Comments on: This is what happens when educated women discuss the Common Core State Standards.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 01:51:13 +0000

If kids have to read non-fiction as much as they read fiction in the early grades, which is where reading is taught as a skill, then they learn to hate reading and won’t read anything.
Reading that is rich in story inspires a love of reading, and a love of reading enables being able to read informational texts as well as fiction, poetry, essays, etc. High school kids get a lot of informational reading done when they read their text books.
Reading informational literature can certainly be taught as a skill, but it does not need to be rammed down their throats starting in First Grade. I know a good number of early elementary teachers who see kids learn to hate reading, rather than learning how to read informational text.

By: LP

LP — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 18:49:41 +0000

I would simply add that critiquing literary text teaches us how to determine whether or not to believe informational text. We learn strategies to make our own decisions, to become leaders rather than followers. We learn to question everything.

By: Jacky

Jacky — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 18:59:07 +0000

Of course informational texts are important. But…

1) Small children just learning to read should read whatever delights them. Same with students are the stage where they need practice, practice, practice to gain fluency. For some students, nonfiction is all they want to read, but for others, taking away character and story removes the joy from reading. There should be balance and attention paid to student needs.

2) In a high school setting, you have history, science, math, art, PE, music, foreign language, computer skills courses, health, hands on practical skills courses (auto repair, woodshop, cooking, etc) — this big long list of courses can all provide extensive experiences with nonfiction, informational texts. And, each of these courses uses the material authentically and has a teacher who specializes in using texts for that information. Who teaches literature? Novels, poetry, plays, short stories? Usually, only the English teacher. Don’t remove the literature content from the only room teaching it.

3) Literature is more important than informational texts to the soul of humanity. Would I rather my daughter walk away from school pondering some of the largest questions of the history of humanity, or would I rather her know how to dissect a short informational passage to find its main idea and supporting details?

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 11:36:57 +0000

Any national movement designed by “experts” (not necessarily teachers) is doomed to failure. Ever since we have been focused on AYP in the annual tests for NCLB I have seen a severe decrease in the skill levels of my students in high school physics. Students are struggling like never before. NCLB was suppose to make every student reach the academic targets set forth in the law. The opposite has happened as far as I can tell. So, we are going to replace it with more of the same? The focus needs to be on how students learn best and how to translate that into effective teaching practices. There are programs that truly try to do that. Why are we not pushing in that direction instead of more high stakes standardized testing that clearly does not work.

By: allison

allison — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 01:36:34 +0000

More educators at all levels need to start being “unapologetically confident about what the truth is”

By: Demian

Demian — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:49:21 +0000

Very informative piece. The link to “Governors Association decided to ignore her expertise”, however, doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the issue. Can you double-check whether it’s the correct link?

By: William

William — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 13:38:57 +0000

For most Americans – most all – whether or not we want to acknowledge it – “it’s about the economy…”. The pontificating and ego fights are what need to stop. If we need to back up every comment we make with research, and we ignore the obvious (above) AND ignore that education is DYNAMIC, we fool the students and society we need to reach. Education is a dynamic exchange between people not based on only recordable data and evidence and research – it’s important on the humanistic level. However, it is about the economy. Kids like candy. No research is needed. The evidence is overwhelming. Companies that notice this – and who make candy – are going to run with it.

The government, I believe, is trying to make/keep America competitive. This also goes for the companies selling candy, curricula and assessment. I could go on and on…

At the end of the day, it’s not educators who have dumbed down students and society, it is science vs. Religion, outsourcing of products, and the loss of local control. We’ve lost our central mission in America – it’s was never education’s fault.

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 22:03:53 +0000

Although there is something to be gained from learning to read informational text, introducing this type of reading and/or using it to literary texts bores students, and teaches them to read only for information, thereby REDUCING their critical thinking skills. Literary texts, even in books for young children, teaches inference and analysis, without calling it work. Literary texts, therefore, NATURLLY teach students the habits of mind that promote critical thinking. In addition, literary texts encourage empathy, and in case you haven’t heard, there is an increasing empathy deficit in this country. Students need to learn more than just explicit “job skills,” especially since they spend an ever-increasing amount of time in school, which therefore reduces their time out of school, with family, learning to be responsible citizens.

By: Jeff schaefer

Jeff schaefer — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 16:03:26 +0000

When I as a parent can have my child understand a problem and solve it in the way I have learned to and he says that is so much simpler,common core should go away. He was trying to figure out problems on a homework worksheet and crying over it cause ,as it was hard for me to understand also it was hard for him. The teacher did not prepare him sufficiently to do the work. So what is the problem? Common core or the teachers inability to teach the work. What happened to getting from point A to point B in the quickest easiest way? On the behalf of the common core ideology , I think it’s idea is to not have to think to get the answer, as it should pop into our heads , We are only human and to take away a simpler thinking process will make us something other than human.

By: Betsy Marshall

Betsy Marshall — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 13:55:44 +0000

Kevin, I don’t believe the propaganda that you are pushing. Please supply the names and locations of the companies that have good employment opportunities that go unfilled. Also list the requirements for the jobs, the starting salaries and benefits offered. This is a meme pushed by state and national chambers of commerce in order to further their stated goals; to destroy public education and create a competitive market place where they can sell their product more easily. If they get to define what every child should know and when they should know it, they can market their wares at an economy of scale that will enrich the few at the top. When education becomes a business, the majority of children in a community will be harmed. There is every reason not to trust the corporate business community…….