Lies about common core.

This image came up on my Facebook feed. Just the image, not the caption above it. I was incredulous. Why would you take such a simple numerical problem and complicate to to such and extreme. I felt it was stupid and said so.

(By the way, I do get it, it is a counting up method in where you take the smaller number, 12, and add 3 to get to 15, a number where skip counting can be easier, then you add 5 to 15, to get 20, then you add 10 to 20 to get 30, and then you add 2 more to get 32.  Then you simply add all the numbers you added by.  3+5+10+2=20.  It is more of a math puzzle than a math problem, and should not be used to teach math in my opinion.)

So later on today, after a few friends had commented on my status update, I looked at it on my iPad and noticed that it was formatted in a way that the caption, "This is Common Core" above it and a picture of the Lovely Victorian Jackson above it. (Big fan of her comedy, especially from her younger days, not a fan of her poltiticing). 

What upset me this time, is that this "new math" is being presented as common core, when it has nothing to do with
it.  Honestly, and truly, I am sick and tired of people taking things they don't like about school and calling it common core.  Likewise, I am tired of people taking nothing that has anything to do with this government administration, like the price of tea in China, and calling it Obama's fault.  Just sick of it all.  

So with that, I want to present to you some untruths about common core. 

1. Common Core is not worse than a possible Zombie Apocalypse. 
2. Common core is not a akin to Hitler's Youth Corps. 
3. Common core's goal is not to brainwash children, making them as dumb as potatoes in order to make them slaves to government. 
4. Common core is not going to influence political views and cause rampant homosexuality. 
5. Common core does not remove a state's control of education. 
6. Teachers aren't told how to teach, per the image above... just given a list of things to teach... 
7. Common core isn't going to include controversial science curriculum.  It only focuses on English/ language arts and Math. 

I could write more about that, but I'm exhausted thinking about it.  I can't entertain lies that get repeated, and repeated and gets bigger and bigger.  And before you start calling me names, understand that I don't give a rats patootey about common core.  I homeschooled my kids, and they have already said they will homeschool theirs.  

At first glance, I was for common core just because we moved around a lot when the kids were young and in school. We saw that cause gaps in their education that we personally had to fill. I thought common core would remedy that problem.  If homeschoolers has a whole have a big problem with common core, I am willing to look at the issues and decide if they rub me the wrong way, but I have not seen a concrete truthful issue to wrap my brain around yet... just a sky is falling mentality. 

2 comments:

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

What is tested is what is taught. This WILL take autonomy away from the states, and it WILL be applied to homeschoolers down the road. Sure, states can teach other things in addition to CC-aligned materials, but who has time for that? Already schools are testing factories.

We are also not a small and homogenous nation, so we ought allow for diversity of thought as well as diversity of colour and culture. (One could argue that educationally, these things are connected, but that is another post.) I wouldn't want EVERY textbook to be printed in California or Texas and be vanilla-bland. Do we all have to learn the same thing? Are we the Borg that we must all assimilate to *quite* that degree?

I can't say the sky is falling yet and there are a number of conspiracy theories out there, but a growing number of homeschoolers AND public school teachers are speaking out against CC.

Ahermitt said...

... what Susan said.

12 grade year of homeschooling, Finishing Strong

We are almost done with my college prep series. There will still be a video on completing the transcript.    Stay tuned... meanwhile, ...