Just doing a little unscientific research here.... I'd love to hear what is being said about the new Common Core curriculum adopted by many states. Did your child's school adopt it? What about your area Catholic schools? What is the word on the street in your neck of the woods?
Legislation has been introduced in our state to restore the parent's right to control your child’s education, to end Common Core (CC) in the state, & to eliminate the database on children that the Federal Government is currently building. The Diocese in our state has developed a Catholic Common Core Initiative, which has not been without controversy.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have read, CC is a conglomeration of federal funding, preschool–workforce invasive student tracking, & one-size-fits-all computer-based learning. The standards are academically deficient, the standards will not repair the broken education system, the government is using funding to coerce states into adopting CC, & worst of all, CC has handed the education authority of the states to the federal government.
Most problematic are the 3 philosophical threads which weave through the CC: statism, moral relativism, & progressivism. The statist goals of the CC are implicit in the lockstep uniformity that is the central thesis of the program. Relativism’s influence on the CC is evident in the open-ended & research-based assessment questions & the expansive new student tracking systems, ideas which have been strongly promoted by relativist Howard Gardner. Progressive educator John Dewey argued for standardized curriculum to prevent one student from becoming superior to others & envisioned a workforce filled with people of “politically & socially correct attitudes” who would respond to orders without question. Workforce readiness is one of the CC’s main goals.
I have heard the same thing, and unfortunately, in my region the public and private (including Catholic schools) have all adopted the Common Core standards. My son currently attends kindergarten at our neighborhood public school, but I continue to discern homeschooling (the only reason I haven't taken the plunge is that he's an only child).
DeleteOur Catholic school has adopted it. I have to admit that I don't know enough about it to form an opinion -- educational theory makes my eyes glaze over. All I can say is that our middle school language arts teacher was deeply skeptical about it the last time I spoke with him.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley, and that gave me a lot to think about. Next year my oldest daughter will enter our local public school system for the first time and I am pretty apprehensive about it.
Thanks for sharing, everybody. Our state and diocese have both adopted Common Core. As a teacher in a Catholic school, who has spent the last two years learning the ins and outs of the standards, I can say that they are quite challenging. We've already seen an improvement in critical thinking skills in the building. And as a parent, I know our son, who struggles with Math, has learned new methods for solving word problems. Our diocesan superintendent was on the committee that worked on finalizing what would be included in our state. As for being computer-based, that's not true. We purchased new textbooks last summer and will continue to use them.
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, we have a very vocal group of Catholic parents who have been protesting CC. It's been a little crazy. Our state legislature is currently holding hearings and there has been much dicussion, both for and against. It will be interesting to see what comes from that.
Again, thanks for sharing. It's nice to know that we're not the only area with a little turmoil. ;)
I think there are good points about Common Core, such as the critical thinking. But there are lots of downsides, too. I'm not happy with the amount of worksheets that my kindergartener does. I miss the hands-on learning he had in preschool, when he didn't even realize he was learning. Now my enthusiastic, fun-loving son complains about work,and I fear that he will soon complain about learning. It just seems too one-size-fits-all to me. I also read that it was designed by people in the corporate world, and they didn't even consult early childhood educators when designing the K-3 aspects of the standards. And I have also heard about the hidden agenda that is subtly integrated into Common Core (the moral relativism, etc). So I definitely have my concerns. But we're sticking with public school for the time being.
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