My 2₵ On Common Core

I happened to be helping Alison with her math homework last night and as I was looking at her worksheet and noticed it said NY Common Core on the bottom of the page.  I decided to look it up and apparently Wisconsin has been teaching the "common core" curriculum for the last 5 years or so.  Then it all made sense to me.  When I would help Sarah with some of her math homework I thought this is just ridiculous the methods that the children were being taught to solve problems. 

I thought they were rather confusing and much more difficult than the traditional methods.  Actually, now that I think about it, Sarah's work was much more confusing in grade school but by the time she got to middle school all the methods she had been taught were pretty much thrown out and her teacher began teaching her the traditional methods for things like multiplication and division, and then algebra.  Alison, however, is being taught really funky ways of doing things.  Which I suppose would be alright if I understood what the heck they were doing. 

For example, right now she is working on ratios.  Instead of setting up equivalent ratios with a variable for the missing number, then cross multiplying and dividing the get the answer they set up "number boxes".  She understands it, but to me it is just a bunch of empty boxes.  I figured it out after about a half an hour of looking at it, but it seems so much more difficult than simply cross multiplying and dividing.  And that, I think, is the problem with common core.  The teaching methods are dumbed down to the lowest common denominator, trying to make a one size fits all method of teaching.  It just doesn't work that way.  Now add to it that when a child has a problem with a concept and needs help with homework, the parent can't explain it the same way the teacher/school is teaching it.  And that is a big problem, because I think in order for a child to have success, the parents need to be heavily involved in the learning process, because unless the teacher is going to be there 18 hours a day to answer questions, it is the responsibility of the parents to serve as an extension of the teacher. 

If you can't help your child at home, then that child will fall behind.  At least that is my opinion.  Both Kris and I have been very involved with helping the girls with their work and I think that is a big reason why they are at the tops in their respective classes.  I have heard arguments from educators about the merits of the common core curriculum, and that is great, but unless the parents (or other caretakers) are educated and trained in the the same methods of teaching then it isn't really going to help, and in many cases will end up hurting the learning process.

I have heard suggestions that the governor and others want the change the common core system because it isn't working, but of course the superintendent of schools says it is just fine.  I don't know what they are going to do here in WI with common core, but I for one can say that I don't like it one bit, and I hope they do change it.  So that is my 2₵ worth on the subject.