Common Core: Math standards developers refuse to sign off, schools implement unapproved standards

Common Core: Math standards developers refuse to sign off, schools implement unapproved standards

“Mathematics Professor R. James Milgram of Stanford University, the only mathematician on the Validation Committee, refused to sign off on the (Common Core) math standards, because they would put many students two years behind those of many high-achieving countries.”

For example, “Algebra 1 would be taught in 9th grade, not 8th grade for many students, making calculus inaccessible to them in high school. The quality of the standards is low and not internationally benchmarked.”

Dr. James Milgram, Professor of Math at Stanford University, emeritus, had such serious reservations about the fuzzy math of Common Core (Obama’s educational movement) that Milgram refused to sign off on the standards’ adequacy– as an official member of the Common Core Validation Committee.* states Rachel Alexander with RWN.

What are we doing in Tennessee and across the nation to our children?

A push to make our kids mediocre? Are we satisfied to only reach our least potential? 

Sure, small community colleges are great and have served my family well but where is the push for higher learning? Where is the thought process that if we set the bar high enough someone might succeed?

We are steadily educating worker bees, slaves and serfs for the workforce at the behest of corporate America while making little globalists and corporate pons to do as they are told.

Is this federal top down indoctrination a part of a bigger plan? Mindless Drones? Is that the best we achieve?

The quest for greatness is not there any more and I don’t completely understand.

Common Core Math Standards not being signed off on or approved is a big deal and we push it forward anyway placing it in our schools and say it’s the best we got? We hand it to our kids? A sub-par education? Unchecked? For a few hundred million?

Meanwhile, we have a corporate globalist out of touch Governor spanning the state making money on his education ventures, wheeling and dealing wherever the opportunity presents. 

He is misleading the state and touting that the Common Core Math standards are responsible for raised math scores from last year. 

The CC standards are not really even fully implemented yet in TN. Where is the clarity in this debacle by our elected representatives? The media?

If we go the way of New York and Kentucky mimicking their test results we may be in for a surprise or two when our real Common Core scores come in! 

But at what expense?

Our children and their education?

Sources of information:

http://www.rightwingnews.com/education/common-core-whats-hidden-behind-the-language/

Dr Milgram and Stotsky refuse to sign off on Math and English standards.
http://whatiscommoncore.wordpress.com/tag/refused-to-sign-off-on-the-standards/

Pioneer Institute: Math Standards
http://www.bipps.org/pioneer-institute-college-and-career-ready-national-math-standards-prepare-students-for-only-non-selective-colleges/

White paper: Milgram and Stotsky on Zimba and math standards.
http://pioneerinstitute.org/?wpdmdl=381

63 Superintendents draft “No Confidence” petition to Huffman’s radical reform

63 Superintendents draft “No Confidence” petition to Huffman’s radical reform  

Teneessee Education Czar Kevin Huffman, a Bill Haslam appointee has been on a radical romp in Tennessee the last few years transforming our educational system into a nationalized mess leaving many doubting his motives.

Pushing RTTT, common core, charter schools, new teacher assessments, merit based pay, reduced overall teacher pay, nationalized education, nationalized school boards while trending away from local control, Teach For America and many other reforms are drastically changing the educational landscape in Tennessee. Many within the system forced to accept these changes are not happy.

The 63 or so Superintendents from the state of Tennessee have started a petition to garner Mr Huffmans attention and tell him they may have something to add if only given the opportunity and that they are not happy with the product presented.

A statewide petition made up of educators and superintendents are requesting state legislators and Governor Bill Haslam to reconsider his appointment and the direction our state is heading regarding his massive education reform agenda.

This group of Superintendents are essentially saying they have no confidence in the reform he is initiating.

Mr Huffman brings very little experience as an educator working sparsely as a teacher inside TFA (Teach For America)  an organization marked to replace teachers when they do not measure up to the new teacher evaluation system. TFA is a 7 week training course for “bright individuals” trained in these socialist tactics of Mr Huffmans. My research has revealed they don’t even have to be teachers to graduate as a TFA product ready to step in and teach for teachers unable to keep their license or jobs.

When teachers are fired or lose their license for poor results on standardized testing or TVASS asessments, a TFA teacher will step  in and perform as a Huffman robot “teacher” that does as he says and the new system requires of them.

As an attorney, Huffman is not known as a teacher, and reportedly only taught in lower grades for a couple of years developed from within the TFA puppy, er, teacher mill.  

He is well positioned to be a useful idiot of the federal government to radicalize and eventually nationalize our educational system. He wears that “Yes man” suit well.  Perhaps a DOE post in his not so distant future.

Having roughly half of all Superintendents signing this petition  sends a strong message to Huffman and Haslam.

They are calling on our state legislators and Governor Haslam to stop his radical reform immediately and halt the assault on the system that holds the future of our children and weakens our teachers ability to teach our children.

The petition, posted below is withholding the names of those signed fearing that Mr Huffman or Haslam will retaliate and weaken their push to have him removed. Their names will be added upon presentation to Haslam as soon as next week.

The petition warns of possible political fall out for Haslam if he continues to support Huffman and his changes. See petition below:

Click to access DN211626911.pdf

The petition suggests that Mr Kevin Huffman is “not interested” in dialogue with educators on the front lines and even sees them as an “impediment” to implementing his socialistic changes. 

Several superintendents voiced they are “desiring input” into this change but have not been asked, just simply asked to tow the line, no questions asked. 

What little input that has been heard has fallen on “deaf ears” even calling their efforts “futile.” The petition goes on to say “Today we feel that we are not respected and valued and and that the unique culture of our system is not valued…..feeling voiceless and powerless.”

This hardly seems like the environment we need for our teachers and ultimately our children. With this many folks unhappy, where is the motivation for them to succeed?

Bill Haslam  must now know that further support for these radical ideas with even deeper radical ties is not the best choice for Tennessee.

Firing or not renewing their licenses, based on the results of a broken system is ridiculous and begs for us to ask questions of their intent. 

Kevin Huffman brings to the table a portion of his past that may be influencing his decisions even today. It is a proven fact that not too long ago he was married, now divorced to Michelle Rhee, another equally controversial radical reformer with her own problems and controversies. 

Kevin Huffman has obviously taken a few plays from his ex wife’s playbook. It is rumored their children attend schools in TN. Why would there not be an influence? 

Michelle Rhees legacy of failure and controversy has followed her from DC to other parts of the nation and is now shaping our educational system.

The radical reformer has dealt with several education scandals in her recent past varying from reduced teacher salaries, firing superintendents and teachers, cheating on standardized testing stirring heavy resistance and upheaval from many different districts and educators.
http://www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10102

Not falling far from that tree is her ex-husband, Kevin Huffman, who has his own issues brewing in Tennessee, not unlike those his wife has  encountered.

Their shared idea of transforming our educational system into a socialistic utopia dead set on targeting teachers solely as the blame for poor schools  is not sitting well with many.

Has anyone asked our teachers what they think is best for our school system?

 I can only bet there are about a million teachers in TN that could give you strong enough answers to radically transform our system without getting rid of those that teach and love the profession dearly.

Teachers must speak up and support their Superintendents that are sticking their necks out. Next move, if you want to be heard you must speak up.

You can easily see the motive of large cheating scandals of teachers losing their jobs or worse if kids do not score well enough. This is the environment being fostered in Tennessee.

Other sources of information:

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/23428978/tenn-education-commissioner-responds-to-petition

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130913/NEWS04/309130161/Metro-Nashville-teachers-vote-no-confidence-Kevin-Huffman?gcheck=1

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-hurting-our-schools-remove-kevin-huffman-as-the-appointed-tn-commissioner-of-education

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/08/30/is-teach-for-america-working/teach-for-america-is-a-glorified-temp-agency

http://tn.gov/education/AboutCommissioner.shtml

NY joins KY as Common Core test failures mount across the nation

NY joins KY as Common Core test failures mount across the nation

Common Core Grade Report:

Kentucky- FAIL

New York- FAIL

Tennessee- Pending but expected to fail.

New York has now joined Kentucky this week in announcing the dismal failure of Common Core in their states.

The end of year assessment tests are in and it aint purdy!

New York reports only 31 percent are competent on assessment tests using Common Core as it’s standard. Some New York school districts have reported only a 5 percent competency rate. Similar scores for Kentucky. 

Dismal by all standards. If this were an domestic animal, my daddy would have taken it out in the woods and shot it…….in the head…….twice!!!

Conclusion and realization? Common Core aint working and it comes as no surprise to those that saw this coming. 

Common Core really is a hyped up mess, make up dripping down her face and looking for a prom date….and one heel broken and an ugly date.

Besides being a top down nationalization of our schools, it is mostly unproven and promotes equalization of all students by teaching down to the lowest denominator. Think about that for a moment. Dumbing down to the lowest denominator? Which child from your childhood comes to mind, never mind, it’s too visual right now, I’m about to go hug my higher than the standard child and hang on for dear life to prevent the slide backward. 

It is the dumbing down of our school system, our children.

It is the socialist model. 

Who would have thought that revamping math to an unrecognizable entity, shifting a focus to reading technical manuals instead of the literary masters while erasing multiple choice for essay answers would raise scores?

I surely didnt! 

Supporters of Common Core are saying it will take about 5 years to get it right and see tests improve. 5 years? 

A whole generation of students finish 8th grade and graduate before we get it right? 

In the meantime a student dumb as a box of rocks tries to get into college , can’t pass the exam, then gets a job where he can’t even read the men’s bathroom sign or fill out a job application or form a complete sentence.  What a nice trade we have brokered?

Parents and teachers should be sideways over this. This curriculum, ie new common core standards were implemented without a smidgen of shared information. 

A group of high paid politicians inside an NGO, Non Governmental Organization called NGA and an ultra liberal education think tank, CCSSO decided our schools need a new direction and they just do it without a bit of input from those receiving the golden wiener. 

Even our elected officials didn’t know what they were voting for. Our elected officials pulled the Nancy Pelosi look alike vote, vote for it then see what is in it.  

Our houses voted and had somewhat of an idea there was some new standards in there but got the message that it was business as usual for it was standards they have seen before. The exchange of 500 million dollars for their “yes” vote quickly closed the mouths of any objections. 

The vote for Race to the Top was signed and the standards were not even developed, yet they hurriedly went from John to prostitute and the transaction was complete. 

You would think at least a questionnaire for our teachers or parents to fill out would be in line before prostituting out our children to the highest bidder. 

Bureaucrats inside liberal think tanks take a bribe of 500 million dollars from Barrack Hussein Obama to overhaul Tennessee’s educational system and now we are the bend over lover that never gets formally introduced to mom and dad.

Teachers get the short end of this deal. They get bypassed for input into the new standards and as a bonus get told that if they say anything they will be living in a cardboard box across the street from the nearest retail business searching for food from inside the four walls of a dumpster.

The distrust of our teachers drives this program. Teachers are gonna get blamed for these bad test scores that dont even have the supporting teaching materials to accompany these new standards. After all, they are expensive and it will take a while to get them. God bless our teachers as we witness the walls colliding on them as Common Core sinks it’s fangs into their careers! 

So, when “the teacher” fails, their pay drops off and they are replaced by trained robots from DC or recycled through some dirty teacher washing machine and sent back to the front lines with day old drool from the left side of their face onto a snug bib around their neck.  

Teachers are not able to do what they know how to do. They are stuck teaching to a test that has no rules or established guidelines. 

When this failure happens across Tennessee and it will, the Feds will gobble up the bad schools, do away with school boards and local control and wallah, top down federalization of our schools under the stealthy hand of a Marxist from the White House.

Folks Common Core has never been tested! It has no template or precedence. It has not been tweaked, this is the first roll out. 

Even cars get their tires kicked and get a spin around the block before a price tag gets placed on the rear passenger window. 

Its being pushed by multi billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates who live high enough up in the hills to be starved of the necessary oxygen to make rational decisions. 

Their endless supply of do as I say grants are paving the way to this nightmare and the money they stand to make on the much needed software and supporting materials will give them enough ka ching well into the next millennium.

Where do we go when we hit bottom? When Tennessee like New York and Kentucky gets an F? 

What happens to a generation of children that missed out on a pretty good education and leaves for the workforce about two bricks shy of a full load? 

What about the students left in lower grades that now must survive in a post common core world where an educational system has been brought to ruins and forced to look for an alternative…again! 

We now have our second generation unable to count, read or place 3 blocks vertically in a row?Wow! 

What a price to pay for a revolution on education by DC elitist and promoted by those with less than lofty goals for our country. 

Then again, perhaps they did accomplish one goal. Failure and embarrassment for our country and a bunch of kids with hardly an education.

For now plant your feet, brace for the oncoming high speed train wreck. It’s speeding down the track and we know where it’s headed.

Talk to your elected leaders and let’s stop common core in it’s tracks!

Choo choo chooooooo!!!

http://m.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2013/0808/New-York-test-scores-hint-at-hard-road-ahead-for-Common-Core

http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/08/common-core-in-crosshairs-after-schools-get-f/

http://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?DISPATCHED=true&cid=25983841&item=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F2012%2F11%2F02%2F11standards.h32.html%3Ftkn%3DQXTFgSgrUZ5U1bik811D%252BXAxFP%252FVYsuzYKJx

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/the-common-core-whos-minding-the-schools.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0