Posted on 03/31/2014 8:27:20 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady
I have been a Freeper for 12 years and a teacher for 10. I work in Los Angeles, in a public school, and I teach English. I want to say something about Common Core, although my observations will be strictly limited to my particular domain: English. I cannot comment on the Math portion.
I will begin bluntly: I do not understand the conservative outcry about Common Core. Perhaps it’s only because I teach in California, but to me it is an improvement, at least in some ways. If you aren’t a teacher (and most conservatives aren’t, which is a pity) you don’t realize what California standards were like. Oh, the goals themselves weren’t particularly remarkable… in the end, the goals are always the same for English, no matter how they word them: children should be able to summarize, identify, describe, explain, compare, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize the plot, characters, setting, theme, mood, tone… same stuff they’ve done for years.
What was noxious about California standards was their pressure to conform to a liberal reading list. The text books they issued looked as if someone had gone down a checklist with authors arranged by skin color and nationality. I could almost hear the editor muttering to himself, “We need an Indonesian.” Very few authors were classic writers noted for their skill. They seemed to think one short story by Hemingway, one by Poe, and one by Bradbury was sufficient to represent the Dead White Males of the Pre-enlightenment Era (that’s sarcasm, for those of you in Rio Linda). The ESL textbooks were even more pointed: children were directed to read essays on how FDR saved America, how nuclear power is bad, bad, bad, how the 2nd amendment is contingent upon government permission(!), how migrant workers are victimized by pesticides… yes, it was cheery stuff.
Now comes Common Core, and one of the first things they addressed in the training was this: children raised on the simplistic language of modern-day PC authors cannot comprehend anything else, and did horribly on the periodic assessments. The periodic assessments, created by people who apparently hadn’t gotten the memo, had included excerpts from The Odyssey, Anne of Green Gables, Call of the Wild, David Copperfield… could a child raised on the toothless prose of Gary Soto and bell hooks even comprehend the long, intricate sentences that were common to writers many years ago? No, they couldn’t. Imagine that.
So this is what the Common Core material suggests: classic writers. Documents written by the Founding Fathers. Greek mythology. Mark Twain. Louisa May Alcott. Yes, really. Common Core steps away from guiding the teacher’s curriculum along the PC lines of “authors of color” and “writers who champion social justice” and actually recommends classics, but makes no effort to control what the teacher chooses. This, my Friends, can only be an improvement, because liberals were in charge of our books for too many years. Any choices by teachers will swing to the right because frankly, they were so far to the left that there was no way to go further unless you have 7th graders reading Andrea Dworkin, and teachers with that attitude would have already been doing it.
I don’t expect a wave of support… my sad experience is that many Freepers hate teachers with such a livid passion that I wonder about them. But I wanted to say this: Common Core is much less prohibitive in English than the previous standards. Again, I cannot speak to the mathematics, the science, the history… but I can tell you that in English, it’s an improvement, for the reasons I have given above. Okay, flame away.
They do want us to include more non-fiction, but they don’t mandate what. They recommend essays by the Founding Fathers and gave us an assessment featuring an essay by Frederick Douglass about how learning to read was essential to him, and the little white boys who lived near the docks teaching him to read in exchange for bread. There was nothing in it a conservative would object to. It was awesome, actually. But they don’t mandate or even steer toward PC so far.
To have strong state government does not mean we have to be “Balkanized”.
Having independent and strong state governments is critical to allow states such as Idaho to function differently than states like Maine.
Loss of state independence and control is at the heart of many of the issues we face.
There was a time where if you didn’t like the way things worked in one state, you could vote with your feet to go somewhere else. Now, the overarching bureaucracy of the Federal government is forcing people everywhere to follow one set of instructions for operation.
And when that set of instructions is written in Massachusetts or Washington DC that requires people who live in Nevada to have to conduct their affairs under the same guides, principles and laws, that is a problem.
That is the Soviet model.
I was a teacher for 20 years in Texas. I am still working in public education. Texas is not a Common Core state, we have our our set of mandated knowledge and skills for each grade level. Many schools were using Cscope that was created by Texas Educational Service Centers to help small schools who did not have the money to create their own curriculum. I taught World History using Cscope for 4 years and thought that it supported my conservative values. It taught that America was exceptional. It allowed me to compare and contrast the major world religions. It used lots of primary documents and included excerpts from The Bible. What could possibly be wrong with that? Well, I believe that the BIG testing commpany didn’t like it. They weren’t able to sell teachers lots of textbooks, ancillary materials and resources. Cscope was killed by short-sighted politicians who probably have “let us say” a conflict of interest. Do I sound bitter? You betcha. Cscope was good. It was not perfect, but what is? I know on freerepublic that being a supporter of public education(much less a public school teacher) gets you attacked, but I am a conservative Christian who was called to teach. Many public school teachers are trying to be that tiny light that shows God’s love to children who have never experienced God. I do get so tired of being the enemy of fellow conservatives. I promise that I am not the enemy. Please pray for teachers and students and try not to attack us so vehemently. Do not give up on us. Not every child in the whole United States can be taught, or should be taught at home. Not every teacher deserves your scorn. Again, please pray for us.
There is more non-fiction. A detailed explanation of problems with the English portion is Terrance O. Moore’s The Story-Killers: A Common-Sense Case Against the Common Core.
Moore also has a great explanation of how to teach literature without killing love of story which I enjoyed as a homeschool mom, other things I have read explaining this were not as down to earth.
Oh, I have. I've taught them lots of stuff from the Bible. Had to, for them to understand Anne Bradstreet's poem in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, as well as some of Uncle Matthew's remarks about "whited sepulchers." Also for them to understand Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" in The Outsiders, and the song "Halleluia," and ... what else... geez, lots of stuff. The King James version is also helpful in showing them the use of "thou" vs "you." I do that so later when they get Shakespeare, they won't be so confused. And we read excerpts from The Song of Bernadette and watch the movie. Of course, most of my students are Latino and they don't tend to object to religion.
Oh, that’s awesome! My kids read Dracula too! The only one I’m not familiar with is The Round House. Ever read any Ayn Rand? I mean, on your own?
I learned a lot from your post. Thanks. I hope you are a home-schooler!
Awww... allergic to bureaucracy, poor babies, what a tragic affliction. Must be what keeps liberals out of the Marines, too. Well, I’m here to tell you, keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
My understanding was that half of the reading in English is now supposed to be nonfiction, varied by grade.
If you’ve no longer a state-imposed curriculum, that’s of course very good. But in most states the districts are buying common core-compliant texts that are full of propaganda disguised as objective science and technology readings.
Our Founding Fathers apparently never imagined that conservatives would leave education to the liberals. But we have done that. And now we are reaping the roosting chickens, if you get my meaning.
I’ll tell you what was also the Soviet Model: leaving education to the liberals. How’s that working for us?
“The Round House” just came out a year or two ago. I hadn’t heard of it until it was assigned to me. I haven’t actually read any Ayn Rand, but I did pick up one of her books that they were giving out for free at the library.
Thanks. I just found this hour-long Hillsdale lecture by Moore. I think I’ll listen to it now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCoOv_DwaAk
I gratumated frum on uf da erli comun corpse skuls and gots a grate job rite awey. Als I hadda du was lurn a frekuentli usd fras “U want fryes wid dat?”
Thank you for your service. In my opinion, a conservative teacher in CA is the same as a Christian missionary in Mecca. I value your efforts and wish there were millions more like you.
Please ignore the cranks who let others do their thinking for them. Unfortunately, many FReepers are just angry old farts who want to bitch and moan over things they know little about. I see it all the time. I may start referring to them as the “Get off my lawn you damned kids!” crowd. (I almost became one of them, too, until my loving wife pointed out the constant negativity in me. Her intervention made me a happier and nicer person.)
Thank you for (hopefully) adding some fodder for critical thinking to this debate over Common Core. From what I’ve seen, the math and science is horrible. But I’m happy to hear that English is an improvement. I have seen too many young people writing out words in text shorthand and displaying an alarming inability to format and punctuate a coherent sentence of any complexity.
. Okay, flame away.
The problem is that anything that can be centralized can be perverted. It does not stay a good thing. We have seen it time and time again.
My biggest problem is the centralization to the federal govt. These should be state issues. But it comes down to who controls the money.......................
. Okay, flame away.
The problem is that anything that can be centralized can be perverted. It does not stay a good thing. We have seen it time and time again.
My biggest problem is the centralization to the federal govt. These should be state issues. But it comes down to who controls the money.......................
You’re welcome!
He has a bunch of columns at Townhall, too, if you prefer reading but don’t want to buy his book:
http://townhall.com/columnists/terrencemoore/
The public education system is a cesspool of affirmative action. The most important prerequisite to being a principal is to have the right skin color.
No flames here. I’m sure you work very hard. My kids are in public school in Mass. I’ve notice they’re given a great deal of leeway in choosing books. My oldest son almost exclusively wants to read about history and warfare, especially WWII. His teachers are very supportive. He’s also cranked through half of the Hardy Boys books. Not bad for a third grader.
The bigger point is it’s up to parents to push their kids into reading as a habit. 2 hours of reading instead of 2 hours of video games for example. Unfortunately, many parents are lazy or are exhausted single parents. As a public school teacher you have to deal with the entire spectrum. I’m sure it’s difficult at times.
Keep up the good work!
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