"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power." - Thomas Jefferson 1820

"There is a growing technology of testing that permits us now to do in nanoseconds things that we shouldn't be doing at all." - Dr. Gerald Bracey author of Rotten Apples in Education

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

What in the World is Going on with Teachers? Common Core Praises Appear Again in Song.

We reported a few days ago on the singing Pep Squad teachers extolling the virtues of the Common Core standards.  We now have another set of teachers praising, literally and figuratively, Common Core standards This version takes on a religious fervor by the end of the clip.  It is set to the tune of "We are the World". 

From youtube and an unnamed school:






The words are difficult to understand, but the gist of the message is this:

There was a time when a child was left behind
They couldn't read, write or graph a line
There's a choice we're making
To change the world today
Ensure.........to day to day


(chorus)
We're Common Core
We are the standards
We're arguments to evidence to make a difference
It's the choice we're making
To set the students high
Ensure the betterment of you and I.


Now is the time 
To put it on the line
To try so the system won't decline
We're creating words (?)
For the brand new century
Ensure a brighter day for you and me.

(chorus) 


....To make a smarter place for you and I.


Unlike the previous posting we had about teachers singing about the excitement of instituting common core but looking uncomfortable, this group seems enthusiastic and ready for the challenge to save the students.


These teachers appear to have bought into the argument that because of common core standards, miraculous turnarounds for student achievement will occur.  Maybe the teachers won't be so excited when they discover many of them will be replaced by teachers from Teach for America and the common cartridge with preloaded curriculum.  Experienced teachers won't be needed for data driven assessments and predetermined curriculum. 


We'll be writing about the common cartridge and its importance in the implementation of common core in our next post.  The teachers might be singing a funeral dirge instead of a celebratory hymn about common core when they see how the common cartridge will work in the classroom and replace many of them. 

I doubt the common core will "ensure a brighter day" for teachers or students.  A "one size fits all" education is not appropriate for teachers or students.   The private companies developing the common core and common cartridge will be whistling a happy tune for the money made from taxpayers, but teachers, students and parents will probably be singing the blues as education becomes less about learning and even more about teaching to data driven tests.







2 comments:

  1. Another group finally connects the dots on the ill effects of one-size-fits-all assessments.

    http://www.innosightinstitute.org/open_assessment_letter/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Two thoughts: Harmony or horror? and Where is the 'off' switch on these Stepford Wives?

    ReplyDelete

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