Here is a link to a collage of interviews (snippets) to help those new to the Common Core debate. It is very informative. Please feel free to download and make copies for everyone that loves children and is concerned with what is going on in education today.
This will be available on Sat 9/28/13 by noon.
Here is list of speakers:
Speakers on CD:
Jackie Virga--Mother of twins from New York on what Common Core did to her child.
Professor Jim Milgram (On Nat'l Validation Committee): says homeschool your kids
Bio on Professor Milgram and excerpt from a blog with his letter: R. James Milgram is an emeritus professor of mathematics at Stanford University where he has taught since 1970. He is a member of the National Board for Education Sciences - the presidential board that oversees the Institute for Education Research at the U.S. Department of Education - is also a member of the NASA Advisory Council, and is a member of the Achieve Mathematics Advisory Panel. He was one of the members of the Common Grounds Project that included Deborah Ball, Joan Ferrini-Mundy, J. Kilpatrick, Richard Schaar, and Wilfried Schmid. From 2002 to 2005, Professor Milgram headed a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education that identified and described the key mathematics that K-8 teachers need to know. He also helped to direct a project partially funded by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation that evaluated state mathematics assessments. He is one of the four main authors of the California Mathematics Standards, as well as one of the two main authors of the California Mathematics Framework. He is also one of the main authors of the new Michigan and new Georgia mathematics standards. Among other honors, he has held the Gauss Professorship at the University of Goettingen and the Regent’s Professorship at the University of New Mexico. He has published over 100 research papers in mathematics and four books, as well as serving as an editor of many others. His main area of research is algebraic and geometric topology, and he currently works on questions in robotics and protein folding. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in mathematics from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Minnesota. He served on the validation committee for the Common Core mathematics. He did not agree to approve the standards.
He sent the following letter.
Dear Diane, In
your own writings you mention that the biggest issue with Core
Standards is the lack of evidence. This is largely true. But at
least in math there is significant international evidence that
major parts of the standards will not work. For example, the only
area we could find that has had success with CCSS-M's method of
treating geometry is in Flemish Belgium. But it was tried on a
national scale in Russia a number of years back, and was rapidly
dropped. Likewise, the extremely limited high school level content
is so weak that Jason Zimba, one of the three main writers
described it as follows: First, he defined "college readiness" by
stating: "We have agreement to the extent that it's a fuzzy
definition, that the minimally college-ready student is a student
who passed Algebra II." Perhaps this explains why the only math at
the high school level, aside from a snippet on trigonometry, is
material from Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry. Moreover, the
Algebra II component does not describe a complete course. Zimba's
definition is taken verbatim from his March 23, 2010 testimony
before the MA State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Later, in the question period, Sandy Stotsky asked for some
clarification. The following is a verbatim transcript: Zimba stated
"In my original remarks, I didn't make that point strongly enough
or signal the agreement that we have on this - the definition of
college readiness. I think it's a fair critique that it's a minimal
definition of college readiness." Stotsky asked "For some
colleges?" and Zimba responded by stating: "Well, for the colleges
most kids go to, but not for the colleges most parents aspire to."
Stotsky then asked "Not for STEM, not for international
competitiveness?" and Zimba responded "Not only not for STEM, it’s
also not for selective colleges. For example, for UC Berkeley,
whether you are going to be an engineer or not, you'd better have
precalculus to get into UC Berkeley." Stotsky then pointed out:
"Right, but we have to think of the engineering colleges and the
scientific pathway." Zimba added "That's true, I think the third
pathway goes a lot towards that. But your issue is broader than
that." Stotsky agreed saying "I'm not just thinking about selective
colleges. There's a much broader question here," to which Zimba
added "That's right. It's both, I think, in the sense of being
clear about what this college readiness does and doesn't get you,
and that's the big subject." Stotsky then summarized her objections
to this minimalist definition by explaining that a set of standards
labeled as making students college-ready when the readiness level
applies only to a certain type of college and to a low level of
mathematical expertise wouldn’t command much international respect
in areas like technology, economics, and business. Zimba appeared
to agree as he then said "OK. Thank you." So these are the
standards that Sybilla Beckmann recently described by stating that
"No standards I know of are better than the CCSS-M." Well, if you
believe that then perhaps I can interest you in large bridge in
NYC. As to the "third pathway" that Zimba mentioned above, it never
actually existed. The version of CCSS-M Zimba was talking about was
the March 10 public draft. It had placemarkers for the key calculus
standards, but aside from those placemarkers, this version
contained about the same material -- only in Geometry, Algebra I,
Algebra II and a trig snippet -- as appears in the final version.
Moreover, the calculus placemarkers and any hint of a third pathway
are gone in the final version. It is also worth noting that
Clifford Adelman did an analysis of the odds of completing a
college degree based on the highest level math course completed in
high school. The odds for Geometry were 16.7%, for Algebra II they
were 39.3%, but for Trigonometry they were 60%, 74.6% for
Precalculus, and 83.3% for Calculus. So we can estimate that a
"minimally college ready student" has a less than 40% chance of
completing a college degree. Is this really what the National
Governor's Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers,
and the Gates and Broad Foundations want for our youth? Yours, Jim
Milgram
Professor Sandra Stotsky (the one that said we need to stop giving poison no matter how expensive...:
Sandra Stotsky is the University of Arkansas Professor Emerita in the Department of Education Reform. She is credited with developing one of the country’s strongest sets of academic standards for K-12 students as well as the strongest academic standards and licensure tests for prospective teachers while serving as Senior Associate Commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Education from 1999-2003. She is also known nation-wide for her in-depth analyses of the problems in Common Core’s English Language Arts (ELA) standards. She currently serves on the advisory board for Pioneer Institute’s Center for School Reform. She served on the National Validation Committee for the Common Core State Systemic Initiative (2009-2010), and she refused to validate the standards due to their grave inadequacies.
Charlotte Iserbyt (the one that warns about there is no school choice and how we must not lose our elected school boards) wrote The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America which is available as a free e-book:
She served as the Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education, during the first term of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and staff employee of the U.S. Department of State.
She is known for writing the book The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America. The book reveals that changes gradually brought into the American public education system work to eliminate the influences of a child's parents (religion, morals, national patriotism), and mold the child into a member of the proletariat in preparation for a socialist-collectivist world of the future. She says that these changes originated from plans formulated primarily by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education and Rockefeller General Education Board, and details the psychological methods used to implement and effect the changes. She warns people of dangers of charters schools and not to give up local controls in education.
Alice Linahan a leading Texas activist (Women on the Wall) who has been fighting for good education in Texas (exposed CSCOPE)--she spoke with Charlotte Iserbyt about the danger of charter schools.
Becky Gerritson-(the one that actually called Common Core to verify whether or not it could be changed.)Founder and President of Wetumpka Tea Party and was in the news for giving her impassioned testimony against the IRS in trying to defend her freedoms and our nation.
Kenneth Freeman, executive director of the Alliance for Citizens' Rights talked about how state lawmakers (Del Marsh of Al) threw a state's right to get rid of Common Core legislation in the waste bin and did not even care to hear facts from Lindsey Burke of Heritage Foundation on Common Core--just a little glimpse of the antics of pro-common core legislators.
Christel Swasey, a Utah public education teacher see some of her fact filled blogs at http://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/christel-swasey-responds-to-brenda-hales/
Here's link to a must see interview with a Clinical Mental Health Therapist:
http://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/clinical-mental-health-therapist-interviewed/
Latest video from psychologist that confirms the planners of Common Core really didn't think about the appropriateness for children:
Last speaker is Col. John Eidsmoe on the unconstitutionality of Common core--Congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has described Eidsmoe as "one of the professors who had a great influence on me", "a wonderful man", and "absolutely brilliant." She worked for him while a law student at Oral Roberts as a research assistant on Christianity and the Constitution.
He is an attorney and a professor of constitutional law and related subjects. He has previously taught at the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, Faulkner University, Montgomery, Alabama, and at the O. W. Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University. He served in the US Air Force as a Lt. Colonel and is an Alabama State Defense Force Colonel, Headquarters Judge Advocate, Deputy Chaplain and Training Officer. He earned his J.D. from the University of Iowa, M.A. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and M. Div. from Lutheran Brethren Seminary
Eidsmoe is currently the Senior Counsel and Resident Scholar at the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery, AL.
Consequences for Children--Please watch this video by Child Psychologist:
Dr. Megan Koschnick presents on Common Core at APP Conference
Stress!! Children will be frustrated and may disengage from education.
The curriculum includes lessons and strategies to get students to understand concepts that are not developmentally appropriate. Less time for presenting grade appropriate materials, leaving no time for repetition.
Teachers may perceive typically developing students as delayed.
Parents may be informed that their children are behind delayed, disordered.
Please get informed!