Common Core

[Thegrayghost1966]

I know this is a daycare forum but. I follow a Facebook page that is against Common Core. I am sure you have heard, depending on where you live, things such as kids having to pass a reading test in 3rd grade or be held back. Parents have no say, no pass, no 4th grade. Each 3rd grade teacher, in my state, must make a portfolio on each 3rd grader. If a child doesn't pass the test it is possible that with that portfolio they could appeal and if the child meets certain requirements could go on to 4th grade. There is lots of talk about parents opting their children out of testing. Anyway, there was something posted on this Facebook page from Child Care Aware. Could this trickle down to daycare providers?

Before I chose to stay home and get my daycare license I worked in a public school. Last year I saw Kindergarteners being made to do things most weren't developmentally ready to do. Frustrated teachers, frustrated children and little learning from it.

Please, if you aren't up on Common Core, read all about it. For the record, my state has chosen to not call it Common Core but when it is all said and done, it is the exact same as Common Core. Oh and here is the link to the Child Care Aware.

http://usa.childcareaware.org/sites/default/files/default_site_pages/2013/2013_public_policy_agendainbrief_032113_0.pdf

[Annalee]

I know this is a daycare forum but. I follow a Facebook page that is against Common Core. I am sure you have heard, depending on where you live, things such as kids having to pass a reading test in 3rd grade or be held back. Parents have no say, no pass, no 4th grade. Each 3rd grade teacher, in my state, must make a portfolio on each 3rd grader. If a child doesn't pass the test it is possible that with that portfolio they could appeal and if the child meets certain requirements could go on to 4th grade. There is lots of talk about parents opting their children out of testing. Anyway, there was something posted on this Facebook page from Child Care Aware. Could this trickle down to daycare providers?

Before I chose to stay home and get my daycare license I worked in a public school. Last year I saw Kindergarteners being made to do things most weren't developmentally ready to do. Frustrated teachers, frustrated children and little learning from it.

Please, if you aren't up on Common Core, read all about it. For the record, my state has chosen to not call it Common Core but when it is all said and done, it is the exact same as Common Core. Oh and here is the link to the Child Care Aware.

http://usa.childcareaware.org/sites/...f_032113_0.pdf

Sadly, I think it already has trickled down to daycare. I do not like common core, either. I haven't heard about the portfolio for third graders in my state, but I have a 4th and 6th grader of my own and both are constantly telling me if they are not proficient on three of the four subjects on TCAP (which is a week long testing venture that happens every April) they will not move to the next grade. Even though I feel my children will pass the TCAP, that is too much stress to place on students. I feel testing is NOT an accurate way to test all students knowledge, but common core is built around out of the box thinking/testing.

[Thegrayghost1966]

Sadly, it isn't a way to test all students. I have a 7th and 9th grader and they both struggle with test taking and always have. Kids can't be kids anymore but must endure the stress of adults.

[Jack Sprat]

I like CC in that it does encourage deeper thinking, understanding that numbers are more then just numbers that they actually represent something, and a broader vocabulary.


However!!!! It is not for every child. It's no better then NCLB. Once again I feel people are trying to put a child in a square when they may fit better in a circle or sphere haha! Our district is spending an insane amount of money and time preparing for CC. I haven't heard about the portfolio for 3rd grade in our state. I will ask dcm who is 3rd grade teacher.

[Annalee]

I am all for learning and going deeper with thinking but when a 4th grade teacher tells me if a student can prove 2 + 2 is 5, then the answer will be 5, I am thinking WHAT????? :confused:

[Jack Sprat]

I am all for learning and going deeper with thinking but when a 4th grade teacher tells me if a student can prove 2 + 2 is 5, then the answer will be 5, I am thinking WHAT????? :confused:

I do agree! For us as adults its hard to think that way. I think its going to create a lot of struggles at home as well. How can parents help kids with homework (which is increasing due to CC) if they weren't taught that way.

Here is a math problem from a 1st grader doing CC.

Nicky counted 8 blue birds. She counted 7 yellow birds. Which addition sentence shows how many birds Nicky counted in all?
a) 10+8=18
b) 10+7=17
c) 10+6=16
d) 10+5=15

It wants the child to understand that 15 can be reached by different methods. Now this for the average student may be okay. But, a child with learning issues this is going to send them for a loop at least it did with the kids I worked with.

I understand what you are saying! Please remember its legislation that need to hear the concerns, as well as teachers. Honestly, though the teachers are probably doing/teaching the way they have been told teach. The CC way.

[Annalee]

I do agree! For us as adults its hard to think that way. I think its going to create a lot of struggles at home as well. How can parents help kids with homework (which is increasing due to CC) if they weren't taught that way.

Here is a math problem from a 1st grader doing CC.

Nicky counted 8 blue birds. She counted 7 yellow birds. Which addition sentence shows how many birds Nicky counted in all?
a) 10+8=18
b) 10+7=17
c) 10+6=16
d) 10+5=15

It wants the child to understand that 15 can be reached by different methods. Now this for the average student may be okay. But, a child with learning issues this is going to send them for a loop at least it did with the kids I worked with.

I understand what you are saying! Please remember its legislation that need to hear the concerns, as well as teachers. Honestly, though the teachers are probably doing/teaching the way they have been told teach. The CC way.

Yes I agree and I have found legislation (because I think it is becoming a national thing) is a no-win situation just like QRIS has been since it is a law now as well. The teachers here have been under scrutiny and many good teachers have retired/quit due to them being accountable for a curriculum that is difficult for them to teach as is for the children to learn. Plus teachers are getting graded themselves for this common core teaching as well....some do well, but some do not and oft times it is due to the different learning styles, NOT true representation of the teacher's ability to teach.

[spud912]

What I don't like about the common core is that it prevents the teachers from teaching a variety of subjects. I understand and know that in order to compete with the rest of the world, our math and literacy skills really need improvement. However, this is at the expense of social studies and sciences (not to mention the other subjects: foreign languages, music, art, physical education, etc.). Not everyone is going to come out of school looking for a job in math or literacy, so we need to better prepare these children for the real world in a more well-rounded manner.

I have a friend who teaches 2nd grade and they only have 30 minutes per day where they can teach social studies OR science and it has to include a literacy aspect. On Thursdays, it is a half-day, so she can't do the 30 minutes then. So basically, the students receive maybe 1 hour of social studies and 1 hour of science in the entire week, both of which are spent writing. She said she goes all year without doing any science experiments because she simply does not have time. I have a degree in sciences in I find that absurd! The United States' professional jobs NEEDS more people with science degrees!

[Thegrayghost1966]

My kids were brought up in a school that did Math Investigations aka TERC. Also known as fuzzy math. It DID NOT give my children a good foundation in math. My daughter has almost failed Algebra first semester. Now granted she has always struggled in math and I often wonder if it was because of the way she was taught. I will never forget her telling me once, "Mom, I will have a calculator one day." I said, "really, you want to see the back of mommy's checkbook where I don't use a calculator." She was a tally mark queen. Slowly and quietly that math program was fazed out in our public schools and I am sure it is because kids weren't performing like they should with it and parents complained. I say learn the basics and algorithms first and discover to understand it better later. I was blessed that both my kids had teachers that taught the multiplication tables cause some teachers using fuzzy math didn't! This is my problem with Common Core! Trying to force a kid to be a math wiz that isn't. My daughter is an incredible dancer and very artistic but sadly if she can't pass the math stuff, she may never attend a college and achieving her dreams of being a choreographer! Not to mention she feels she is stupid because she struggles and needs so much extra help to understand what she may never understand.

[Annalee]

My kids were brought up in a school that did Math Investigations aka TERC. Also known as fuzzy math. It DID NOT give my children a good foundation in math. My daughter has almost failed Algebra first semester. Now granted she has always struggled in math and I often wonder if it was because of the way she was taught. I will never forget her telling me once, "Mom, I will have a calculator one day." I said, "really, you want to see the back of mommy's checkbook where I don't use a calculator." She was a tally mark queen. Slowly and quietly that math program was fazed out in our public schools and I am sure it is because kids weren't performing like they should with it and parents complained. I say learn the basics and algorithms first and discover to understand it better later. I was blessed that both my kids had teachers that taught the multiplication tables cause some teachers using fuzzy math didn't! This is my problem with Common Core! Trying to force a kid to be a math wiz that isn't. My daughter is an incredible dancer and very artistic but sadly if she can't pass the math stuff, she may never attend a college and achieving her dreams of being a choreographer! Not to mention she feels she is stupid because she struggles and needs so much extra help to understand what she may never understand.

I think the dropout rate will increase with common core for this very reason.

[craftymissbeth]

I'm all for helping children discover new ways of thinking, but I think it's incredibly important to let them choose the methods that work for them. My son is in first grade and his math worksheets have been the exact same concept all year long. Super simple addition problems (like sums that are 10 or less), no subtraction whatsoever, and every problem has to be figured out in the tradition _ + _ = _ AND this weird circle thing where he has circles... it's easier to explain in a picture...

2 + 4 = 6
OO|OOOO

He just draws a line to show what the equation is. Literally every single math worksheet has been like this. He's in 1st grade and starting to STRUGGLE because soooo bored! He understands what they're working on but he's totally lost interest.

[Lucy]

I'm all for helping children discover new ways of thinking, but I think it's incredibly important to let them choose the methods that work for them. My son is in first grade and his math worksheets have been the exact same concept all year long. Super simple addition problems (like sums that are 10 or less), no subtraction whatsoever, and every problem has to be figured out in the tradition _ + _ = _ AND this weird circle thing where he has circles... it's easier to explain in a picture...

2 + 4 = 6
OO|OOOO

He just draws a line to show what the equation is. Literally every single math worksheet has been like this. He's in 1st grade and starting to STRUGGLE because soooo bored! He understands what they're working on but he's totally lost interest.

It gets worse! I have DC kids in 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The 3rd grader once needed two extra sheets of paper to "show her work", meaning drawing stupid circles!! It's soooo ridiculous!!

And the 5th grader's math problems, although simple in reality, were twisted around to make them as complicated as possible. My husband and I were scratching our heads to figure out what the teacher was after, in terms of a method for achieving a solution.

I'm not impressed so far.