rejected books. There are other books which the above author reviewed for her minority report, and I will look for them and share them if I can locate them.
Visit this website to see what concerned Alabamians are doing: www.auee.org. See links below for reports on three of the books which were rejected:
http://www.auee.org/textbooks.html
http://www.auee.org/readings-for-writers.html
http://www.auee.org/literature-reading--reacting--writing.html
http://www.auee.org/new-custom-2.html
Textbooks
Dick and Jane are long gone. Now textbooks are filled with national and international agendas. What used to be science fiction, socialist propaganda and new age-like writing is children and student literature. It's so hard to believe that political op eds have taken the place of classic literature.
Children and young adults are being transformed every day by the resources used for teaching in the classrooms. Do you really, really know what they are reading and discussing? If a teacher is a progressive and of liberal intent, the student receives a double whammy.
Look at the Advanced Placement Literature textbook reviews in the adjacent boxes (and they are listed below). I forewarn you that some are vulgar and pornographic. These books align perfectly with Common Core State Standards. They do not align with common sense content. Alabama is on the road to rejecting Common Core by rejecting these problematic textbooks presented to the state by the publishers as appropriate literature.
Refer to this link for a spread sheet with titles and authors of all English Language Arts Textbooks rejected by the State of Alabama. Copy and paste the link to your URL. Go to the link and open the document page.
http://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=14&footer=sections\
You can look at the list below for reviews of 3 of the rejected books. There are other books which the above author reviewed for her minority report, and I will look for them and share them if I can locate them.
Visit this website to see what concerned Alabamians are doing: www.auee.org. See links below for reports on three of the books which were rejected:
http://www.auee.org/textbooks.html
http://www.auee.org/readings-for-writers.html
http://www.auee.org/literature-reading--reacting--writing.html
http://www.auee.org/new-custom-2.html
Another Mom writes to Karen with concerns over Sons math lessons. Kids must solve problems using their prescribed procedure. If they get the correct answer but do not use their prescribed method to answer the problem they will be marked wrong….even though the answer is correct.
I have been fighting my son's math curriculum for years, to no avail!! It is getting harder and harder to teach him at home as he gets older. He says, "But mom, Ms. Smith said I have to do it this way." ARGGHH!!!
Missouri Mom shares Common Core horror story
I first started my crusade against the sick practices in education about four years ago in our community when my son would bring home math with every single correct answer on his math work sheet counted wrong...even though every answer was right. I learned then, that it was about the process, not about the answer. I was perplexed. I had a million questions, but no one would answer my questions. Therefore, I was labeled as one of "those" moms. My son's principal told me that he would not be memorizing any math facts because (and I quote): "To memorize math facts is a waste of brain power. We are a generation of cell phones and calculators, those skills are not needed and it is a waste." I was stunned. I walked away telling my friends that this fight had nothing to do with math. I did not know what it was about then, but I KNEW that it was much bigger than math.
My daughter was punished as a 5th grader for just answering questions like "5x8=40" She was told that she HAD to draw the 40 stick people in order to "SHOW" that she knew what she was doing. She was asked by her teacher, "do you want to do it the old fashioned way, or the RIGHT way?". She was not allowed to be the fastest and most efficient problem solver. She was forced to insult her intelligence and draw silly pictures and "arrays" in order to show she understood the process. Quickly I learned that math was not about numbers any more. It was not about right answers any more. It was about teaching in a way that no parent understood, but many were convinced to "trust" that this new way was so much better. Many (and I will apologize in advance, but it is an accurate depiction of what I believe I see in Missouri and an actual term that is applicable to all that we see right now in our nation) "useful idiots" would parrot the ridiculousness that would just leave me wanting to kick box my way out of those ridiculous "math nights" my school district hosted in an effort to convince parents they knew what they were doing. I was never convinced. In fact I was insulted.
As I started to make more and more noise, the grading system was quickly changed. Every child was all of a sudden getting an "A". People would apologize that my kids did not "get it" but, would tell me that their children were doing better than they had ever done before, they were all of a sudden getting an "A". Heck, everyone was. The honor roll was littering the pages of our newspaper every quarter, yet no one thought that to be odd. Parents were told not to try to help their children because they would only confuse them. The hair on the back on my neck would stand up when school officials would say that to me. My children were in elementary school and I was not an idiot. I COULD help my child, but I quickly learned that was not allowed. I realized at that point that it was more about keeping our children thinking that their parents were not smart enough to help them...they were being taught that we were too old fashioned. They were being taught to value the school and what their teachers were teaching them more than anything they could get at home. It was creepy. Again, it was more than math. I just could not see the whole picture yet.
I pulled my sons out of school when I was told that during my son's free time, that he had for an hour a day, he could not practice the standard algorithm in a workbook that was aligned to the Missouri "Grade Level Expectations" (GLEs). He would come home and tell me that kids were reading Stephen King novels, reading Popular Mechanic, playing on the computer, drawing pictures, doing whatever they wanted if they did not need interventions (which he never did), but they would not allow for him to work in a work book that we practiced in every evening with him to hone his math skills. His teacher was so nervous when she had to tell us not to send the workbook back because it was not allowed. When I would ask her, why she would just very nervously plead with me not to be mad with her, she did not know, nor did she find any harm in it. My husband and I went to the principal and asked why. No answer. We went to the superintendent and asked why. No answer. We wrote letters to the school board and asked why. Never any answers.
Today, the dots have been connected. I see the picture clearly. My school has been piloting the Common Core material for the past three years. The data collection, and the shutting out of parents makes total sense now. I am not a mom who ever believed that I would be home schooling my children. However, what I see happening in our schools is educational malpractice, and I could not live with myself if I did not find a way to make sure that my children got the educational foundation that they deserve. I am certainly not a teacher. I would have never believed that I was equipped to do be their teacher. However, I am convinced that I cannot do them more damage than is being done to millions of children on a daily basis in this country. I am convinced that this mom with the ability to read, and a little common sense is far more equipped to reach my kids than any current day teacher is allowed to with what is being forced upon the teachers in public schools today.
I am sick of the "big business" of education. I am sick of my children being viewed as data. I am sick of their hopes and dreams ignored while they are the guinea pigs in the perpetual experiments in education being conducted every single day at their expense and ours. They have hopes and dreams. They have little beating hearts and souls. They are so much more than the data they are viewed as. They have bright futures if we do not allow for the government and the chosen few to strip those dreams from them. I am honored to stand with you in this fight. I say that we swing for the fences. I won't go down without a valiant fight for my children and yours. Happy to feel like we can make a difference. Happy to stand with you all united for this great cause.
My daughter was punished as a 5th grader for just answering questions like "5x8=40" She was told that she HAD to draw the 40 stick people in order to "SHOW" that she knew what she was doing. She was asked by her teacher, "do you want to do it the old fashioned way, or the RIGHT way?". She was not allowed to be the fastest and most efficient problem solver. She was forced to insult her intelligence and draw silly pictures and "arrays" in order to show she understood the process. Quickly I learned that math was not about numbers any more. It was not about right answers any more. It was about teaching in a way that no parent understood, but many were convinced to "trust" that this new way was so much better. Many (and I will apologize in advance, but it is an accurate depiction of what I believe I see in Missouri and an actual term that is applicable to all that we see right now in our nation) "useful idiots" would parrot the ridiculousness that would just leave me wanting to kick box my way out of those ridiculous "math nights" my school district hosted in an effort to convince parents they knew what they were doing. I was never convinced. In fact I was insulted.
As I started to make more and more noise, the grading system was quickly changed. Every child was all of a sudden getting an "A". People would apologize that my kids did not "get it" but, would tell me that their children were doing better than they had ever done before, they were all of a sudden getting an "A". Heck, everyone was. The honor roll was littering the pages of our newspaper every quarter, yet no one thought that to be odd. Parents were told not to try to help their children because they would only confuse them. The hair on the back on my neck would stand up when school officials would say that to me. My children were in elementary school and I was not an idiot. I COULD help my child, but I quickly learned that was not allowed. I realized at that point that it was more about keeping our children thinking that their parents were not smart enough to help them...they were being taught that we were too old fashioned. They were being taught to value the school and what their teachers were teaching them more than anything they could get at home. It was creepy. Again, it was more than math. I just could not see the whole picture yet.
I pulled my sons out of school when I was told that during my son's free time, that he had for an hour a day, he could not practice the standard algorithm in a workbook that was aligned to the Missouri "Grade Level Expectations" (GLEs). He would come home and tell me that kids were reading Stephen King novels, reading Popular Mechanic, playing on the computer, drawing pictures, doing whatever they wanted if they did not need interventions (which he never did), but they would not allow for him to work in a work book that we practiced in every evening with him to hone his math skills. His teacher was so nervous when she had to tell us not to send the workbook back because it was not allowed. When I would ask her, why she would just very nervously plead with me not to be mad with her, she did not know, nor did she find any harm in it. My husband and I went to the principal and asked why. No answer. We went to the superintendent and asked why. No answer. We wrote letters to the school board and asked why. Never any answers.
Today, the dots have been connected. I see the picture clearly. My school has been piloting the Common Core material for the past three years. The data collection, and the shutting out of parents makes total sense now. I am not a mom who ever believed that I would be home schooling my children. However, what I see happening in our schools is educational malpractice, and I could not live with myself if I did not find a way to make sure that my children got the educational foundation that they deserve. I am certainly not a teacher. I would have never believed that I was equipped to do be their teacher. However, I am convinced that I cannot do them more damage than is being done to millions of children on a daily basis in this country. I am convinced that this mom with the ability to read, and a little common sense is far more equipped to reach my kids than any current day teacher is allowed to with what is being forced upon the teachers in public schools today.
I am sick of the "big business" of education. I am sick of my children being viewed as data. I am sick of their hopes and dreams ignored while they are the guinea pigs in the perpetual experiments in education being conducted every single day at their expense and ours. They have hopes and dreams. They have little beating hearts and souls. They are so much more than the data they are viewed as. They have bright futures if we do not allow for the government and the chosen few to strip those dreams from them. I am honored to stand with you in this fight. I say that we swing for the fences. I won't go down without a valiant fight for my children and yours. Happy to feel like we can make a difference. Happy to stand with you all united for this great cause.
This is a sample of a 5th grade test from a school that uses CSCOPE. This is a 5th grade test taken after viewing a video about 9/11. The mother of this student demanded to see the video and said she was outraged at the content of the video. It basically told kids that the US was at fault for the attack on 9/11 in NY that killed 3,000 people.
UPDATE FROM A TN TEACHER: Remember TN does not have CSCOPE. At least I didn't think we did. "I listened to Glenn Beck about the test and CSCOPE this morning. The video provider Safari Montage that the parent said the test came from is actively used by teachers in (school district removed to protect my source) Schools. It is a web site that has educational videos on it, and you have to subscribe to it."
Teacher resigns because of Common Core. And this is just an example of what is taking place. I have talked to several teachers here in TN that have left teaching and more are trying to find other jobs. They tell me the teachers that like it are teachers that really don't care and will do whatever they are told just to have a job.
| teachers_resignation_letter_my_profession__no_longer_exists.pdf |