The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are being deceitfully sold to the general public as a state-led initiative to reform the current curriculum taught in our public schools. In the standards there are very specific objectives that need to be met by the end of each school year for all grades Kindergarten through twelfth grade. So far the only subjects that have seen any change are mathematics, reading, writing, and literature. The standards are advertised as school, teacher, and administration led along with heavy collaboration between feedback groups and the public.
This is just not true. The Common Core State Standards were produced by organizations and corporations for their own interests. As a repercussion students are experiencing privacy infringements, states are having to hemorrhage money in order to pay for the new costs associated with common core assessments, and public education is uncontrollably being taken over.
According to www.corestandards.org there are two main organizations coordinating the
CCSS: The National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council for Chief Stats School
Officers (CCSSO). Further investigation into these two non-profits revealed some rather surprising and eyebrow raising truths. In 2009 the National Governors Association released a report outlining the process to develop the common English-Language Arts and Mathematics standards. Included in this report are the names of individuals who were part of the work groups for each respective subject. The purpose of the work groups was to determine and write the college and career readiness standards (“Common”). Of the twenty-nine names released showing who participated in the work groups, only two individuals were not part of an education compa... ... middle of paper ...
... are all exploiting us and laughing while doing it. The American public is being duped. On the surface common core can be easily misconstrued as a benign and benevolent undertaking. There is no doubt that the educational system in the U.S. needs to be re-examined and changed to fit the needs of students. But that’s just the problem, instead of nurturing students and teaching to their needs, teachers are now subjected to teaching to the tests that accompany the standards. The way our education system is being shaped and by whom should raise alarm in parents for the future of their children. Once again, under the guise of “for the children” a Trojan horse of downright scary proportions has breached our households and is letting loose its reign of corporate interests. Where data is used to capitalize on children for the use of corporations and one man calls the shots.
-- Public eduction is one of the most significant and unfinished achievements in American history. The main point of the first video was to show the viewer how far public schools have come and how far they still need to go.
The purpose of this article is to convince Americans that the public school system is failing students nationwide and that it needs to be ended. O’Rourke boldly argues that there is no need to mend public schools, only end them. The public school system has been serving America for years, but O’Rourke clearly believes that it is time to put an end to them. O’Rourke argues that it the public school system’s time is up in this statement: “America’s public schools have served their purpose.
Forty-two states have adopted Common Core State Standards. These standards were created to focus only on English and Mathematics. In effect of states adopting Common Core Standards, all other subjects taught in school seemed less important. History and Science standards are no longer stressed. Students are limited to being proficient in only two subjects. The Common Core deprives students’ ability to be skilled in multiple areas. These standards do not provide a slight “break” from the challenging fast past teaching of English and Mathematics. In addition to limiting education to English and Mathematics, Jill Bowden explains that the Common Core is affecting kindergarteners by taking “away from materials that encourage playful learning.” (36).
Since 2010, there were 45 states that have adopted the same educational standards called Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and seeks to establish consistent education standards across the states. The Common Core Standards is initiative state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English and Mathematical standards. These standards help to educate all of the students equally, they help children who move from state to state, as well as they help to prepare students for college and workplace. The common core standard helps to provide a clear understanding for teachers and parents of what is expected of the students to learn. It is designed to help educate our children for the future; it gives them the knowledge and skill they need to be prepared for post secondary education and employment. "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world." (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers)
An article from the Los Angeles Times showed that the majority of Californians give California schools “a grade of C or below” and half think that the quality of schools will continue to decline (Watanabe). While the economic downturn affected the public school system in a negative way, it was not the sole root of its problems. It just simply exacerbated existing issues. Because of widespread discontent with the public school system, many different solutions to reform the mainstream public school system have been brought up in public discourse.... ...
Regarding academic standards, more than six out of 10 said the expectations for what students should learn is important to school improvement. But a majority - 54 percent - is opposed to the Common Core State Standards, the K-12 academic benchmarks adopted by 43 states and the District of Columbia that have been under fire by critics on the left and right.
Common core is not a new method. America has set standards since at least the 1950’s and many schools have since then implemented a curriculum supporting this ideal. These standards in language arts and mathematics are supposed to help the nation prepare students for college and their future careers. The effects of common core, both positive and negative, lead to the debate on whether or not it should still be implemented in schools today, but thanks to federal funding it has made it hard to get rid of the program. It is because of this that the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal has decided to sue the federal government for violating the 10th amendment. Although many can agree that having standardized goals gives both the students and staff
(Common Core State Standards Initiative) Many find flaws in the system such as Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post. Strauss points out in her article Eight Problems With Common Core Standards that the standards set by the Common Core should not be limited to school subjects, but should step outside the box and tie in real world scenarios. (Strauss) Strauss also says the lack of diversity in the curriculum puts students at a disadvantage because of the changing world around teachers should not be limited to teaching information provided by an initiative that makes students from all over the nation learn the same material. (Strauss) Strauss is especially skeptical of the Common Core’s preparation for standardized test as she says, “The Common Core Standards are a set-up for national standardized tests, tests that can’t evaluate complex thought, can’t avoid cultural bias, can’t measure non-verbal learning, can’t predict anything of consequence.” (Strauss) Strauss explains how the Common Core destroys any form of originality by stating; “The word “standards” gets an approving nod from the public (and from most educators) because it means “performance that meets a standard.” However, the word also means “like everybody else,” and standardizing minds is what the Standards
Common Core is pushing students to think critically by answering questions with more explanation. Students are required back their answer providing evidence for their answers. “The Common Core strives to create a uniform playing field for all kids and an evidence-based, robust learning system in every grade, with the end goal of college and career success in clear and obtainable sight” (How Will the Common Core Standards Affect You Child?, 2014). On a positive note, this is great for the students, but will require corporation from everyone to make it happen. Teachers are required to make their math and literacy lesson plans rigor. “Urged to dig deeper, students will find themselves interacting with subject matter at an enhanced level, allowing for long-term retention of information and an enhanced ability to utilize analytical thinking throughout multiple areas of their lives” (How Will the Common Core Standards Affect You Child?, 2014). Common Core not only affects student learning, but it affects test also. With Common Core, tests will be more challenging and scores are said to drop. “As a measure of accountability, both for students and for schools, testing under the Common Core will be more challenging and for some, might produce temporarily drop scores and possibly the need for summer school” (How Will
Ripley, Amanda. "A Call To Action For Public Schools. (Cover Story)."Time 176.12 (2010): 32. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
(2014) exclaimed that why do 62 percent of parents think the Common Core is not perfect for their kids, despite it has fascinated some entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates and the secretary of education. In a case in point, parents should get more involved in the education of their children if they do not approve of measures being used. She agrees to the idea of a federal government using incentives to adopt their specific education program, but then again she only sees that parents complaining and not taking action. In another context, “parents have no choice about whether their kids will learn Common Core, no matter what school they put them in, if they want them to go to college, because the SAT and ACT are being redesigned to fit the new national program for education”. (Pullmann, J. 2014, September 24, p. 1). In fact, Porter (1989) states that the Common Core standards became as opposing to teachers and teaching occupation, and the tactics are not good strong enough for enabling teachers to be dependent. The teacher is often understood to be the planned without rules. Moreover, some voices against the criticism of the common core, they believe that it is meaningless because districts are still permitted to select which material goes out with stem the basis stated by the Common Core
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Engleberg, I., Wynn, D., & Schuttler, R., (2003). Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies (3rd ed.) Boston: Houghton- Mifflin. pp. 146- 170.
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Education is a vital tool for lifelong success but there are many areas of concern in the current system of public education. Education reform has been a constant occurrence since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Every year, specialists develop