So.... My little snowflake will be starting pre-k this August, and...

[AHSDawg]

Husband of a teacher. Hater of CC. It makes no sense and I will tell you why. The entire principal of the program is to have EVERYONE fit into the same round peg In this case, the round peg is to be prepared to go to college.

First, not every kid is RIGHT for college. It is, after all, HIGHER learning.

Second, not every kid wants to TRY to go to college. So, there are some kids that are going to fail in high school because they are just too damn stupid or hard headed to actually participate. So, no matter how hard the teacher tries, they do not get that kid to succeed. And for this, the teacher is graded and 'fails' along with that student.

Third, if I have a class full of the smartest fish, the smartest monkey, the smartest cat and the smartest bird.... And, I give them all a test that is to climb that tree over there, no matter how smart that fish is always going to fail... That is what CC does. It makes all kids fit into the same mold and it allows for virtually no gray area.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

Husband of a teacher. Hater of CC. It makes no sense and I will tell you why. The entire principal of the program is to have EVERYONE fit into the same round peg In this case, the round peg is to be prepared to go to college.

First, not every kid is RIGHT for college. It is, after all, HIGHER learning.

Second, not every kid wants to TRY to go to college. So, there are some kids that are going to fail in high school because they are just too damn stupid or hard headed to actually participate. So, no matter how hard the teacher tries, they do not get that kid to succeed. And for this, the teacher is graded and 'fails' along with that student.

Third, if I have a class full of the smartest fish, the smartest monkey, the smartest cat and the smartest bird.... And, I give them all a test that is to climb that tree over there, no matter how smart that fish is always going to fail... That is what CC does. It makes all kids fit into the same mold and it allows for virtually no gray area.

What you described is just school in general.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

We chose to go the private school rout here in Meridian because (among other reasons) they do not teach "common core". Im not even sure I know what common core is but I didn't have to see much for it to scare the **** out of me.

So, I browse fark.com this morning and came across this link: Son remember, simplification is valued over complication. Therefore, 427 - 316 = 111. Oh and Son, common Core is wack, study it out. I then look over the comments section from fark, only to find out I'm a complete dubmass™ for not understanding this concept.


What is the collective thought of the Pack on common core? Looks like the DEBIL! to me.

I dont know what common core is but it scares the **** out of me.

Mmmk

Edit - i have no idea what CC is. However, Ive never been scared of something I knew nothing about.

Our school systems blow. Results speak for themselves

 

[mstateglfr]

Thats some hard hitting investigation- what outrage at lobbyists existing in Washington! Oh how dare lobbyists exist! Why, there couldnt ever be an issue or a few dozen that Malkin agrees with that have benefitted from lobbyists either.

 

[tebmsu97]

My daughter is in 3rd grade here in Louisiana, they have stopped teaching script (her teacher is still working it in which I like). Our schools switched to common core last year, other than a very bad "phase in" it hasn't been the horror show that many make it out to be. Like anything to do with education though, it all depends on the teachers.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

Yeah. I trust that Glenn Beck will get to the bottom of this.....

 

[seshomoru]

I was gonna leave that one alone... Malkin and Beck?

There are some loud and powerful voices that think anything that happens under this administration is painting the country communist red and stealing your liberties with the very guns they want to confiscate. Bush dealt with it toward the end of his presidency in that everything he did was some vast conspiracy to drill for oil in polar bear dens and blow up every country that had a muslim in it. Rational discussion is drowned out by extreme soundbites that can be shared across the country in seconds. Fact is... No Child Left Behind turned out to be a disaster. Common Core may as well, but something had to be tried. But then... waiting for the results (and I mean more than the anecdotal results of a few facebook posts and youtube videos one year into the program) isn't exactly a practice many employ in today's world. If the other guy thought of it, then it probably sucks!

 

[seshomoru]

Common Core starts next year in Madison. I would assume the same for the rest of MS being that it is just passing the legislature...

Rankin County started it this year. Good and bad. As students continue up with more exposure to it, then it should get better. The worst I have heard from my wife is that the local administration changed text books on them two weeks prior the start of school. That was a local issue. She's had a couple of complaints about Common Core, but nothing she doesn't think will be ironed out as she gets more and more kids that have been exposed to it before. Overall, there are some things she really likes as well. There will be some growing pains, but it has actually gone smoother than expected, especially with the rhetoric we hear in the deep south.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

There are some loud and powerful voices that think anything that happens under this administration is painting the country communist red and stealing your liberties with the very guns they want to confiscate. Bush dealt with it toward the end of his presidency in that everything he did was some vast conspiracy to drill for oil in polar bear dens and blow up every country that had a muslim in it. Rational discussion is drowned out by extreme soundbites that can be shared across the country in seconds. Fact is... No Child Left Behind turned out to be a disaster. Common Core may as well, but something had to be tried. But then... waiting for the results (and I mean more than the anecdotal results of a few facebook posts and youtube videos one year into the program) isn't exactly a practice many employ in today's world. If the other guy thought of it, then it probably sucks!

Plus 1.

 

[AHSDawg]

Not when the teacher is actually scored and their contract actually depends on the 'test score' just like the kids.

 

[thatsbaseball]

There is virtually no way an educational program originating in Washington DC in this day and time will not have at least covert social engineering incorporated into its fabric.

 

[AHSDawg]

Common Core began with George W. Bush, for the record. Not saying this to you in particular, just clearing the water. This all began with W's No Child Left Behind that was done nationally after it was done in Texas.

 

[seshomoru]

Haley Barbour totally was trying to indoctrinate our children!

and it looks like he will succeed!

 

[Dog of Tillo]

Correct. It's not right vs left...Neil Bush is gonna make a mint off this, as are the powerbrokers on both sides....so Jeb's pushing the **** out of it(along with open borders). It's just what progressives do.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

There are some loud and powerful voices that think anything that happens under this administration is painting the country communist red and stealing your liberties with the very guns they want to confiscate. Bush dealt with it toward the end of his presidency in that everything he did was some vast conspiracy to drill for oil in polar bear dens and blow up every country that had a muslim in it. Rational discussion is drowned out by extreme soundbites that can be shared across the country in seconds. Fact is... No Child Left Behind turned out to be a disaster. Common Core may as well, but something had to be tried. But then... waiting for the results (and I mean more than the anecdotal results of a few facebook posts and youtube videos one year into the program) isn't exactly a practice many employ in today's world. If the other guy thought of it, then it probably sucks!

Good point about no child left behind. It's not like we are going from some spectacular program into the dumper...it'll probably just be bad in different ways.

 

[BeardoMSU]

Great pieces of journalism*********************

 

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

Common Core is necessary because it increases the rigor

And will hopefully raise expectations for all students state-wide. Personally, I'm a public school supporter because I think it's necessary for my kids to learn how to deal we different situations and people. I think it will benefit them in the real world.

 

[tb2]

Maybe they both suck?

In 1980, the Department of Education was created. Until then all education decisions were run at the state level. Amazingly enough, we still had people go to school. I am not sure how it happened since according to many, nothing existed b/f the federal government.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

In 1980, the Department of Education was created. Until then all education decisions were run at the state level. Amazingly enough, we still had people go to school. I am not sure how it happened since according to many, nothing existed b/f the federal government.

When you're the 50th best state in education, you don't deserve to call the shots at the state level. I want the Feds stepping as much as possible, because we've proven we can't do it on our own.

 

[J. Noble Daggett]

"Also, just for the record, private schools aren't exempt from Common Core, so if you're dead-set against it, you'll have to go the home school route."

How can the federal government control what a private school teaches? Not saying your wrong I just don't understand how such a mandate could be enforced and on what authority?

 

[BigMotherTucker]

What are these results of which you speak? Wait until you're sending your little snowflake off to school for the first time before you judge me for not liking this ******** they're putting out now and calling it "educatuon". The school we've chosen for lil'MotherTucker is proven the best option in Meridian at preparing her for a successful future.

 

[msudawg12]

im not commenting on common core outside of saying im against it.

I will apply this to you as it correlates directly. I will preface this by saying I was always a good student. Stellar test taker that hated doing homework.

I went to poplar springs here in Meridian when it was still the best elementary in the area. I had two cousins the same age that started at lamar. They always were about a year or two ahead of me throughout elementary.
I switched to Lamar after poplar springs in 6[SUP]th[/SUP] grade. When I moved over, I was struggling pretty hard. Lamar was significantly more advanced. I was getting c’s and d’s when I came over and had to acclimate to Lamar.
On top of that, lamar was far more disciplined so I was getting in trouble.

Overall, lamar was a stellar learning environment and prepared me for college very well. Classes are far more similar to what I experienced in college.

I just wanted to give you this to give you are perspective of me saying I think you made the right choice. And that’s from a guy that experienced both sides.

 

[BigMotherTucker]

I went to Clarkdale... While I loved it there, I don't feel like I got a "quality" education. Partly due to my lack of care, but some blame needs to go towards the school system here. I'm trying to give my girl every advantage I didn't have. We are super excited about her attending Lamar. Everyone I know who went there or has kids there raves about the place.

 

[615dawg]

Notto play my bigger penis card here, but I probably have worked with Common Core on an administrative level in Mississippi since it was being discussed. Lots has already been discussed, but I'll give you my opinion.

Like with anything, there are pros and cons. Like with anything that is political, there are conspiracy theorists abound. I'm going to say this with the precursor that I am as conservative as they come.

Common Core is infinity times better than No Child Left Behind, which has been a disaster and in my opinion, set Mississippi back 10 years.

Yes, your kids will come home with different learning methods than you had 20 years ago. But they also have different tools than you did 20 years ago. A teacher might be asked by Common Core standards to teach four different ways to multiply 7*6, but in the end, the test is going to say multiply 7*6. The child will have multiple methods to do so. I preferred counting up touchdowns.

As a humanities major, I'm not crazy about phasing out fictional texts (down to 30% by high school), but I understand. Your high school kids will read more real estate contracts (and be asked to discern info) than Moby Dick, so there are some positives there.

Where this hurts is that we are putting more on teachers. They already have to deal with your narcissistic kids and their entitlement syndrome.

Now, as for the "not teaching cursive so they can't read the Constitution" thing. That may be the most ridiculous statement I've heard on the subject, and believe me, I have heard them all. And they don't need to not learn cursive in order to be politically stupid. Take a look at these college kids at a $40k/year private university that bills itself as the political hub of academia:

http://cnsnews.com/video/cnsnews/pop-quiz-can-you-name-one-us-senator

Now, that reminds me. The kids that are coming to college today are devaluing your degrees. We have been on this "everyone needs to go to college" bandwagon too long and this is where I think Common Core is going to help. It will better prepare kids for the SAT/ACT (which is where private schools will have to adapt) and in turn , college.

The other thing I've seen blamed on common core is the political indoctrination. It exists, but it's not Common Core's fault. Its liberal PhDs that have been writing textbooks for 50 years. Think back to your elementary days. In the 1980s, I was reading math questions about the hole in the ozone layer and global warming. The flavor of the day is the second amendment and gay marriage. In 10 years it will be something else.

Just my two cents.

 

[ugabully]

"Also, just for the record, private schools aren't exempt from Common Core, so if you're dead-set against it, you'll have to go the home school route."

How can the federal government control what a private school teaches? Not saying your wrong I just don't understand how such a mandate could be enforced and on what authority?

It can't. I think it's possible that some private schools are choosing to use Common Core because they see that resources will be developed for it and they still want to continue standardized testing that will be common core aligned and they want to look good. But in general private schools can choose their own curricula. I have no idea what the original poster of this comment meant.

Just like with NCLB, everything that people don't like in education today is being associated with common core, but actually if you look at the common core curriculum, a lot of what people are complaining about isn't really there. Read the grade level standards for each subject and you'll probably feel okay about things. Even if it was developed nationally and bureaucratically, it pretty closely reflects the current thinking within academic disciplines in education, for whatever that's worth and it probably isn't any worse that what most teachers and schools were doing before. I think it's questionable if it's actually any better, but education has always wasted time and money adopting trendy crap, and CC is just the latest version, rather than a particularly nefarious one.

 

[J. Noble Daggett]

Were we 50th in 1980?

When you're the 50th best state in education, you don't deserve to call the shots at the state level. I want the Feds stepping as much as possible, because we've proven we can't do it on our own.[/

So after 33 years of our educational system being directed by the feds we're still 50th in the nation, and you want more federal control over our local schools. Yeah, can't argue with that logic at all.

 

[ugabully]

The biggest issue is that it was adopted for all grades immediately. My wife teaches seventh graders and has had to to abandon some parts of it because the kids just haven't learned to think that way. I think starting from pre-K and growing up with it won't be much of a problem. They should have rolled it out that way to begin with. Start in kindergarten and then roll it in grade by grade as they go. I don't think Common Core is the big scary monster everyone thinks it is. It's just different methods with a general standard of what should be taught at what age. Nothing wrong with that. The biggest issue is the testing. Well it's the testing to see where the kids are to get ready for bench mark tests, which are tests to see what they need to do to get ready for the main test. Not to mention the state tests along the way. Pearson and other companies are making a killing off selling this crap to the schools. It handicaps your teachers into teaching toward tests, instead of teaching and then testing to see what the kids have learned. It's what happens when people who have never taught think they know what is needed to fix the education system. They run it like a business. Here are the definitive results we want and here's how we're going to get them. Great for widget makers, banks, etc. Terrible for education in which there is really no tangible output and there are no earnings to analyze. You can't quantify knowledge, especially when you are working with kids from all kinds of family structures and economic levels. The current system treats each kid like the same input when that is just so far from the case. So what they've done is made it near impossible for teachers to actually spend the time to connect with the students and figure out how to teach each one. There is probably a little more freedom for this at a private shcool, but in the end it actually is about income and expenses, so there can quite a bit more opportunities and in public schools. This obviously isn't true across the board, but anecdotaly, I wouldn't pull my kid out of the Northwest or Brandon zones to go to Hartfield. So... don't be afraid of Common Core, be wary of the testing. I figure the most important thing I can do as a parent is let my child discover his own way, nurture that, and be there to help when he needs it. I may not be able to get the answers, but as long as I show that I'm willing to put the effort into his education then maybe he will do the same. And you will also be surprised with most of the teachers. They absolutely welcome any parent who puts in an effort to understand what their child is learning and what is being taught. What they don't like is never hearing from you until little Billy has a D average and you blame them for not knowing how to teach. And that covered a lot... mostly ramblings because it flashed me forward two years to when my little guy will be off to kindergarten. Wish time would slow down!

While Common Core may make testing easier, and eventually cheaper, no state had to adopt any particular standardized test or testing at all to adopt and implement common core. To be honest, I've quit keeping up with where we are with what schools and states have to do to stay out of trouble and not lose funding that was previously tied to No Child Left Behind, but common core isn't really tied to any particular test anyway. If your state and district are doing too much testing, that stinks and is likely counter productive, but it's not common core's fault. I think you were moving on to testing as separate issue, but I wanted to make sure folks realized that they are only indirectly linked. While the same companies might be involved with some aspects of both things, you can have Common core without bogus testing and you have have bogus testing without common core.

As far as the widget commentary, I think it reflects some goofy thinking to suppose there was some golden era during which teachers nurtured each individual kid and allowed him or her to do his or her best. When you talked to your grandparents about school, was that the picture they painted? It wasn't for mine. Individual teachers might have, but I think it's hard to support the idea that you were getting that system-wide.

I agree that some schools are absolutely deranged about the kind of assessments they've decided to use and the frequency with which they use them, but often those decisions have been made at the school or district level. Parents should push back and say that they don't want so many damned standardized assessments. If your whole state prostituted itself to get Race to the Top funds by promising a crapload of benchmarks, they you should vote out the clowns at your state department of education.

And I know that people are attracted to the rhetoric that education and kids shouldn't be like a business, but I'm not so sure. If we sink as much money into anything as we do public education, then I think we should be able to measure its benefits some way. That way might not actually be in crappy standardized tests, but we don't have a pre-No Child Left Behind public school metric that we can point to that suggests we were doing a particularly great job with much of anything compared to other wealthy countries.

 

[EurekaDog]

Taught my kids the "old-fashioned math". They solved the problems quicker, but

they had to go back and work the problems with the "new, wonderful, solve our country's problems with mathematics" method in order to get credit. n


"If it's simple and effective, the NEA and its political allies will figure out a way to make it more complicated... so the kids will struggle ... so they can beg for more money... to solve the problems ... that they created."

FWIW, I have over 20 public-school teachers in my extended family including my mother, so I've heard the inside, "hushed-up" stories for years.

 

[Sutterkane]

Yep. Tennessee voted to delay implementation for 2 years about a week or two ago.

 

[thatsbaseball]

What you have to realize is that QKing is a stereotypical product of that 33 year period you speak of. He is the precise product they set out to produce during that time. He`s probably a good person but he is a true blue nanny state craving liberal.

 

[rabiddawg]

Where does your wife teach?

 

[CivilEngineerDog]

What you have to realize is that QKing is a stereotypical product of that 33 year period you speak of. He is the precise product they set out to produce during that time. He`s probably a good person but he is a true blue nanny state craving liberal.[/

And mr baseball exactly where did you attend school? You sound to me like the stereotypical product of say Pillow Academy. Bet your grandfather helped start your private school in 1970. Listen to JT and Glen Beck often?

 

[Wicked Pissah]

What you have to realize is that QKing is a stereotypical product of that 33 year period you speak of. He is the precise product they set out to produce during that time. He`s probably a good person but he is a true blue nanny state craving liberal.

And he is probably one of the most intelligent posters on this board. What does that say?

 

[seshomoru]

Northwest Zone

I know Brandon adopted it and I'm pretty sure it's county wide. They are also part of some pilot merit based pay program and I'm assuming that's why they started it.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

And he is probably one of the most intelligent posters on this board. What does that say?

You got rankings for that? Where do I land?

 

[seshomoru]

Check your SPS dog tag account.

Looks like recent contributions are weighted far heavier than post count.

 

[J. Noble Daggett]

I did terrible in the logic games portion of the LSAT but

And he is probably one of the most intelligent posters on this board. What does that say?

I just don't understand the blind faith in either the federal or state government to fix anything when they've had 33 years to improve education in Mississippi and we're in exactly the same spot. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[johnson86-1]

Fact is... No Child Left Behind turned out to be a disaster. Common Core may as well, but something had to be tried.

Why did something have to be tried? There were lots of people that were educated before no child left behind. Individual schoold districts could have tried to copy what other successful school districts did. Or states could have come up with something to try. Even if you are a believer in the "Something must be done, this is something, so it must be done" school of logic, there was no reason to apply that at the federal level.

 

[johnson86-1]

When you're the 50th best state in education, you don't deserve to call the shots at the state level. I want the Feds stepping as much as possible, because we've proven we can't do it on our own.

Lots of those rankings are driven by demographics. They follow the percentage of poor and minority students fairly closely. Not sure that Mississippi would be much better if that was taken into account. It's also not a statewide problem. You take out the performance of schools in the delta and Jackson proper, and "Mississippi's" performance looks a lot different. If some schools are succeeding in a state and others aren't, there's a decent chance that the problems are not primarily in how the state approaches education.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

You got rankings for that? Where do I land?

Yes. Id say youre in the top 75% percentile. You only have one major demerit.