Just Say NO to Common Core Education

The Common Core program is "a bad idea because it removes local control of education, it takes away the liberty of our children, and it is unconstitutional."

Basically, our children will be tested early and pigeon-holed into education and career tracks shortly after kindergarten. It's like the Communistic practice of profiling of children and predetermining their futures. Hitler did this, too.

This is happening in every state, not just Utah. Is your school safe?

What about "late-bloomers"? Pigeon-holing a child's educational and career track from testing done in elementary school is a travesty for late-bloomers. There are several men I know who came into their own after 30 and are very successful, now. Thank goodness they got the education they needed in spite of childhood immaturity! With freedom they have succeeded.

"It's a trap!" Actually, it's Animal Farm come to life in a horrific way. Follow the facts...

"This is a very complex program I recommend you take some time to sit down and read.  I will not be able to cover everything here.

Common Core has 3 main components.  There are lots of references below for you to look at.

1.  It is a set of standards created by a think tank in Washington DC that included input from various sources mainly the National Governor's Association and another one I can't remember the name of right now. 

They were presented to the states as a way to unify the education system and mainstream the educational process for school from state to state. 

Associated with these standards was a contest called "Race to the Top". 

This contest allowed states to try and win grant money from the federal government for education.

One of the requirements of applying was that the states had to commit to the common core standards before they had even seen them in order to qualify for the grant money. 

Utah and other states applied for the grant money, signed the contract and hadn't seen anything, and turned in the application. 

They did not win any money but they were contractually bound to implement these standards. 

Several of the experts who helped create the standards refused to sign off on them because they were no good.  Their links are below. 

The core standards are now being implemented as part of the Common Core agreement even though Utah didn't get any money and the standards are subpar. 

45 other states agreed to Common Core too, but several now are pulling out of it or have grassroots efforts going on to pull out of it because of parents' outrage about the whole thing. 

It amounts to nationalizing education and turning over control of what is taught in classrooms over to the federal government. 

States have only 15% control of the standards that they may add but nothing can be taken away.

2.  The Department of Education relaxed FERPA laws which protect families and children from outside sources checking data on students without their parent's permission. 

They included language in the law that allows for groups with educational interests to have access to student data. 

Educational interests is loosely defined and the new language means just about anyone could qualify.

The data has been collected on students since 2009 and includes things like Bus Route time, class rank, truancy, developmental delay, health conditions, home arrangements, family income range, insurance coverage, religious affiliation, and parent's voting status are all on the list. 

These are things that may be applicable for a school to know about but now this information is available to anyone with the above credentials. 

This program also allows for HIPPA laws to be bi-passed if a student's file contains health information as it relates to educational accommodations. 

A Longitudinal Data Base is already sitting ready to share all of this information with other states and the federal government. 

I have attached a file that includes references for this information.

3.  The final component of this legislation is the Computer Adaptive Testing. 

American Institutes for Research has been hired by Utah to facilitate the development of tests that adapt to a student's ability.  It is very impressive science. 

The only problem is this company studies psychological components of tests, not just the academic. 

This company specializes in behavioral markers imbedded in tests to determine behaviors of students. 

There is no evidence that has been presented to date that shows this is a good thing for students or that it is even relevant to their education. 

This company has on their client list, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, all departments in the Federal Government, and Microsoft. 

Bill Gates has paid out 5$ Billion so far in his quest to implement this program.  Other corporations are on board too because they want to be able to "mine" for potential employees. 

Most corporations give their potential adult employees a type of personality test.  It is entirely appropriate for them to determine who will fit their company mold. 

However, to profile students and track them throughout their educational career is immoral and undermines the student's ability to choose for themselves the path they want in life. 

How will a student have choices if they have already been flagged in a company's system based on their test scores and school records? 

Dr. Gary Thompson has outlined concerns he has along with his colleague have written a letter to Superintendent Menlove.  http://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/dr-thompsons-letter-to-superintendent-menlove/
In my opinion, this program is a bad idea because it removes local control of education, it takes away the liberty of our children, and it is unconstitutional. 
Let me know if you have any other questions."
~ Carie Valentine

How I got Involved with Common Core: The Math Wars

I learned that Utah had adopted Common Core in January of 2012 and I
didn't know anything about it, which is interesting because I consider
myself fairly plugged in politically. I was a little shocked
that the entire state was changing math curriculum especially when Davis
High, here in Kaysville, has such an amazing program and has been
graduating top notch math students for more than twenty years.

Most people in Kaysville know the names of Mike Shaw, Mary Agrapides and
Gary Taylor who developed one of the most successful math programs in
the country. They designed a program for the students at Davis
coordinating with the math teachers in the junior highs to create a
program that built a solid math foundation for students. Pretty soon
they were passing 90-95% of the students who attempted to take the AP
Calculus test and that number continued to grow until recently it has
been between 240-300 students every year.

I found out that the math teachers at Davis and Kaysville Jr. High
had protested the new Common Core Curriculum since the end of 2009, for
two years before I'd even heard of it. Troubling. Why mess with success?

So, I called the State Board of Education. I explained the tremendous success at Davis. They were aware. I explained that if they needed a top notch math program that was tried and true, we had one in Kaysville. Why go pay for something we didn't know would work for our students when we had something we knew did work?

All of my questions were deflected. It was a very frustrating
conversation. Until the state board member said, "Yes. Davis is doing
really well, but other schools are not." Then it clicked for me. This is
not about the students, it's not about success or what works, it's about
social justice.

It is true that Davis High is a unique culture. We have a higher
percentage of two parent families. Kids are not as likely to be working
one or even two jobs after school because of desperate finances. Most
kids in Kaysville speak English as a first language and so there is not
a language barrier when it comes to mathematics. All of these things
give the kids at Davis an advantage in math.

Still, the math department at Davis worked to create a math program
accessible for every student. Gary Taylor said in the SL Trib, "Math is
accessible if students are willing to work hard, and if teachers present
it in a meaningful fashion." They figured out how to do that at Davis
and were able to make more and more students successful in Calculus each
year.

Common Core math is no match for the Davis High brand of Calculus. As it
turns out, Common Core is not Internationally Benchmarked as claimed.
http://www.restoreokpubliceducation.com/node/663And, as professor
Christopher Tienken has stated Common Core standards are en example of
"data-less decison making."

http://www.aasa.org/uploadedfiles/publications/newsletters/jsp_winter2011.final.pdf

Our children are truly guinea pigs for an untested and unproven program,
when we had a program that was the envy of most of the country thanks to
the work of a lifetime of several dedicated educators right here in our
own town.

Our math program at Davis shows how successful local control can be. We
must stop Common Core.

Courage!
Tiffany
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/04/11/kind-a11.html

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/04/11/core-a09.html

"Get them while they're young, Eva, get them while they're young!" ~ Evita, the musical

http://thegodfreymethod.com/

Top Ten Myths of Reading 6

Myth 6. The schools will do it.

Truth: Instead, parents must spend quality time teaching phonics to their kids. Adults must spend such time with children for their best progress and growth. Not spending enough reading time with the child one-on-one is detrimental. Use the picture-letter phonics cards as often as possible. The minimal amount for success is at least once a week. Much more is recommended.

            Studies have shown that a tutor only needs 1½ hours per week to catch up a sick student with his school class. That’s about 20 minutes a day vs. 6 hours in school. Hartman Rector Jr. says that only 14 minutes a day with mom is worth more than 6 hours with a teacher. You are your child’s best teacher. She learns faster from mom (or dad) than others.

 

            What are the 2 most crucial things children need? – parent time and reading skills. One mom, Simcah, says that helping her kids learn their picture-letter phonics cards and reading stories are her favorite ways to spend time with them. It’s a wonderful way to bond and she loves to see their faces light up as they catch on.

 

            Simcah has also said, “My 3-year-old son loves your phonics cards! He already knows all his letter sounds! This book [A Funny Boy Was Prince River] comes with the best phonics cards ever. My kids love the cards, and the instructions for teaching beginners are invaluable. I also love that the phonics letters are in the text of the story book, which teaches the kids to start looking at the text for the letters they know. The illustrations are beautiful and my kids love seeing the letters they know in the pictures on the page, too.”

            “To a child, love is spelled, T-I-M-E” www.simpletruths.com

 

            Olivia, a young girl in first grade, had a teacher who said she just couldn’t focus and because of this, she could not learn. The teacher wanted her parents to put her on ADHD meds! Her mom knew that Olivia behaved just fine at home. She decided to use TGM phonics at home instead, and Olivia took off with reading. She’s not ADHD at all. She was just bored! The school’s methods weren’t keeping her interest, which was killing her love of reading.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Funny-Boy-Was-Prince-River/dp/1456490923/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367519303&sr=1-1&keywords=shannah+b+godfrey 
or try

http://www.amazon.com/Sunny-Kid-Was-Prince-River/dp/1456491636/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367519377&sr=1-14&keywords=shannah+b+godfrey

http://www.thegodfreymethod.com/blog/top-ten-myths-reading-myth-6

Top Ten Myths of Reading 5

Myth 5. Finish the whole alphabet before making words.

Truth: Instead, start making small words with known letters as soon as possible. Children don't have to know all 26 letter sounds to start blending some together. Try making simple 2- or 3- letter words with the sounds learned as soon as possible.

            Have you ever watched a child learn to throw a ball? He tries it a few times and his mind naturally adjusts his body to make the ball go higher, lower, further, and/or faster. Did he have to read a physics textbook to learn to throw a ball? Did he have to know the equations for initial velocity, gravity, force, angle, distance, or the trajectory of the ball? NO!!! Your child’s mind is a super-computer that makes internal learning leaps. It’s the same for reading, if given the right foundation.

            You don’t have to read a huge textbook on the mechanics of reading, nor have a teaching certificate, to teach your child, either. The Godfrey Method is simple, effective, and the child never forgets.

            For some great word lists, check out my blog on HELPS 2: http://www.thegodfreymethod.com/blog/home-early-learning-play-school-helps-2

Or find some great beginning words in The Phonics Color Code book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Phonics-Color-Code-Platypus-Words/dp/1466249552/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366890629&sr=1-5&keywords=shannah+b+godfrey

            What about words that don’t follow the rules? Many platypus words are spelled phonetically for the way they were originally pronounced. Over time, we have changed the pronunciation. For example, the British still say ‘been’ with a long-ē sound. Americans have gotten lazy and changed it to a short-ĕ sound.

Also, the verb ‘say’ has a form of ‘says’ which was originally said with a long-ā sound. Over time we changed it to ‘sez’ with a short-ĕ sound. Also, the past-tense of ‘say’ is ‘sayed’ but we spelled it as ‘said’ with a long-ā sound. Over time, we changed it to ‘sed’ with a short-ĕ sound.

Many platypus words were originally phonetic, but local dialects have changed the pronunciation, like how the South pronounces vowels differently than the North or West.

 

The Platypus

She has a duck beak, beaver fur, lays eggs, but is a mammal!

http://www.thegodfreymethod.com/blog/top-ten-myths-reading-myth-5

Top Ten Myths of Reading 4

Myth 4. Teach sight-words.

Truth: Instead, teach only by sounding-out words. Phonics structure the brain properly for maximum, efficient reading capability. Phonics heals the dyslexic brain.

My illustrator Leah Shingleton says, “I have never met a phonics-learner who couldn’t sight-read, but I have met plenty of sight-readers who don’t know how to decode an unfamiliar word. As adults they must often guess and feel embarrassed.” This sad scenario can be prevented by teaching children to read early the right way.

My co-worker Dave was taught to read by the sight-reading method back in the 1940s-50s by the old ‘Look Dick, See Jane’ method. He can read functionally but always wrestles with new words.

Learning to read by memorizing the shapes of words is confusing, like trying to memorize thousands of hieroglyphics. NEVER do this:

Teaching children to guess based on context is one of the worst practices in schools and lowers self-esteem. Later, sight-reading will naturally follow sounding-out the words, but should NEVER be first.

The educational system has been going backwards for several decades, now. Many schools teach sight-reading in kindergarten. Several commercial early-reading programs are also based on sight-reading. If your baby can read by sight-reading now, he probably will struggle with reading as an adult.

Sight-reading has many names, like Whole Language. Don't be fooled. It can trigger dyslexia, too.
If you want your children to be their best, keep them away from the Whole Language method of reading. I focus on phonics often in my columns, and there is a very important reason for this. Successful children know how to read well- it is the foundation of everything else- and that is impossible with the Whole Language method. Why, you ask?

The Whole Language dogma is a pernicious propaganda that has nearly destroyed reading ability in all the English speaking countries; not just the in United States, but it also invaded the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and possibly New Zealand. What surprises me is that the governments, universities, and public school administrators turned a deaf ear to those proclaiming that this emperor has no clothes.

(Of course, the children of the government elite attend private schools where proper phonics is taught.)

The Whole Language fiasco* convinced leaders and teachers that phonics was low-level sub-skills. It indoctrinated them to think that explicit, systematic phonics was lower-order thinking. This is completely the opposite of the truth, but several nations swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Is there a purposeful, dumbing-down of future voters, here?

What the Whole Language doctrine put in place of intelligent phonics was a system of ‘natural’ learning (we know that even though language is natural to humans, but reading is not. It must be taught). Whole Language taught a ‘cueing system’ where looking at the context of the sentence helped the child guess at the unknown word. Yes, it said guess. What a slow, frustrating, error-filled process.

There is no more damaging method that guessing. My son is a perfectionist. If he guessed wrongly, he would be distraught, give up, and his self-esteem would suffer deeply. Luckily, his mother taught him phonics early and right.

Then Whole Language goes on to say that children can get others to help them guess, called cooperative learning. They ask the question, ‘What would make sense, here?’ They see what letter the word started with and how long it was, and guess at possibilities from the limited words that they learned by sight-reading. How horrible! And it doesn’t help them with isolated words, such as signs, where there are no pictures, clues, contexts or cooperative partners. The children are confounded and confused. Basically, a Whole Language reader is still illiterate.

True comprehension and 'meaning-making' come from decoding a word properly by phonics, getting it right in a short amount of time, knowing what it is, and knowing the rest of the sentence words with confidence. Not from guessing.

Take a look at spelling bees. Most winners of spelling bees spell by phonics. They are able to hear the sounds in the words and take them apart. They can build words from root words, adding prefixes and suffixes, so they can also deconstruct them for spelling. Phonics makes it easier to remember which spelling goes with which homonym, too. These children don’t have to memorize thousands of sight words.

They have been able to make sense of words on a foundation of phonics rules, and can decode new words, with only about 42 sounds. That is just sheer genius. It is higher-order thinking. It even makes it easier to remember irregular spellings.

Have you or your children ever taken piano lessons? Students are taught each note’s name, sound, place on the piano and in the musical staff, individually before putting them together into chords, measures, and complete songs. Once those are mastered, they can move on to more complex pieces and learn to add nuances to the music with soft and loud, slow and fast, slurring or staccato, etc.
Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to learn piano the Whole Language way? The piano student would have to learn whole songs by sight, guess through context, cooperation, comprehension, and meaning-making. How many whole songs can a child memorize by sight? Not many. But any student who has a foundation of individual notes can build up to any and every tune out there. It is the same with phonics and reading.

*Whole Language at the Fork in the Road, Cathy Froggatt, Former NRRF North Carolina Director, Right to Read Report, February 1998

http://www.thegodfreymethod.com/blog/top-ten-myths-reading-myth-4

Top Ten Myths of Reading 3

Myth 3. Wait until the child is older, can talk, goes to preschool, etc.

Truth: Instead, start phonics as early as 18 months or younger. TGM picture-letter phonics cards can and should be used with young children and preschoolers. The earlier their minds are stimulated, the better. It is best to teach the picture-letter phonics cards before kindergarten, but they can help older children come up to speed, too.

 

            The learning window of ages 2 to 5 years old are so important to catch and take full advantage of before they’re gone. Learning phonics the right way now prevents dyslexia and increases the child’s capacity to learn for life. My son, River, has proven the statistics wrong. He should have learning disabilities because of his birth mother’s lifestyle choices, but he doesn’t. His IQ is 116, above average, because I taught him phonics early the right way. This helped him get ahead and stay on track.

            With TGM one young boy, Datan, learned to read so well that he started reading his books upside down for more challenge. His mom took that as a cue to insist that his teacher move him up in reading level at school!

            Dress your child’s mind for success with The Godfrey Method. Single and low-income parents can help their kids beat the odds, too.

            Even if you send your child to preschool, you should still use TGM at home. A wonderful preschool teacher, Karen Munns, started using TGM in her preschool and the picture-letters worked far beyond her expectations. She has been teaching preschool for over 17 years and this was the best program that she has used for helping the children associate and remember the sound that each letter makes. She said that they learned faster and easier than any students ever before. She recommends that parents get this and use it with their children at home to reinforce what she teaches at preschool.

http://www.thegodfreymethod.com/blog/top-ten-myths-reading-myth-3

Top Ten Myths of Reading 2

Myth 2. Teach the capital letters.

Truth: Instead, teach only the lower case letters, at first. They are the most common in written language. Young children don’t have to know capitals to start reading. And many capital letters don’t look anything like their lower-case partners. Children easily pick capitals up later, too. Never start with them. Again, Keep it simple for success (KISS your child).

            Young children are hungry to learn new things. Children make all kinds of learning leaps if given the right foundation. One mother taught her preschool daughter Kaitlyn the lower-case-letter phonics using The Godfrey Method. Then Kaitlyn taught herself which upper-case (capital) letters match the lower-case ones by playing on the computer. Her mom opened a blank word document for her to play ‘typing.’ All the letters on a keyboard are written in upper-case letters. So as Kaitlyn pushed an upper-case key, a lower-case letter would show up on the computer screen. She quickly figured out which upper-case letters to push for the lower-case letters desired.

     The largest problem I see with early reading programs is always teaching the capital letters with the lower-case ones, simultaneously. No, no, no! Wise parents will give their children a jump-start to reading by following The Godfrey Method starting with "A Funny Boy Was Prince River" and building from there with the Spy Code spelling rules, as found in previous blogs.

     The next biggest problem is using electronic or software programs to teach young children. No, no, no! These separate the child from the parent for key bonding moments while learning. They can also induce ADD, ADHD, Epilepsy, Dyslexia, and several other problems in a young child's brain.

     Hold your child on your lap or next to you on the couch and have a joyous time discovering early reading the right way - together!

http://www.thegodfreymethod.com/blog/top-ten-myths-reading-myth-2

Top Ten Myths of Reading 1

Top Ten Myths of Reading:

Reason over Rhetoric, Data over Dogma           

            Does this sound familiar, remember thinking, “I’ve tried everything. I taught my child the Alphabet song, showed her all the letters and capitals, even sent her to preschool. My child just can’t seem to learn how to read. I don’t know what to do next. I’m at a loss.”? 

Top Ten Myths of Reading: (Are you guilty of some of these?)

Myth 1. Teach the letter names, like in the alphabet song.

Truth: Instead, teach only the letter sounds. Do not teach the letter names. It is confusing to young children that the letter name u (you) doesn't say the sound "y" (yuh), the letter name y (why) doesn't say the sound "w" (wuh), and the letter name w (double-you) doesn't say the sound "d" (duh). Children easily pick up the letter names later.
Also, only teach one sound per letter, to start. Keep it simple for success (KISS your child).

            Visual Attention Span (VAS) Theory reading expert Jean Clyde says, “Today I saw Adam. He is almost 11, has a shy smile, is a little small for his age and thinks that he is average in reading and a little below average in spelling. However his mother is concerned about the fast approaching problems of Adam's entering high school, a very common concern among parents of 11 year olds! She has been reassured that Adam is progressing satisfactorily but his mother has long ago learned to distrust such [school] assurances.

            He can read one, two and many three syllable words, which is more that many of my other 11 year-olds can do. And yet when I ask Adam to tell me the sounds of letters he shows hesitations and some of the 3-syllable words show evidence of confusions between names and sounds.

            Adam had originally learned letter names and guessing. He had then struggled to read. He preferred guessing words partly because guessing [seemed] faster, partly because his elementary teacher encouraged him to guess, but mainly because his insecure grasp of sounds undermined his confidence.

            Guessing however is inherently inaccurate. [The next teacher tried but] failed to over-teach [phonics] to the stage where his newly acquired phonic skills became automatic. The phonic skills that he was taught are therefore still insecurely based and guessing still dominates.

            Knowledge of sounds needs to reach the stage where, when you see a letter, you automatically associate it with its most common sound. Later on you can learn the secondary sounds but if you fail to initially consolidate the basic letter sounds, you may condemn the Adams of this world to being average in reading and below average in spelling when they might have been superior in both!” http://www.vasresearch.com

PS: Stay away from electronic or computer methods of learning to read, which incorporate the myths and may trigger ADD or dyslexia. 

Myth 2 - NEXT WEEK!

http://www.thegodfreymethod.com/blog/top-ten-myths-reading-myth-1