As part of a recent political campaign, I walked neighborhoods, knocking on doors and as a result I talked with literally hundreds of Hamilton County teachers, some active and some either retired or contemplating retirement. Almost all do not like the current teaching fad called Common Core.
First let me explain that I am not a teacher and never taught in the classroom. I thought that might be a disadvantage in understanding CC until I learned that the guy who is called the “architect” of CC , even though he is a Rhodes Scholar, is not, nor has ever been, a secondary or primary teacher. However, I have had a fair amount of education as I am sure he has.
Take Math. Math is essential to everyone throughout life.
There is more than one way to solve math problems and some kids have to work harder than others. I use the 5 times 3 = 15 method of multiplication. I admit that I “check” my calculations with other methods; that is what engineers do – the problem is never solved until the solution is checked by a different method. That process has helped me be successful in my chosen profession. It is the same method used by the guys that made the calculations that sent men to the moon and got them back.
Common Core not only does not teach this method as a starting point, it actually forbids its use. Where is the data that indicated that this time tested method should be banned?
I notice there is a Tennessee Education Summit in Nashville on September 18, 2014. The list of invitees includes a long list of organizations both public and private, apparently the ones who are on the inside. Interestingly, the invitees do not include members of a group of specifically involved citizens; teachers, parents and students. I find it hard to believe that with the critical nature of education that anyone would believe this excluded group would not walk on fire to assure the best education for all our kids. From the very beginning there has been no intention to involve these stakeholders.
Now we see that in a larger sense the problem is one of the core principles from my friend Thomas Jefferson and the Republican Party, or more accurately, the absence of the core principle that says that, “The government that governs best is the one that is closest to the People.”
And so it goes.
Tommy Crangle
tcrangle@aol.com