Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Common Core - Common Sense

By Jeff Simpson

We brought you recently how a bunch of "tea party" leaders(term used loosely) sent a letter to Governor Walker, telling him to opt out of Common Core state standards.    The kowtowing to the extreme minority in our state is not surprising and it led to, maybe the worst bill written by the current regime yet, SB619.  

This led to a sham of a day of testifying at the Capitol:


Tony Evers, our democratically elected Superintendent of Public Instruction supports CCSS:





The problem with the SB619 and the whole Common Core opposition is much ignorance.   There were people who called it socialism(it isn't) and even a parent, who said that because of CCSS her child can not spell(i was embarrassed for this poor lady).

There was a recent article written by the Washington(state) teacher of the year on the reality of Common Core, that everyone who wants in on the debate should read.   Here are some highlights.     

The term “Common Core” has become a bit of a lightning rod. But I would encourage those with concerns to read the standards. Simply put, the Common Core standards are a set of common expectations for literacy and math. These standards provide a consistent and clear transition from grade to grade, like a baton in a relay.
What the standards don’t do is tell me as a classroom teacher how to teach. I determine that in my classroom as my 80,000 teaching colleagues in Washington state do in theirs. The standards have finally caught up with what many of us have been trying to do for a long time: moving away from rote memorization and isolated skills and returning to creativity and in-depth learning.
The standards ask students to think more critically. Instead of students just knowing the answer, we teachers ask them how they know it and why. This is the type of deeper thinking and learning students will need to succeed after high school.
It’s important to note that we have always had standards. This isn’t something new to our state. The problem is that every state, until now, had its own set of standards and set different levels for how students needed to learn them. The result? Expectations and student achievement were vastly different from state to state.
This inconsistency is not fair for students, especially for a child whose family moves from state to state or from district to district throughout childhood.


24 comments:

  1. "The standards ask students to think more critically."

    This is the core of the problem. If you are a Bible thumping fundamentalist the last thing you want your child to do is learn critical thinking skills, because you know deep in your heart the Bible doesn't make a bit of logical sense, you just have to believe and have faith. Critical thinking undermines faith and is therefore part of an Obama brainwashing conspiracy, even though it pre-dates his Presidency. In fact I believe it was Texas that outlawed the teaching of critical thinking in the school system.

    To these nitwits, teaching critical thinking is like teaching evolution and encourages disrespect for God and other divinely-inspired authority figures.

    If you are a Republican, you don't want critical thinking taught either, because the children will then be equipped to figure out for themselves that your party is composed of liars, thieves, sex fiends, alcoholics and mental defectives.

    Jeb Bush made some remarks recently supporting Common Core, probably because he has some money at stake, but that should be enough to make him dead meat in 2016. It's the goddamn New World Order!

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  2. Wow! This is a stunner!

    http://www.wpr.org/survey-walker-would-win-re-election-if-vote-held-now

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  3. What's up with this new St Norbet poll claiming Walker is up fifteen points in the Governors race?! I was really hoping we could win this one after that last Rasmussen poll showing the race tied!

    Link: http://www.wpr.org/survey-walker-would-win-re-election-if-vote-held-now

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    Replies
    1. Funny, you spammed my board with the exact same comment. How consistent!

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  4. They polled a whopping 401 people. There will be about 2,500,000 people voting for Governor. You do the math

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  5. I hear you Jeff but I am beginning to worry a bit. I remember being told by many that we would easily win the recall. Then, we lost by quite a bit. I feel disenfranchised and disillusioned. Please help convince me that we won't see a replay!

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  6. telling ourselves those polls are wrong isn't real comforting to me. Polls showed Obama would win twice and were right about Walker twice. I don't know why this State would vote for Obama twice and then turn around and vote for a repugnant Governor like Walker with just as big margins. It makes me so depressed.

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  7. Yea, I remember the awesome days of protesting the dictator in disguise, Scotty Walker and being so convinced his days were numbered. Everyone told me so. I still cannot figure out what happened. It caused me to spiral into a depression and I had to be hospitalized. I am still depressed.

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  8. I still haven't gotten over the loss. I had to move back in with my Mom all the way in Pennsylvania. I miss all my friends in Wisconsin but I had no health insurance and no money was left after I had to be hospitalized. I blame Scott Walker for me having to live in my Mom's basement.

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  9. Anonymous - The good news is Hitler look-alike Walker will likely run for President in 2016 and either get crushed by that fat slob Christie in the primary or lose in a landslide to Hillary in the General.

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  10. Please tell me he has to resign from being Gov if the scum runs for POTUS. No way he wins.

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  11. He should resign for his criminal actions towards those brave union workers

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  12. I still don't understand how Scotty got away with it. It is like Hitler burning down the Reichstag all over again.

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  13. People ask me ...are there any right wing comedians, and the obvious answer always is .... no actually there is not.

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  14. Agree. There is nothing funny about this. Jeff - are we going to prevail this time? I need good news on this.

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  15. Jeff - you MUST remove these simpletons posts. They are not good enough to post here and only want to divide us.

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    Replies
    1. Yep, clearly trying to get off the topic of another right- wing fail. Especially coming one day after test results show voucher schools do worse than MPS and Racine public schools

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  16. It will be some iteration of Bush/walker. I found my Buck Fush button from '04, just hope I don't have to sport it again.

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  17. Since this discussion is far off topic, please allow me to interject with something new off topic - Wisconsin Republican cannibalism with a truly toxic flesh eater brought in to do his best Jeffrey Dahmer imitation.

    http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20140409/APC010401/304090319/Mike-Ellis-Talk-illegal-fundraising-attack-ads-hypothetical
    Mike Ellis: Talk of illegal fundraising, attack ads was hypothetical

    Secretly recorded remarks by state Sen. Mike Ellis about illegal fundraising and attack ads were hypothetical, Ellis told Post-Crescent Media on Wednesday.

    The comments were captured on video at a Madison hotel bar by Project Veritas, a New York-based group aimed at “exposing dishonesty and self-dealing.”

    James O’Keefe, the conservative group’s president, introduces the video and says it shows Ellis plotting to break state election laws by setting up a political action committee to attack his fall Senate election opponent, Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber, D-Appleton.

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    Replies
    1. Yes indeed. Will be checking back later for the Cog Diss take on these recent events. Judith Rhodes Engles? Is it wrong that I'm smiling?

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    2. State Senator Michelle Litjens? Robin Vos is drooling at the thought. They could do some fun raising together with Judith Rhodes and Scott Fitzgerald.

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    3. I'm wondering who is the mole with the camera.
      Was it O'Keefe sitting there when they had this discussion? Was it someone else? I could imagine Ellis might have been kind of distracted if it was Hannah Giles sitting with him!

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  18. Back on topic...the more Scott Walker sides with the wing nut righty tighties of teabag lunatic fringe, the better. Tell us what you really think Scooter about Common Core. Please, don't hold back.

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