Comments on: Momentum growing for new ‘core’ standards and their architect

By: » Common Core Director to You: “No One Gives a S**t What You Think or Feel.” The Line

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:52:46 +0000

[...] After I got over my amazement, I realized the central problem with Coleman’s **** statement is not actually the “s-bomb”– after all, we’ve all slipped and made language choices with students that were not the most appropriate. Nor, on the other hand, is it the possibility that Coleman chose this language deliberately for its earthy shock value. Many intelligent, ethical speakers take this rhetorical route. In fact, if you study the transcript, it’s obvious that this is exactly what Coleman was doing. Permutations of other terse, down-home phrases such as “Let’s be honest, ” Forgive me, but…,” “Let’s be blunt,” and so on, appear at least six times in his speech on literacy. You could compare this, in his favor, to the significant number of times he makes also self-effacing statements such as “There are people more intelligent than I in this audience.” (This tendency has been noted in other presentations of Coleman’s as well.) [...]

By: Diana Senechal

Diana Senechal — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:08:00 +0000

was a bit startled by Charlotte Danielson’s statement, near the beginning of her speech, “It would take breathtaking audacity to say right now the specific content of what we would want our students to know 25 years from know, 40 years from now, when they’ll still be in the workforce. It would take breathtaking audacity. And so, we have to of course teach them things, but mostly what the Common Core standards are asking us to teach are the tools, the tools of learning, the tools of generating new knowledge….”

The standards focus on tools for a simple reason: they leave it to the curricula to specify the knowledge. This does not imply the superiority of tools, nor does it mean that there’s any arrogance in requiring students to know certain things.

By: not so dumbo

not so dumbo — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:22:00 +0000

I find little to disagree with in the Common Core and Coleman is a compelling and disarming speaker, but there is a lot of mystery about how one teaches students to reach these standards, and there is an education industrial complex that is developing ways to teach to the Core and make billions of dollars. Rather than continue down the Race to the Top path, we should push Duncan and Gates to produce an engaging curricula that schools and teachers can use free of charge if they so choose. Klein is poised and ready to capitalize on the CC as is Pearson. That is not what is best for our public schools children. Keep the money in the hands of the people. Not lining Rupert Murdoch’s pocket.

By: Curioso

Curioso — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 02:59:00 +0000

This is the kind of article that should spur conversation on GS–not mean spirited barbs against charters, E4E or TFA. This is the future whether you like it or not. Teacher performance will be tied to these results.

What do you say to well-reasoned and efficient demands made for student achievement? What is wrong with this model? I only ask because I am seriously debating the ideas presented by Mr. Coleman.