There is a new concept sweeping the country. It is called Common Core Curriculum and it comes to you from the Progressive Movement. They claim it is not a federal program but there is that old saying about walking like a duck. I will be referring to this as they keep pushing it in the schools. It is here. It is being pushed. It will make the kids even dumber.
I recently heard again one of the mantras of the people pushing the Common Core. They say that we need to prepare kids for jobs that don’t even exist yet. They say this like it is a new development in the 21st century instead of the way it has always been. What is amazing is the arrogance of thinking that a new program will be able to do this.
Keep in mind it is educators that are claiming they will teach these skills. These are the people who threw out phonics and brought you whole language. These are the people who say that repetition is not a way to learn. These are the people who call me to their room because they can’t get there computer to work and get a dumb look on their face when I ask if it is plugged in. I kid you not. These are the people that send kids to my room in the middle of class to see how I have my VCR connected because they can’t get theirs to work. It is the same VCR they had last year, in the same room, with the same connections but it is a mystery to them. These are the people who don’t know what I am talking about when I refer to “Big Brother.” These are the people that are going to teach the skills necessary for jobs that don’t exist yet.
What do they do in the military and sports when things are not working and they don’t know what is going to be thrown at them? They teach basics. In football that means the basics of blocking and tackling. It does not mean working on the Statue of Liberty play. It does not mean perfecting a triple reverse. It means learning to carry the ball so you don’t fumble and not going off sides.
We don’t need to worry about teaching skills we don’t have. We need to get back to what worked for centuries and teach reading, writing and arithmetic. If we need to be cool and trendy we can call them the RWA’s instead of the three R’s.
homo unius libri
Teaching things that don't exist is sort of like washing one hand. I'd like to watch them.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned. You will find it is the same old dumbing down under another title.
DeleteGrace and peace.
The government isn't really concerned about the basics they are just programming the majority to vote properly.
ReplyDeleteThat summarizes public education very nicely. The kids I have today are lower in academic skills and ability to think but also more docile.
DeleteGrace and peace.