Common Core Standards and JC Penney's: Tales of Failure?

The Wall Street Journal wrote about Ron Johnson leaving as Penney's CEO as the company has floundered under his leadership.  One paragraph caught my eye and could be applied to the adoption/implementation Common Core process.  From Penney CEO Out, Old Boss Back In:

The board's decision ends a brief and turbulent career in the corner office for Mr. Johnson. He arrived at Penney to great fanfare in November 2011, but lost the confidence of directors and investors after he rolled out an ambitious plan to reinvent Penney's stores without following the usual retail practice of testing the changes first. Sales tanked, with no sign of improvement. In the most recent fourth quarter, including the crucial holiday season, sales dropped 28.4%, contributing to a net loss of $552 million, the worst of the year. 

Mr. Johnson's ambitious plan to reinvent stores without first running a retail test to determine if the plan would work certainly backfired on him and Penney's.  Mr. Johnson lost his job and Penney's is trying to re-establish itself as a retailer investors find attractive once again.  Is Mr. Johnson sorry his rash decision cost him his job and resulted in Penney's slumping stock value?

Mr. Johnson was unapologetic about his decision not to test his strategy. Asked earlier this year if he would do things differently given a chance to start over, he replied, "No, of course not." 

Does this sound like the adoption of Common Core State standards and the claims from those responsible for the crafting of the standards?  Proponents claimed the standards were internationally benchmarked and rigorous, even though they hadn't been written and not field tested in any school.  The claim of "internationally benchmarked" has been deleted since the CCSSO was not able to produce any research proving that statement.  

Comments from teachers and principals who just recently have used the standards have not been enthusiastic.  However, the familiar jargon still exists as supporters claim they will equip students for the 21st economy, even though these same supporters do not have a crystal ball and cannot articulate exactly what the future economy will look like or need.

Will Common Core standards be an educational example of what happens as the result of not following the usual educational practice of piloting standards first and using field testing as research to make informed decisions?  The same business decision Mr. Johnson used is the same our governors and commissioners of education used in signing MOUs agreeing to adopt/implement unseen, unwritten and unfunded standards and assessments, and the associated costs of computer infrastructure and data mining mandated in the agreement.

Can we fire them?

If you are against the standards, please sign this petition we will be providing to the legislature to stop the implementation of Common Core standards.

007 Skyfall, Coca Cola and Cerebral Networks Create Intrigue and Adventure

Men hear the 007 theme and receive a challenge.  See what happens.

An article from the Wall Street Journal recently explained how music impacts the brain and processes emotion.   From Why Men Bond with the 007 Theme:

For millions of baby-boomer males who saw their first car chase and sex scene in a Bond film in the '60s, the theme song stirs powerful psychological coals, flipping a primal switch as images of silencers, casinos, bikinis, gin and gadgets flood the male brain.

"With male identity, there's a biological aspect to how we see ourselves, and for many men, the song releases feelings of invincibility and attractiveness," said Eugene Beresin, professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. "Men link the theme to strength, adulthood and virility. It's like the smell of a childhood baseball glove or a father's aftershave."

But what exactly happens to trigger the flashback? "Music travels to the auditory nerve, where it's evaluated by the cerebral networks that process our emotions—before we even identify what we're hearing," Dr. Beresin said. "In a split second, our brain scans its files for a match. If the music unlocks memories, you are likely to reexperience the same emotions you felt when you first heard it."

WSJ continues:

...why do men find the deep guitar notes and swinging horns so intriguing? "There's a feeling of action and rhythmic rocking that releases a burst of dopamine—telling men they have the world by the tail," said Dr. Brizendine.

And women? "They're reminded," she said, "of an era of handsome, dashing men who they hoped would sweep them off their feet."

Below is a video of Coca Cola's campaign for the launch of Skyfall 007.  As you watch it, think about Dr. Beresin's theory of music unlocking memories and reexperiencing certain emotions.  Is the video an illustration that music is important to learning and actions?   It's fascinating (and fun) to watch how men respond to the 007 theme, how they view themselves and what they do when faced with 007 type challenges.

The men may not end up with a beautiful woman (see what they do snag), but it is interesting to watch what men will attempt for free stuff.  Music is quite powerful, isn't it? 

Are You Smarter Than A Chinese High School Senior?

"In the U.S., where No Child Left Behind has made standardized testing a core article of faith in assessing student readiness, you have more and more parents worried about the lack of rigor in our curricula, and fearing the rise of China and other nations that excel in international math-science competitions." WSJ 6-26-2012

On the other side of the world what is China doing?  Their high school seniors must take the Gaokao, a grueling three day long exam that will determine whether they go to university or not. Tao Jones of the WSJ described the gaokao this way,

Many of us who took the SATs remember them with little fondness. Well, the SATs are child’s play compared to the gaokao. If the SATs are the academic equivalent of, say, a brisk footrace, the gaokao is an Iron Man triathlon. Across a minefield and through a piranha-infested river that ends in a waterfall. With people throwing ninja stars at you the whole time! Freaking ninja stars.

Students' senior year is entirely devoted to preparing for this exam. Roadways are closed off around testing centers to help students concentrate. Society does its best to make the lives of students easier for this critical test. This exam is critical because one's scores on it determine whether or not one gets into one of China's 2000 colleges.  There are only two thirds as many opening available in those colleges as there are students applying.  But a qualifying gaokao score can open one of those seats up to any student, regardless of where they come from.

"Taken across three consecutive days at the beginning of June, the gaokao covers three mandatory subjects — Chinese, Mathematics, and a foreign language, usually English—and three other topics drawn from a pool of electives: Physics, Chemistry and Biology for science track students, and History, Geography and Political Education for those on the humanities track. Yes, you have to decide what track you’re on before taking the gaokao, because its outcome will, quite literally, determine your fate."

The Margins magazine, a flagship online magazine of the Asian American Writers Workshop is hosting a contest to see how Americans would respond to the surreal gaokao.

Pick one of the following real gaokao essay topics and respond to it BY MIDNIGHT, JULY 3 in 400 snappy, brilliant, offbeat words or less. Feel free to be earnest or funny, snarky or sincere.
Email your entry to gaokao@aaww.org with the subject line I HAZ GAOKAO (please include the question you’re responding to). Feel free to enter as many times as you like BEFORE MIDNIGHT, JULY 3. Be creative in how you answer: Multimedia, artwork, photography, poetry, prose – all forms and formats are acceptable and encouraged.

Three winners will get a copy of Dave Liang‘s excellent album of remixes of Chinese children’s songs, “Little Dragon Tales,” and have their entries published on The Margins and in this column. Plus, we’ll send you to college in China. No we won’t! But we will honor you like the shining example that you are, in perpetuity.

REAL 2012 GAOKAO QUESTIONS
WRITE A BRIEF, 400 WORD ESSAY ON ANY OF THE FOLLOWING

1. I was helping my family with some farming work during a weekend and the field was very muddy due to the rains. I was carrying a lot of equipment on my shoulders and was afraid of falling over. My legs were shaking. My mom spotted it and told me to take off my shirt and shoes and try again. It was much easier. Eventually I brought the stuff to mom and she said, “It’s not that you can’t do it — you were too worried about getting your shirt dirty. By taking them off, you got rid of the unnecessary concerns.”

2. Old Ji is a railway security man and he works on a mountain. His job is to examine the railways to prevent the fallen stones and trees from affecting the trains. He salutes every time the train passes, and the train will honk its horn in return. What do these scenes remind of you?

3. Two fish are swimming in a river. The older one asks, “How’s the water?” The younger one says, “I don’t know if it’s clean or cloudy.”

4. Various communications methods are being developed: email, SMS, etc. Do you think the letter is replaceable?

5. For several months, a sign was left on a ladder at a construction spot: “Notice: Ladder.” One day, a guy came and changed it to “Notice: put the ladder down, not upright, when not in use.”


We invited MEW readers to share their essays with us in the comment section. 

Creativity, Common Core, Racial Diversity (or Guilt). The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 03.25.12

Welcome to the Sunday Education Weekly Reader for 3.25.12.  This week's visual soundbites from Twitter:

•  I didn't make the connection of "collaboration" this tweeter took away from the article.  I find it fascinating the creative genius in all students could very well be squashed by a common curriculum, common timetable for learning, and shared experiences.  What do you think after reading?...VERY GOOD article...Creativity, Critical Thinking and Collaboration key for 21st Century...How to Be Creative http://on.wsj.com/zvUCgJ via @WSJ

• Will focusing on the increasing non-fiction requirement of Common Core allow indoctrination of a particular viewpoint?  "Their teacher, Sarah Brown Wessling (the 2010 National Teacher of the Year), let them choose books about those real-world topics as part of a unit on truth. Students are dissecting the sources, statistics, and anecdotes the authors use to make their arguments in books like Branded by Alissa Quart and Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich....I'm relying on different kinds of strategies and a lot more explicit teaching," she said. "We spend a lot of time talking about attributes of nonfiction, like how to read an interview. Or how to tell the difference between fact and opinion."  Read readers' opinions on Amazon about Nickel and Dimed and the questions raised about Ehrenreich's writing....is it truly factual or imbued with her own biases?  Will teachers teach students how to learn to separate the writer's voice between fact and editorializing?  Will teachers be able to conquer their own biases in this exercise?  ....Because of its emphasis in common-core #standards, millions of teachers faced w/ increasing their use of nonfiction: http://bit.ly/GHrOw7

• "We achieve more when we stop grouping people, stop guilting teachers, and start treating students as the unique individual learners that they are.  Stop with the constant focus on our differences."....Quote from the blog "The Activist Next Door"....embedded in the tweeted article....Pacific Educational Group: Radicalism for Kids, on the Taxpayers' Dime http://shar.es/p5eaC 

  

A Pedicure, An Expensive School, and What Really Drives Education

One of the luxuries I allow myself (especially in the summer) is a monthly pedicure. I rarely get a manicure because I find gardening and blogging are not kind on nail polish and nails. I've been frequenting new salon near my home and it is quite a trendy manicure/pedicure establishment. The chairs you sit in while you are having your pedicure have a massage capability built into them and the pedicures include a calf massage. You feel quite pampered during the process and your toes look much better when the pedicure is finished! It is owned and staffed by men and women who are Vietnamese. They all speak English; some better than others.

There are two employees at this salon I want to tell you about...I'll call them John and Mary. John gave me a manicure a couple of months ago and we began talking about our families. He has a son in 2nd grade and a daughter who is 4. He is very proud of both of his children, and really opened up when I told him one of my sons was hearing impaired. His son has Down's Syndrome and we chatted about the educational services available to him. His daughter has taken quite a shine to math, and he is understandably quite pleased with her talents. He is delighted his children can receive an education in the United States, and he reads with both of them at night when he comes home from work.

Mary is a beautiful young woman, probably about 18 or 19 years old. She gave me a pedicure in early August and we started talking about her life. She has been in the United States for about 5 years and attended St. Louis City Schools. She said she didn't know English very well when she moved here and high school was difficult. She is determined to better her English and education, and told me she would be working only on weekends starting mid-August as she was starting junior college. Mary loves to read books on biology and science and her dream is to be a nurse. One of her favorite authors in Dr. Andrew Weil, famous for his writings on natural healing.

I made an appointment with her on Saturday of Labor Day weekend and I inquired how she was enjoying school. She goes to two community campuses, one in the suburbs and one in the city, to accommodate her schedule. She is taking American History, physical education, biology and math. Mary said the professors speak very quickly and sometimes the notes are hard for her to keep up with so she tapes the lectures. As she walks around campus, she listens to the lectures so she is better able to understand the English terms.

She wakes up at 6:30 AM to get her brother and sister ready for before school care, and she then starts her day in college. She studies until 1:00 AM and starts the next day again at 6:30 AM. She then works Saturday and Sunday at the manicure/pedicure shop.

What a hectic schedule she maintains! As I was listening to her story, I was impressed with her inner drive. She is determined she will improve her English skills and she is going to be a nurse. She has tremendous responsibility in her own life and in her family. She bubbles with enthusiasm and I don't detect a bit of self-pity in her situation.

While waiting for my toes to dry, I read a piece in the Wall Street Journal about the most expensive school ever built in US history. We've written about this school previously, but this article is the most up to date:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575454013855538920.html

Allysia Finley writes: "The project was abandoned for several years, only to be recommenced when community activists demanded that the school be built at whatever cost necessary in order to show respect for the neighborhood's Latino children, may of whom were attending an overcrowded Belmont High School". I guess this respect includes providing:

• Talking benches costing $54,000
• Murals and art costing $1.3 Million
• A minipark costing $4.9 Million

The district is currently running a $640 Million deficit and has laid off 3,000 teachers. The total cost of this school to show Latino schoolchildren respect is $578 Million or $140,000 per student. I wonder if Mary's inner drive would be more intense if she had demanded respect because she is a refugee. Do any of you believe this extraordinary expense can create the work ethic and appreciation of education John and Mary exude? Does a school system, whether it be local, state or national need to show respect for students? I believe the LA school district has it wrong; the students need to show respect for the republic.

Mary and John are not demanding special treatment because of their ethnicity. They are trying to live the American dream...working hard and improving their life and those of their children. They understand the ticket for upward mobility for their children and themselves is education. They don't need a $578 Million school to work toward those goals. They possess what money can't buy; determination and goals. And the government can't supply or force these qualities by building super nifty multimillion schools, "buying respect", and instituting mandated educational goals.

Happy Labor Day to these two hard working people. They have the day off from work on Monday. They deserve it.