Common Core concerns

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School chief speaks to parents’ issues with standards

REGION 16 — As Region 16 shifts its curriculum to adjust to the Common Core State Standards, Superintendent of Schools Michael Yamin sought late last month to address ongoing local criticism over the controversial education initiative.

Yamin, speaking at the Board of Education’s Sept. 24 meeting, drew a distinction between the standards and the district’s curriculum. He said the standards defined by the state are what students should know at the end of each grade level. Curriculum is what is created in the district to help students achieve those standards, he said.

“Standards establish what students need to learn, they do not dictate how teachers should teach,” Yamin said.

Yamin said the region, which oversees schools in Beacon Falls and Prospect, is focusing on four fundamental skills associated with Common Core — communication, creativity, critical thinking and student collaboration.

“I think with Common Core or no Common Core, I think the fundamentals are what we want to focus on,” Yamin said. “And I think people have to agree that communication, creativity, critical thinking, student collaboration — 21st century skills — are what we want to take from the Common Core, those fundamentals.”

Yamin’s sentiments were in response to concerns frequently aired about Common Core by a group of parents.

Melissa O’Neil of Prospect and Beacon Falls residents Merle Sprague and Natasha DiPiro have been speaking out on Common Core at meetings over the past several months. They’ve argued that the standards are not developmentally appropriate for students, aren’t evidence-based, are unproven, are being drive by political reasons and force teachers to “teach to the test.”

Sprague urged board members Sept. 24 to research the issue themselves and form their own opinions.

“You need to look at not just what the state’s giving you,” Sprague told the board.

Common Core is a set of national educational standards that has been adopted by the majority of states. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education announced a grant funding competition called Race to the Top and states that adopted the Common Core standards earned points for it on their applications.

Connecticut adopted the standards in 2010. Since then, school districts in the state have been adjusting their curriculum to help students meet the standards.

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium assessment system, which aligns with Common Core, has also replaced the Connecticut Mastery Test and Connecticut Academic Performance Test as the standardized testing given to students in the state. Region 16 piloted the new test in the spring.

Yamin said the district has been training teachers on the standards and teams of educators have been working to “unwrap” the standards and adjust curriculum accordingly.

Over the next year, he said, the district will continue to identity gaps with students when shifting curriculum through a series of assessments put in place. Then, he added, instruction will be adjusted accordingly.

“With Common Core without Common Core, these are good practice that we’re looking to bring into the district,” Yamin said.

After the meeting Sprague said the emphasis on assessment gives teachers no choice but to “teach to the test.”

“The superintendent said tonight that they’re just standards and we write the curriculum, but when everything is focused around the assessments with the possibility of schools failing, they have no choice but to teach to the test, which is proven to stifle critical thinking,” Sprague said. “Parents, residents and teachers all need to get involved.”

In a subsequent interview, Yamin said he understands where the parents are coming from with their concerns.

“Parents want to be in control of what their kids learn,” he said.

Yamin said Region 16 is a smaller district and a community that collectively talks about what its children are learning. He said he can understand that parents want the district to dictate what students should know and get very protective when it comes to standards for every child.

“I think that takes away from what [parents] believe in as some freedoms that they have with their children,” Yamin said. “And I want to alleviate that by saying we want to focus on the fundamentals skills that are associated with Common Core — things that kids are going to have to learn in the real world.”

The possibility of holding a forum on Common Core was brought up the meeting. In the subsequent interview, Yamin said officials are still considering it. However, he added, a forum would not likely be held before December as other issues are taking priority.

The Republican American contributed to this article.

3 COMMENTS

  1. I have already notified the CN with a copy sent to them via email that the copy and paste was not accurate with multiple errors (spacing / character errors, broken links, etc). I hope CN will fix those with the copy I provided them.

  2. Dear Citizen’s News
    I read your article dated 10/9/14 online and to be frank you might as well had Region 16 write it.
    Throughout your article you cite multiple statements from Superintendent Yamin trying his best to vindicate a curriculum that was jammed down our throats by the Federal Government and has turned into what many parents throughout the country believe is nothing short of an utter debacle. But only give the briefest of rebuttal from concerned parents?? Why is that?? Where is the journalism??
    While there is good an just about anything and probably can find good aspects to Common Core, there is such a mountainous amount of evidence throughout the country of parents voicing serious concerns of it various facets, it is just beyond disturbing leading one to question what is the real goal here.
    If you have the courage to do a little research, take a look at these various Facebook pages
    http://www.choosetorefusecommoncore.com/ (or their Facebook page)
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/CHOOSETOREFUSECOMMONCORE/?fref=nf /
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bringing-Truth-in-Education-to-Region-16-Prospect-Beacon-Falls-CT/530581183735244
    https://www.facebook.com/StopCommonCoreinCT
    and there are a hundreds of others
    This is just a sampling of what parents are reporting from every corner of our once great land DAILY.
    – Many educators reporting that these new curriculums are not designed for how children K-3 minds function but they are being ignored. [1]
    – Kids are being marked wrong for correct answers EVEN when policies are in place that allow kids to answer questions using the method they are most comfortable with. BUT they are allowed to either be marked correct or at least get partial credit for wrong answers as long as they write the equation in explanation form.
    – Kids are being taught age inappropriate subjects. It has been reported that in some districts throughout the country
    – Masturbation is being taught in 4th grade [2] and believe it or not that and other subjects are being considered to be taught to kindergarteners. [3]
    – The pill and other aspects are being taught in grades 5th and have seen some parent’s state that their local systems are even thinking of starting as early as 4th and even 3rd. [4]
    – Actual assignments specifically based on infidelity of parents are worked on in 4th grade. [5]
    – Kids being instructed to kill a mechanized baby that screams to teach shaking can harm a baby. [6]
    – Kids are being made to feel stupid with how many of these “new and improved curriculums” are being taught.
    – This is leading to increased reports of kids being treated for depression [7]
    – A little girl self-mutilating themselves (reported incident of a child scribing I’m stupid in their hand after a test). [8]
    – Reports from multiple states that parents are even reporting to their utter disbelief that school officials are suggesting to them to seek medical treatment for their children.
    – History of the both the US and the world is at the very least being overlooked with both the AP curriculum and Common Core to being rewritten. Important Presidents are not being taught about and one class even went so far as to even have assignments that the Holocaust didn’t happen?? [9]
    – Kids are being taught and having to do homework assignments on mult religions BUT Christianity is absent in many of these classes – why?? [Sorry but too many articles to even choose from.]
    I tried listing a reference or 2 for those above but there are dozens sometimes hundreds of examples of any if just researched. Why is that and why doesn’t Region 16 BOE / Superintendent, State of CT and Federal Education systems show any concern of any of this and not looking into?? Simply because there is the fear of losing the grant monies. There is no concern over what we as parents are reporting daily and personally fighting for like myself who had his daughter coming home crying daily for several weeks because she didn’t understand being marked wrong for correct answers since I had gone far ahead of her math studies at home and taught her the old school method since we as parents were never told to do otherwise. What I find disturbing was this was done even though there is Region policy that the students can use whatever method they are most comfortable with but somehow that wasn’t getting to all the teachers. Any person wanting to join any of the Facebook groups will see postings of parents stating daily their children are coming home crying, saying their dumb, refusing to go to school, etc, etc, etc.
    Now because of what we parents find as an intolerable situation, many of us are REFUSING OUT of these tests. We are all getting “canned” letters stating supposed State laws that state we can’t. But according to Head of the State Department of Education in a public meeting of 3/12/14 we can with him stating specifically that there are not State laws in place. [10] Add to that the HSLDA and other organizations show Supreme Court rulings stating that the State CANNOT interfere or impose their wishes against parents [11] leaving many parents feeling that there is no option left to them but homeschool. Then the latest knee-jerk move by the State is the proposed plan to monitor homeschooling?? [12]
    Then you have both local districts in various states and even some states themselves now opting out of Common Core [13 & 14] with the Federal Government issuing threats to those that do. [15] Why is it that other states are finding issues with this Titanic called Common Core but our once great state whose moniker is the Constitution State has turned a blind eye to?? It is no wonder why CT has turned into the state it now is.
    We have teachers speaking out against Common Core privately to parents for fear of their jobs because they see how those who do publically are rewarded with being reprimanded by their school systems. [16] Students throughout the country going to their local BOE’s speaking out against Common Core with CT one girl in New Milford making a very eloquent and factual speech against. [17] And we even had an 8 year old girl in 3rd grade at Laurel Ledge this past Wednesday speaking against Common Core math at the very meeting that Citizen’s News reported on but failed to mention. Even though she was my daughter, she heard that I was going to the meeting and was desperate to speak writing 3 pages herself without any input. Why wasn’t that reported Citizen’s News?? Not news worthy enough?? But you didn’t seem to miss any of their “soundbites” though. Credible journalism??
    Bottom line is that I have only cited a few of the problems OUR CHILDREN are facing with the implementing of Common Core and one or two sources cited where dozens if not hundreds can be found by any parent who wants to spend even a token amount of time investigating as any good parent should. While there are benefits the fact that THERE ARE STATES OPTING out show there are significant and serious issues.
    Let be honest, if it was the other way around and was the schools hearing these issues being brought about by us the parents with our children stating their stupid or hurting themselves, Social Services would be knocking down your door. Why isn’t the same set of standards for protecting our children being applied to those who are truly abusing them? This is why my wife and I are planning on moving to another state.
    Thank you for your time,
    Brian Ploss
    Sources
    [1] http://truthinamericaneducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/joint_statement_on_core_standards.pdf & http://educationroundtable.org/2014/03/16/is-the-common-core-developmentally-appropriate/ & http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards/early-childhood-standards-of-common-core-are-developmentally-inappropriate/
    [2] (http://watchdog.org/102704/wisconsin-schools-introduce-sex-ed-in-fourth-grade-everything-else-by-sixth/ & http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/23/some-wis-schools-to-teach-masturbation-to-fourth-graders/
    [3] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/24/las-vegas-schools-consider-teaching-kindergartners/
    [4] http://misguidedchildren.com/domestic-affairs/2014/02/sex-ed-common-core-style-is-this-what-you-want-for-your-kids/14839
    [5] http://www.ktsm.com/news/school-yard/pasodale-elementary-parents-question-bizarre-homework-assignment
    [6] http://eagnews.org/middle-schoolers-shake-babies-until-they-die-in-lesson/
    [7] http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/52750/20141003/students-experience-anxiety-depression-over-common-core-documentary-unveils.htm
    [8] http://m.christianpost.com/news/child-carves-stupid-in-her-wrist-after-common-core-testing-parents-describe-anxiety-depression-in-new-documentary–127425/ &
    [9] http://www.nccivitas.org/2014/ap-courses-rewrite-american-history/ and http://www.inquisitr.com/1240151/holocaust-denial-conspiracy-theories-part-of-common-core-california-school-questions-jewish-persecution-facts/
    [10] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLm9gaCkNjY&list=UUGZQoUVVkMiGvHVXl3Iat6w&index=4
    [11] http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000075.asp
    [12] http://www.wfsb.com/story/26641370/sandy-hook-commission-discuses-home-schooling & http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ct/201409300.asp & http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCMQFjABOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fsns-rt-us-usa-shooting-connecticut-20140930-story.html&ei=3AU4VI0ewfuwBOGkgagH&usg=AFQjCNEGrQqdg-3uNCcaujozlqhfvuTmnw&sig2=uUZjZV69PWp0m2CD-33Fmw&bvm=bv.77161500,d.cWc
    [13] http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/two-more-states-abandon-common-core
    [14] http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3758244
    [15] http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/07/federal-govt-issues-warning-to-state-that-wants-to-opt-out-of-common-core/
    [16] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/10/08/teachers-reprimanded-for-speaking-out-against-common-core/
    [17] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m44HWP88YuA