NBC Nightly News Broadcasts Critical Story About Common Core

NewsBusters ^ | October 29, 2014 | P.J. Gladnick

[PJ-Comix]

Until recently the mainstream media has portrayed the opponents of Common Core to be just a bunch of conservative yahoos incapable of understanding what a wonderful education program it is. However that might now be changing. Last night, NBC Nightly News surprisingly broadcast a segment highly critical of Common Core.

The segment showed just how confusing and lacking in common sense common core is. Although it portrayed teachers as mostly satisfied with the program while parents were distressed, it is hard to imagine any how any sane person can see the utility of Common Core which as you will see reaches simple solutions via a series of confusing steps. The video showing a simple subtraction problem is below but be warned: just watching the absolutely unnecessary Common Core multi-step complexity added to it can give the viewer a throbbing headache:

[WriteOn]

CC is best argument yet for homeschooling

[Hoodat]

I wish my Common Core implementing GOP governor had watched it.

[Hoodat]

Even with that method, it makes more sense to treat a 9 as (10 - 1) than to treat it as (8 + 1).

9 + 10 = 19
19 - 1 = 18

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My dad taught me multiplication tables through 15 X 15.

[Whenifhow]

Thanks for the ping. The concerns must be widespread for it to make a story on NBC nightly news.

Does anyone have a common core ping list or education ping list?

[combat_boots]

Don’t know

[pepsi_junkie]

My experience with third grade arithmetic is similar. The teach assigns no more than 10 problems and has said "it should not take more than 15 minutes" but I spend up to an hour with my daughter on it. First, it's insanely complex. I've taught her how to do basic addition and subtraction the traditional way but if you don't do it in their convoluted, impossible to grasp way, you fail. Their justification: it's not about "answer getting", it's about method. And if you get the right answer using a different (i.e. normal) method, you are wrong. So they force her to count on her fingers and make marks on the paper and stupid nonsense like that.

I've found that their twisted logic is confusing her such that the traditional way is getting harder for her the more she learns common core. What was easy before is now confusing to her because they've so fogged her mind with their nonsense. It's got to go. I just have to figure out how I'm going to tackle it because I can't sit back and let this crap steal a generation of Americans. But I have to do something.

[pepsi_junkie]

Step 2: Don’t worry about it. Now your kid has the tools to do math problems quickly and correctly. Common Core then becomes a game to them...

If the problem is "add 450 to 134 using drawings; show your work" and you line them up and add them to get 584, you get it wrong. You must draw the items and then count them one at a time. Yes, they did learn the proper way, but they are also taught this primitive way and a couple of others (apparently just to confuse them with multiple methods) and they force them to do it the dumb ways on a test or they get scored wrong regardless of the answer the get. So your solution is not sufficient. The system is rotten and it has to go.

[BobL]

“If the problem is “add 450 to 134 using drawings; show your work” and you line them up and add them to get 584, you get it wrong. You must draw the items and then count them one at a time. “

Of course, but it is NOW A GAME to the kids, and the parents. No one is fooled into thinking this has anything at all to do with math...just a silly puzzle.

I agree, for the good of the country, it has to go. For the good of your own kid, teach him right, and also let him have fun amusing the Education Major ‘teacher’.

[sheana]

I have a Masters in Bus Admin with my Bachelors having a specialty in Accounting. I took all levels of algebra, calculus and statistics and the crap they use confuses me.
I can’t imagine what it is doing to our kids.