Pass or Fail...oops I mean Mastered or Not Mastered.

This is from the Canyons Website. I wonder what their final decision was? I think it is ridiculous that we spend so much time worrying about how to measure our K-6 kids. I never remember this time of my life being a "game changer". I am definitely for learning the basics and having a solid foundation in the three R's. But I think all the reforms on education are anti-kid. I would like to get a copy of my K-6 report cards. I am sure they do not include the detailed rubrics that today's measuring system have.


"The Canyons School Board continued Study Session discussions about a proposed standards-based elementary report card aimed at giving parents more precise student achievement information and aligning grading systems with the new state curriculum. Board members asked clarifying questions about the proposal, and heard answers from teachers piloting the report cards and Elementary Evidence-Based Learning Director Amber Roderick-Landward. Board members tentatively agreed they would like to implement a standards-based report card. Remaining issues include whether the report card should have additional grading levels beyond mastery and not yet mastered, and whether implementation next fall should be districtwide or site-based. The Board asked to see models that presented information with graphics and that relayed student performance in up to four levels instead of two. The Board will discuss and vote on the proposal April 16.  The proposal stems from educators' requests and more than two years of study by a committee of teachers from every school, special education experts and education technology specialists. It is being piloted in 92 classrooms in six Canyons elementary schools. Crescent View Middle School also has implemented a standards-based report card."  Here is an example of the Report Card.

Cursive in Utah Schools

I think cursive should be taught in Utah schools.  I think they should teach it in Kindergarten.  Why wait until 3rd grade!

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56143480-78/cursive-utah-sltrib-state.html.csp

The Process for Selecting School Board Members

I have been trying to figure out the Utah educational system and at what level the community can be effective.  I found this blog that has a great break down of the election process of the school board members. Accountability

Mom's Seeing the Effects of the Common Core

I am concerned about the implementation of the common core.  And I am finding out, I am not the only one. My son fell below grade level for the first time in his life.  He is in 3rd grade and not doing well in math.  We have enrolled him in a private math company to help him learn the basic math skills that his school did not cover.  (By the way, this program knows that kids come back after school to do math when math is fun.)  And we met two other of his classmates at this same organization, all there for the same thing.  And in another group of friends the mom's have asked me if I wanted to "go in" to get a tutor to help their kids who are also struggling in math.  Even one of the teachers at his school suggested the mom's start a math club after school.  Really?

I feel that the so called "experts" and writers of  the Common Core wanted to bump up the rigor of the USA curriculum...what they forgot was that kids have developmental needs, which include the development of the areas in their brain that allows them to process information.  The frontal lobe which is required for logical higher level processing is not even fully developed until the mid twenties.  I think the "experts" forgot that their are education specialists that understand what and how kids develop and learn.  How can our 3rd graders be able to process this new set of information.  Especially when the foundations of math were not even laid firmly.

My personal belief is that the Common Core math program is giving them information that is not within their developmental abilities.  It feels oppressive.  Plus, there are big gaps from the instruction my son has had in the last two years and now what is being expected of him to perform.  And if the "experts" think that this is going to raise the test scores...guess again.  My son and many of these 3rd graders are thinking that they are not good in math. Their confidence is being destroyed.  And I am crushed by my observation of his diminished love for learning due to this program which has no statistical evidence that it will make our kids race to the top.

The mom's I am talking with have the same concerns.  What are we to do?  Currently we are being told that we do not understand the Common Core and that we are afraid of change.  All I have to say is "Really?"  Do you really think that I do not understand how to educated my son?  I could do it on my own.  I don't want to as I do believe there are expert teachers out there in our public schools who could do better, left alone, without the Common Core!

Check out this blog. Advice to a Mother about the Common Core

This Article Reminds me of Brookwood Elementary

I love this!The Power of Parents in Public Schools

Learning from the Best

I am reading "Ability Development from Age Zero", by Shinichi Suzuki.  He is famous for his methods in teaching the violin and piano to young kids.  He has such a wonderful love for children and I am very impressed with his understanding for how young kids learn.  He says, "Children learn when they have fun".  He also notes, "It is a mistake to expect a child to naturally do things from the adult world."  He lists the following conditions for developing great ability....

1.  Begin as early as possible
2.  Create the best possible environment.
3.  Use the finest teaching methods.
4.  Provide a great deal of training.
5.  Use the finest teachers.

I wish that the educational leaders were being bribed by likes of the Suzuki's and not the Gates.  How differently would the Race to the Top program be designed.  The current core curriculum created by a group of people at the state level and rewarded by the federal government for its adoption is not kid friendly.  It is not fun, so it doesn't use the finest teaching methods.  Suzuki says the secret for parents and teachers regarding education is that "tasks which are done happily are internalized and in this manner talent is grown carefully."  The core curriculum is delivered as scripted lectures, worksheets, and tests.  And it discourages the finest teachers as they know that this type of teaching isn't fun and that it doesn't inspire the kids to learn.  It does just the opposite.

 Suzuki says that "the educational objective changes with the abilities of each child".  The core curriculum goal is to standardize each kid not personalize. The instruction is scripted and so it is boring, it scolds young learners as it teaches them above what their current abilities are and it tells them that they are not measuring up through constant testing.  Through Suzuki's experiences in educating children he learned that you "develop ability from what the child can already do and that ability will promote the happiness of doing things better and better."

I am so inspired to learn from Mr. Suzuki, truly a great educator of our time.  So I wonder, as it seems that the reforms today are so far from using successful models, why then when looking for educational reform, have our leaders not turned to the great educators of our time?  

And what does this mean to our kids?

I read this article this morning and it spoke to the empty feeling I have in my belly about the current educational trajectory. Regrets of an Accomplished Child  I sure do not want my kids to learn to check off boxes for an empty educational agenda and figure out the minimum necessary to look good on paper.  In our home we love learning, reading good books, asking questions, and making connections. I love being surprised at the thoughts that my kids come up with!  I become aware that even though I am the grown-up, they are the future and that we fit in at the current moment with an energy of possibility.  Every day learning takes a curious mind that is not afraid or stressed out And a passionate, compassionate teacher!  I have learned that the one who makes the most mistakes also becomes the most aware and accomplished because of their experiences with the mistake.  Because of school and rankings, I do not want them to learn to limit themselves to accomplish only what they can do right and what is taught within the standards.  I do not want their creativity hid because someone else didn't make their idea the right answer.   Both of my kids are curious and I sure hope that their public education does not take that light away!  I will do everything I can to fuel the fires for what they find wonder in.  Their lives are WONDERful!