This past weekend’s post about Common Core not rhyming with Individual Educational Plans brought over 1,000 Facebook likes. For a relatively new Blogger this jumped out at me as a sure sign that people, especially parents with students who have special needs and their teachers, are fed up with Common Core State Standards which have […]
More Reform Words Added to The Strange New Education Vocabulary List
I have added more reform words to The Strange New Education Vocabulary List posted August 28. These words create strange emotions in me. First I snicker, then I am sad. Application Coherence Deep understanding Dual intensity Enterprise Fluency Focus Memory Memorization Repetition
Nashville Showdown on the Common Core State Standards
Today senators in Tennessee are meeting to determine the fate of the Common Core State Standards. Some are calling it the Nashville Showdown. Seven speakers on each side of the debate get to speak. Five of the fourteen are from the conservative group the Tennessee Eagle Forum. Here is a list of the speakers and […]
Common Core is NOT Designed for Students with Disabilities or Gifted Students
I have reviewed the Common Core Standards for students with disabilities and I am flummoxed. All teachers have to do is provide multiple ways of learning and special accommodations. Students will master the online tests and go on to college and live happily ever after. First, certainly there are students with disabilities who, with the […]
Students Miss Out On Today With Common Core Standards and PARCC
Last May a book came out called Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending. The authors discuss how people work hard so they will be happy later in life. Some put themselves through great drudgery in jobs they can’t stand, commuting and working long hours. They also stay in awful jobs much longer than they […]
We Are NOT a Common Core Country
I have never liked just the mere title Common Core. We aren’t a nation that values common. We like differences, uniqueness, individuality, independence, eccentricity, distinctiveness, and originality. Since when do we enforce conformity? Pro common forces, including Stand for Children, are out in full armor, with pretty YouTube commercials, attempting to impress us as to […]
Narrative Writing—Why We Should Give a [Expletive]
It’s been a year since David Coleman, president of the College Board and architect of the Common Core State Standard initiative, gave a speech to a New York audience, shocking many when he, while discussing narrative writing, said “as you grow up in this world you realize people really don’t give a [expletive] about what […]