Dear Entheos,
It saddens me to have to write this letter. I was hoping that parents like myself opting
their children out of the Sage tests would have been an indication that there
was, ”trouble in Common Core paradise”.
A so called paradise, tied to grant money which was tied to “Race
to the Top”. A so called paradise
because once again, rather than dealing with the deficiencies, school boards
all across America jumped on the chance for more money. Money that even when available has proven
time and time again will not actually fix anything. If the money could fix the problems why is it
that some of the highest funding falls to some of the worst schools?
Let me tell you a little about my kids.
My oldest who is now high school age is one of those kids that gets rave
reviews. Even with the struggles she had
with grades the last couple of years she’s basically a good kid. She does what the teacher asks. She tries to be kind even when other students
are more than a little frustrating to her. She is encouraging to the people around
her. There are a few things that
intimidate her, but for the most part she pushes through her fears and
continually advances in everything she works for.
One of the areas that I was glad to see her improve was in
her ability to stand up for herself. I
have to give a lot of credit to Entheos for that. I would encourage her from home, but out on
the proverbial battlefield she had amazing teachers encouraging her too. I know of two teachers in particular who
reminded her that she didn’t have to put up with anyone’s nonsense even if they
were friends. The teachers at Entheos
were able to pull her out of her shell and get her to try new things that
previously she would never have considered.
For example, at the end of school she sang in front of her crew. No one in her class knew she could sing.
Now for my youngest.
Her story is very different from my oldest. She is very much a kid who will work harder
to get out of something than just getting the project done. School work, homework, chores. She works to extremes to avoid the things she
doesn’t consider to be fun, or that she deems to hard. This was especially the case when she was in
public school.
We did the things that we were expected to do as
parents. We read with her and to her. We
helped her with her numbers, sight words, and other class expectations. When we were working with her she was doing
the work, and making strides. However,
we were to find out, not thru a phone call or letter home, that she was not
doing the work in class. When the
teacher would work with her she simply wouldn’t work. The teacher(s) didn’t have enough compassion
for my kid to let us know that she was struggling, until it was time for parent
teacher conferences. A good chunk of the
year was already gone by the time we were approached on her lack of work. At the meeting we showed the teacher what she
could do. Imagine the teachers surprise
when she COULD do what was asked. A
phone call to get her back on track was all that was needed. I would have been in class with her but we
were under the impressions that things were better.
Even though we begged for a phone call if things didn’t
change, we again were left with no information until the next parent teacher
conference. This was to be her school
life for the next three years. Parent
teacher meetings at the first of the year, where we informed the teachers what
she would try to do made no difference.
We spent the year with no information from the very people who were
supposedly working side by side with her.
I suggested that we hold her back a year. I was thwarted. Informed that we wouldn’t be able to do that. I suggested that I should make surprise
visits. That way she wouldn’t know when
I was coming and would hopefully have the incentive to stay on task and work
hard. Thwarted again. I would have to schedule all visits.
As a parent this is not just frustrating. This is telling me that I can’t see my own
kid in any and all circumstances. This leads
me to wonder what is being hidden from me. I suggested keeping her from things
like assemblies and recess if her work wasn’t getting done in class. I was told that was a great idea and then
later found that it wasn’t happening. I
suggested making sure that all un-finished class work be sent home so we could
at least be working on the daily tasks…
It never came.
We were however, told the last year the kids were at that
school that I should perhaps get my kid “on something”. When I asked what kind of Ph.D. gave this
particularly nasty teacher the right to suggest anything like that, I was
informed that her plethora of children gave her the knowledge that a parent
just didn’t have.
My kid didn’t and doesn’t need drugs. What she did and does need? People who are
willing to push her and hold her accountable.
This is what we found at Entheos.
I am taking the time to tell you all of this so that
perhaps, you’ll have a clearer understanding of why Entheos was such a huge
change and good change for my youngest in particular.
The year that we finally made it into Entheos, I had planned
on home schooling my kids. We hadn’t
heard from the school yet, but I wasn’t about to put my kids through the hell
of public school any longer. About a
month into the new school year we found out that both the girls had made it.
This was a huge blessing.
Although we didn’t know how big at the time.
Ms. Tsu, an amazing teacher, was our youngest’s first Entheos
teacher. The first opportunity we had we sat down with her and explained what
school life had been like. We didn’t
know what to expect, and had very reserved feelings due to our prior
experience. We were basing everything we
knew about Entheos on someone else’s say so.
Thankfully we were pleasantly surprised.
Our youngest not only finally wanted to be at school, she
was making huge strides in recovering three very detrimental years. I think the one huge difference was that Ms.
Tsu cared. When she did well, notes were
sent home. When we needed to help work
on something, notes were sent home. When
my youngest had a minor melt down a note went home and Ms. Tsu took time out of
her busy schedule to work with us. She never
worked against us.
Ms.Tsu was followed by Ms. DeMille and then Mr. Miller and
respectively Mr. Loertscher. All of them
wonderful!
The simple reason? They cared. They cared to keep us informed. They cared to push our youngest when she
needed it, to challenge her. To raise
the bar.
Unfortunately, here we are.
Common Core.
The name pretty much says it all… Well, then again, maybe not.
I don’t know the reasons why Entheos chose to go along with
Common Core. Was it a real want to do
something better for the kids? Was it a
need to follow certain protocols demanded by the state? Or was it simply an easy way to acquire grant
money to help the school?
It doesn’t matter what the reason was.
And here is why. No matter if it
was for the kids or the money the fact is that this program, even under the
best of circumstances will ultimately remove local control. It will be just another one size fits all
program, funded by the tax payer and run by Washington monopolies and bureaucrats.
When the powers that be can admit that “Students will cover
less academic ground under Common Core”, but assure us that, “kids will go ‘deeper’ into each
concept and develop ‘critical thinking skills’ that will prepare them for all
the new jobs”….. I can whole heartedly
say, “Houston I think we have a problem here.”
Stanford Professor emeritus James Milgram, who was the only mathematician on
the Common Core Validation Committee, refused to sign off on the proposed
standards because he believed they were too weak. In testimony to the Texas legislature, He
explained that the standards were “in large measure a political document that…
is written at a very low level and does not adequately reflect our current
understanding of why the math programs in the high-achieving countries give
dramatically better results.” (Chap 13
Common Core is “Rigorous” from the book Conform.)
One of Milgrams objections; that the standards instruct
schools not to teach algebra until 9th grade. Milgrams and other math experts note that
this means students won’t be introduced to pre-calculus until college. Jason Zimba, a professor at Bennington
College and lead writer of the math standards acknowledged as much in the Baton
Rouge Advocate.
Zimba also admitted that the students following Common Core would
likely be precluded from “attending elite colleges” since the Core is “not
aligned with the expectations at the collegiate level.”
Then take into account this…
According to Milgram and Stotsky’s report: “It is extremely
rare for students who begin their undergraduate years with coursework in pre-calculus
or even lower levels of mathematical knowledge to achieve a bachelor’s degree
in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) area. Also students whose last high school
mathematics course was algebra II have less than a 40% chance of obtaining a
four-year college degree.”
I ask you, how does this make Common Core more rigorous?
English standards aren’t much better.
Sandra Stotsky, the professor that coauthored the Milgram
report, is highly regarded in education circles for her work in helping author Massachusetts’s
English language arts learning standards, which were widely acknowledged
to be the best in the nation. You’ll
notice it says “were”, have since been replaced by Common Core. (Chap 13 Common Core is “Rigorous” from the
book Conform.)
When texts are “practical” and “Meaningful” to a student,
what do you think that really means?
What would it mean to the student?
What does it mean to the people who have crafted, funded and pushed
Common Core?
Do you think it really does mean that the kids will be better off? Or does it mean we’re just spinning our
wheels, and turning our children… Our Nation’s
future, into the next generation of drone workers?
A focus on “informational” texts instead of literature
pushes our kids towards things like manuals rather than novels. Literature that promotes free thinking gets
shelved.
Then there is the data collection.
”Usually, firewalls
are set up for our protection. They
prevent hackers from getting into our computers and they block our children
from visiting inappropriate Web sites.
But these state firewalls don’t help us.
They hurt all of us. They impede
our ability to serve students and better understand how we can improve American
education… Hopefully someday, we can track children from preschool to high school
and from high school to college and college to career. We must track high growth children in
classrooms to their great teachers and great teachers to their schools of
education.” Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary
of Education.
Sounds great right?
But let’s think about what that really means. Would you as a free American citizen want to
be tracked your whole life? How about as
a teacher?
I don’t want that. Not
for me nor my family nor anyone around me.
When you decided to teach, did you do it because someone in some upper
echelon told you that's what you should do, or was it something you chose? How many times, when you were a kid, did your
dream of what you would be when you grew up change?
Did you get there without being tracked? Would being tracked have helped you? Or do you think it might be for another
purpose?
The claim is that it, tracking, will help identify where
students may or may not be struggling.
With modern technology that sounds so Star Trek right? I mean what could possibly go wrong with algorithms
that track a student? Let’s add to that,
technology is already being tested to
read the responses of the participants. Okay. The thought process being, of course, that
now the teacher/administrators have a real time view of what gets a kids
attention. It’s also a real time view of what bores a kid to death. It’s
supposed to be a clever way to personalize or tailor make education to fit a
kids specific need. Awesome right? Then why would we need teachers? Because with the current tech, and the
ability to read facial expressions and body language, why send a kid to school
at all?
But see, that’s not the end of it. Where does all of this information go? Who has access? What will be the price tag to
store it and for how long?
Because algorithms aren’t myopic. They in fact are engineered to accomplish a
vast array of tasks. These ones in
particular, to build a nest of data that will affect not just the kids.
Tracking our kids will have a ripple effect on everything from
where we have permission to live to what profession we have permission to pursue. Why else would the Department of Education make
a historic change in 2011 to the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy
act? This change allows schools to
release student records to third-party organizations without parental consent.
Duncan has defended this change claiming that this will make
it easier for those tailor made experiences.
The mechanisms are already in place in all 50 states for the
sharing of the data. In 2009 the passage
of the $787 billion stimulus bill included a hefty sum for the creation of longitudinal
data systems to track kids from preschool thru to their first “real” job.
First question I think of is where does it end?
Second is how could anyone think this was anything more than
control?
Changing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy act is a
huge security concern. Not just for a family’s
privacy and what they choose to disclose or keep private. But what does the release of that kind of
information really mean in the real world.
Will our kids be goaded into giving away information that could be
potential fodder for politicians, enemies/opponents, or identity thieves? Absolutely!
Those “firewalls” that Duncan doesn’t like have already led
to information being hacked and released.
Like the more than 15,000 records that were stolen and then released to
message boards… Via a teenager in 2012-13.
Hopefully you’re not still thinking that there isn’t
anything sinister going on. But if you
are, can you tell me where it ends? Maybe
you’re right. Maybe everyone needs to
calm down and take a breath. But, when
has ANY program dreamed up by the government EVER been short term? When has the government EVER said it will
only be “this” big?
Can you tell me when the government didn’t use an existing program to grab more
power through enhancements, enticements, pure bullying?
Common Core IS a one size fits all program. And I believe the powers that be are trying
to make it all encompassing.
When my youngest in particular was struggling to even want
to be in school when she was in public school, we sought alternatives.
Because we had heard such great things not only from parents
that we knew that were involved with the school but their kids, we took a leap
of faith.
We chose a charter school. We chose it because it was better. The several years that my kids were there at
Entheos were great years. Both excelled
in ways that we hadn’t thought of. And
although my youngest still has a few things to catch up on, she was given a
second chance through Entheos.
But now with the engagement and seemingly enthusiastic
engagement with Common Core, this great school is just the same as public
school. Well, no. It’s not the same. Because even though there were several
aspects that were the same as the public schools, the one big, huge difference
was the teachers, and staff. THEY are
the ones that made the difference. Now,
their hands are tied. The freedom and
creativity that they were once able to utilize will be clobbered over
time. Class time that used to be
instructional time is now practice test time.
Computers that are so very expensive to any school will have to be a
priority.
I wonder… At what point will paying the piper, for the
grant money, become more costly, not just in money? But in real world it’s too late to turn back value.
Sincerely a concerned mom,
Update 9/24/14:
This article brings to mind that cost of giving every child some kind of electronic device. Where will the crippling of the tax payer end?
Deseret News More Tax money.
Update 9/25/14:
This article is about a book supported by Common Core proponents. It's reading material for 10th graders. "Dreaming in Cuban", was pulled from Arizona schools reading lists recently in light of the x-rated nature of the book.
Dreaming in Cuban Recommended By Common Core.
There is also this story from The Blaze that was back in May 2014.
19 Minutes. A book recommended by Common Core for 9th graders in New Hampshire.
What is this really setting our kids up for? Who's pushing it? Who's getting paid to push it?
