Thank you Emma Carey for this guest post.
A difficulty that a lot of homeschooling parents have is keeping up with the changes in educational standards and practices. It’s so easy to simply try to teach your elementary kids the same things you remember learning (reading, writing, arithmetic and so on) at the same ages and in the same ways that you remember learning them. It’s something that, even as the homeschooler of someone in kindergarten, has become a challenge.
School, though, has changed a lot since many of us were students. Today, education is built around a quite controversial system called “common core.”
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What Is Common Core?
Basically, “common core” is a set of standards that was developed at the federal level to replace the state sanctioned standards that had been put in place by the No Child Left Behind Act. Because the No Child Left Behind standards were quite varied, it was very difficult to tell whether or not students were showing any improvement in math or reading (the two subjects on which these standardized tests focused). Now kids all over the country are expected to meet the exact same set of standards. The idea (say the politicians anyway) is to level the playing field and create a sense of equality. This is obviously quite controversial.
The Pros of the Common Core
Having definite benchmarks is often a good thing because it helps create structure and gives teachers and educators guidelines about how to set up their lesson plans and how to evaluate a student’s progress. It is also worth noting that the Common Core tests are supposed to be harder to “game.” (Though there were several instances of school districts reconfiguring and even cheating on tests to help raise their scores.) Many schools, lawmakers and families are very concerned about common core.
The Cons of the Common Core
For one thing, it encourages teaching to a test. As homeschoolers this can be incredibly frustrating. Part of the reason many of us choose to homeschool our children is so that we can structure the lessons and subjects to best suit our children’s natures and skill levels. It is supposed to take the pressure off. Because our kids are still supposed to be evaluated by the district, however, our kids will have to pass the same tests that kids in a formal educational environment will have to pass.
There is a lot of pressure, particularly among school teachers, to “teach to the test.” This was a huge problem after the No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top Acts were put in place and skeptics of the common core say that this narrow focus on the test will simply encourage more of the same.
A Blessing and a Curse of the Common Core
Right now, reading and math are the only two subjects that are regulated by Common Core. On the one hand this means that there is still some freedom within the other classes and subjects—like history, civics, the sciences, etc. On the other, it also means that focus is taken away from those subjects and school districts are canceling those classes and forcing teachers to focus on what is being widely measured. This reduces the chances that kids are getting a truly well-rounded education.
Where to Find Answers About Common Core and Home Schooling
There are a lot of resources out there for both traditional teachers and homeschool teachers, who might have some questions about how the common core system is going to work. Based on direct teacher feedback, some of the common core sample questions can be created from over 40 different technology enhanced formative assessments. The truth is that, because common core is so new, online resources like this one are probably more likely to have the answers you seek since traditional school districts are still figuring out the details and how they apply to their schools and classrooms.
Finally, remember that as common core is adopted and evaluated there will be difficulties, even for homeschoolers. Don’t be afraid to speak up or ask questions of your district or representatives! If you want changes you must speak up.
How do you feel about common core?
I haven’t checked your profile to see what state you live in, but CCSS SUCKS! It’s way more than just a set of federal/state standards! It’s surveys that they have the kids take, starting in kindergarten, with personal information about their household and family. Yes, your kids, our kids, will be telling the schools on these surveys, OUR personal information. This is information about what we do for work, if there are guns in the house, do we take drugs, and more.
It means that starting in kindergarten, the kids will be taught Sex Ed. Yes, Sexual Education will be taught to our children from ages 5 year old, and up. It means that everything that your child does from the time that they are in school (3 to 4 years old if they go to PreK), is recorded into a LARGE data base for anyone who works in a school district or at the Board of Education or our President, people with lots of money, and more, can read and review all information about your child and about your family.
CCSS, or Common Core, tells your child what they should do for the rest of their lives. It means that your child will probably never read Huck Finn, Moby Dick, 1984, To Kill a Mocking Bird, etc., because reading BORING Informational Texts (which they start doing in 1st grade by the way) is more important then reading actual literature that we read in school. Our kids would benefit more from reading books then reading informational texts.
It means that US history won’t be taught so much anymore, let alone, correctly. Our kids will be taught that it’s a privilege of owning guns, that the government LETS us own guns. That it’s not ok to own guns unless your part of a militia or in the military. They will be taught U.S. history with their language arts, not the way that we learned it, so they won’t even know that what they are learning is completely twisted, and mostly wrong, and not the real truth of U.S. history.
Your kids will spend only 30 minutes a day, or less, at recess. They won’t be allowed to be kids in the classroom. They are taught from kindergarten up, that they have to sit still in their seat, without talking, doing worksheet after worksheet. Test after test. If they decide to play with anything at all in their seat at their desk, they get in trouble. If they accidentally talk our of turn or wiggle around a little bit, they get in trouble. They take recess time away from your child if they get in trouble. How does that help your child to behave??? I’m not sure, but I find it completely WRONG!
CCSS teaches kids that math is a chore, and a stupid, ridiculous one at that! The math worksheets that you’ve seen online from other parents, they are real. They are dumbing down our kids. Instead of teaching our kids things, it’s a lot of memorization of words. They don’t teach our kids to sound out words. There is no way that my 5 year old daughter is going to be able to memorize her sight words, ever! I have been working with her to sound them out, and I get told, that’s not the way my teacher does it. Not now it’s not, but back in the day, they taught phonics and taught kids to sound words out so that they could read quicker.
I am seeing this first hand. My son HATES school, and he’s only 6 1/2. My daughter being 5 years old, for now, she likes it. But she’s the one that will struggle the most with learning, and I am letting her be an experiment to see how this is all going to work. So far, with PreK and now with kindergarten for her, it’s not working very well. She is supposed to be reading books in the next few weeks, and I don’t see this happening for her at all.
I have to sadly let her be a product of our local public school so that I can convince my husband to let me homeschool her. I have to let us go to the meeting in April or May, telling us that we should hold her back another year, all because the CCSS did her wrong, but not teaching her much of anything. So she should repeat kindergarten again, and she MIGHT pick it up. So, when you talk about CCSS, please do MORE research, because your information above is only 1/4 complete.
I forgot to include, your kids will sit in a computer class with headphones on, listening to heaven knows what, playing games, so we are told, on computers in computer class. My son says that people talk to him and tell him things. He is 6!!! So far, his behavior since August 1st when he started 1st grade, has done nothing but go south! He was great this summer. Now school started again, and I am having nothing but issues with him.
Wait till he’s reading some informational text, and it says that when us as parents tell our kids to do a chore, that we are Nagging them! Yep, brainwashing at it’s finest! Kids are with teachers 6 hours a day or more. They are going to believe what their teachers tell them to, not what we tell them to.
Heather, I have a close friend who has been instrumental in trying to end common core in Louisiana. I am homeschooling 1st grade and just learning more about it. But yes, I think it is quite scary!
AMEN Heather!!!!!
I have to say that thankfully I live in a state where homeschoolers currently do not have to follow public schools! The only thing we “have” to do is cover the core subjects but we don’t have to cover it the same way as public schools. We will continue to do what home educators usually do…learn to our own “beat”.
This is totally untrue information about homeschooling and common core. Homeschooling families don’t have to take district tests or even the yearly CCSC test. They have to be assessed by a qualified person. I fortunately have a friend with a master’s degree in education, that owned Sylvan’s and also, does NOT like common core. He can assess my homeschool kids and not use CCSC. As for the CCSC and graduation, I expect then to change and be flushed down the toilet with all the opposition. Even colleges and universities are not pleased with then and put NO stock in what they say. Instead, they are concerned about the SAT or ACT score of a student. In the state of Washington, my state, we have had CCSC for about 5yrs, maybe more. It was one of the first states to adopt them.
As for the claims that homeschoolers teach what they learned in that grade, ARE THEY CRAZY, homeschooling do as much research into different curriculums as public school teachers do, or more. Because much of the common core crap is a teacher manual with exactly what to say, and exactly what to teach. They only have to teach exactly what is in the book. Most people without college degrees can do that!!! The writer of this article is very unknowledgable about both CCSC and homeschooling. With so many homeschool curriculums out there ( from easy-speedy, to sunlight, to alpha and omega, total language plus, lifepac, and many more). This writer needs to do his own homework and really research, in depth, both homeschool and CCSC to gain an understanding of the two.
This 2014-2015 school year seems to be the first year to fully implement common core. I started first grade homeschool this week with my daughter. I am still learning more about common core. It appears that mandatory annual testing is required either by a teacher or by a standardized test.
Tell me more April. I am still learning. {And thank you.}
https://www.k12.wa.us/corestandards/
http://www.washhomeschool.org/homeschooling/law.html#testing
I am assuming by your link to K12 that that is what you are using? Please understand that that is NOT homeschooling, that is public school at home. Yes, it is a step in the right direction, but hopefully mostly used as a stepping stone, showing parents that they CAN do this without the government intervention.
K12 is all common core. It is free on the internet, but it is public school, but just doing it at home. That’s why it’s free. Also, when looking at a curriculum for your family, anything with Bill gates or the gates foundation is common core. Interesting fact, Bill gates foundation is the backer for common core and his children go to a very elect private in Seattle and the school only, and I quote, kinda sorta follow common core curriculum, in fact is they don’t, because common core curriculum trains a child not to be a free thinker. But instead to follow, and trains them to stand up for what is right, only for a reward, so if it is thought, by the child, (and later into adult life) that no one will like them if they stand up for what is right, they won’t do it.
Also, this article sounds like spoon-fed info straight from the school district or supporters of common core!!!!!
I was hoping to make it lean more towards anti-common core for my household since we are homeschooling. Maybe I should be more direct… Email me information, April about common core and Washington state? longwaitforisabella at gmail dot com.
All the info is on the web. Check out my last comment, i.e. type o – I meant to say I am just starting homeschool with my 2 daughters this year and there grade are 6 and 7. For common core info,there is much propaganda about it, check out the standard for your state, but then check article on Facebook, like parents against common core.
LaVonne, sorry I didn’t mean to attack you, but if this is written by you, you should know more about the homeschool environment. I may just starting homeschool with my daughters entering the 6 and 7 grade. if you live in Washington, like I do, you should know all the resources at your disposal. I would recommend the WHO (Washington homeschool organization). I have to be honest about this article, it really does sound like you do not know much about either. And if you are homeschooling your son, you should check out all the info a and support groups for it, and curriculums and your son does not have to take their tests. Check out the laws for Washington on the WHO website.
I believe she is using K12 which is not true, traditional homeschooling. Her perspective may be skewed because of this.
I just started 1st grade with my daughter and we are using A Beka. I noticed that school wasn’t mandatory until 8 in Washington State so I haven’t filed anything with our local district or anything. I just joined a homeschool co-op in our county and registration is on the 12th. So I am excited to connect with local homeschoolers and learn more. I love talking with other homeschool moms, especially in Washington. I so new to it I don’t know much. But I am reading more today.
I just read your “about” blurb and see you are a Christian, so I feel completely comfortable suggesting the following site to you. If you are on facebook, please seek out the group called The Christian Homeschool Oasis. Here you will learn vast information about Common Core, but also will learn about the lifestyle that is homeschooling and how that is very different from K12.
Thanks for more resources, Tonya. I very much appreciate it! Going there next 🙂
You won’t regret checking out the Christian Homeschool Oasis. It’s simply wonderful!
Thanks Naomi, I’ve asked to join. I can’t wait to learn more and connect more with homeschoolers! {Over 4K members? Wow! That’s an intimidating group size!}
Hello LaVonne,
If you ask to join CHO, please be sure to check your messages box for our inquiry letter.
Ellen Gerwitz
CHO Membership Admin
Hello once more,
I also thought I would include some links for your readers that would help them learn more about the HISTORY and AGENDA behind the Common Core. It’s definitely NOT just a new set of standards.
http://indoctrinationmovie.com/indoctrination-how-long-has-this-been-going-on-2-2/
http://indoctrinationmovie.com/the-origins-of-our-modern-educational-system/
http://indoctrinationmovie.com/if-we-get-rid-of-common-core-state-standards/
http://indoctrinationmovie.com/government-schooling-the-final-solution/
Reading this book was INSTRUMENTAL in helping me put together the final pieces in this puzzle:
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/
Common Core is just the latest tool in the progressive socialists toolbox to gain control of the hearts and minds of the people of this country.
Stay far, far away from it!!!!