"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Monday, January 21, 2013

Accepting the common core as inevitable has the effect of making it inevitable.


Written in response to this question,
"How can we best prepare our students for the common core in language arts?"
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2013/01/response_best_ways_to_prepare_our_students_for_ccss_in_language_arts.html#comments

Larry Ferlazzo responds:
“I have been no fan of the Common Core standards (see The Best Articles Sharing Concerns About Common Core Standards). However, one of the key lessons I learned in my nineteen year community organizing career was that, though we should always recognize the tension inherent in "the world as we'd like it to be" and "the world as it is," living in the former seldom leads to success in the latter. The Common Core is the reality for most of us, and I've begun collecting the most useful resources for implementing them.”

My response:

“…it is impossible, unnecessary, and harmful for a small group of individuals to predetermine and impose upon all students the same set of knowledge and skills and expect all students progress at the same pace (if the students don't, it is the teachers' and schools' fault).” Yong Zhao
http://zhaolearning.com/2013/01/17/more-questions-about-the-common-core-response-to-marc-tucker/


Yes, if the common core is instituted, help teachers and students deal with it. But that does not mean accept it. The train has left the station but it has not arrived. The arguments against the common core are very strong and clearly indicate that the common core will be the greatest disaster ever to hit education. Please see Yong Zhao's articles and books, Anthony Cody's blogs on edweek, susanohanian.org, and of course the first few articles at http://www.sdkrashen.com/index.php?cat=4.
Accepting the common core as inevitable has the effect of making it inevitable.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous4:11 PM

    I read this thread on Ferlazzo's blog and agree that there is "no realistic political scenario that would stop Common Core," but as a community organizer, he must know, as Howard Zinn said, that "voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action." Because you can't stay neutral on a moving train I will be protesting Common Core and the rest of the corporate agenda with Stephen Krashen, Diane Ravitch, Jim Horn and Karen Lewis in the front of the Department of Education April 4-7, 2013 in Washington DC. PS If there is any confusion about what Common Core assumes about you, your children and students watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbDpvqiqK-w

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