Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

Portia wrote:I'm liking this Tootles kid. Given nymdrogyny, probably a dude.

Squirrel wrote:72519. Oh my goodness, Genuine. That was so funny-- made my day- tomorrow too!

Portia wrote:Owlet is a very impressive artist!

Whistler wrote:I still don't understand what the big deal about the Common Core is.

Wikipedia wrote:The Common Core has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum, from the liberal Brookings Institute to the libertarian Cato Institute.[26] Conservatives, including several Republican governors, have assailed the program as a federal "top-down" takeover of state and local education systems.[27][28] South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said her state should not "relinquish control of education to the federal government, neither should we cede it to the consensus of other states."[27]

Policy analysts have also questioned the efficacy of the Common Core. The Heritage Foundation argues that the Common Core's focus on national standards will do little to fix deeply ingrained problems and incentive structures within the education system.[29] Similarly, the Brookings Institute issued research calling into question whether the standards would have a significant effect.[26] According to the National Governors Association, one motivating factor for creating the Common Core standards was the United States' low ranking on international test results, but a study concluded there does not seem to be a relationship between the U.S.'s low score on these tests and its economic ranking.[30][31]

Education commentators have argued the program drains initiative from teachers and enforces a "one-size-fits-all" curriculum that ignores cultural differences among classrooms and students.[32][33] Additionally, education experts, including a former president of the National Council of Teachers of English, have argued that the creation of Common Core standards lacked sufficient public input and was driven by corporate interests and policy-makers, rather than experienced educators.[34] [35]. Critics have also said that the standards emphasize rote learning and uniformity over creativity, and fail to recognize differences in learning styles.[35] Additionally, education reform advocate Sandra Stotsky has argued that the standards will lead to students reading more nonfiction texts, rather than being exposed to challenging literature.[36]

The Atlantic wrote:A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for TheAtlantic.com describing some of the problems with how math is currently being taught. Specifically, some math programs strive to teach students to think like "little mathematicians" before giving them the analytic tools they need to actually solve problems.

Digit wrote:Sounds like the 70s in this joke.

Katya wrote:http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/72570/

Thanks for this answer! I live in that neighborhood and I noticed this the other day when I was outside, but I had no clue what it could be.

Whistler wrote:so, I've read a bit about the Common Core, but the sites against it all sound like raving constitutionalists ("making everything the same is socialism!" "They're taking away the power of local leaders!"). I like the idea of having some consistency across the nation's schools. Is it just that the curriculum they've chosen to be consistent with sucks?