Sigh. I think I need to write a disclaimer about Common Core (I am a middle school special education and social studies teacher as well as a writer and I'm working madly to help align my district's curriculum planning with Common Core).
There are problems with Common Core, but this piece is a particular misnomer. It all depends on how it is applied, but the worst pieces about Common Core lie not in the use of nonfiction (that particular piece is aimed as much at science and social studies as it is language arts) but in its heavy dependence upon the Smarter Balance tests as devised by Pearson (yes, that Pearson of RandomPenguin) and its top-down imposition of standards which have demands above and beyond appropriate developmental standards. Basically, kids need to enter kindergarten knowing what they needed to know upon promotion from first grade just a few years ago in order to meet corporate education deform imposed criteria for high school graduation.
The emphasis on nonfiction in this piece by Fox is a distraction from the real, significant issues. If you want to look into it deeper, I can pass on some links. Or else go read Diane Ravitch's blog--which, really, is the best recommendation of all.
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Date: 2013-01-04 04:10 am (UTC)There are problems with Common Core, but this piece is a particular misnomer. It all depends on how it is applied, but the worst pieces about Common Core lie not in the use of nonfiction (that particular piece is aimed as much at science and social studies as it is language arts) but in its heavy dependence upon the Smarter Balance tests as devised by Pearson (yes, that Pearson of RandomPenguin) and its top-down imposition of standards which have demands above and beyond appropriate developmental standards. Basically, kids need to enter kindergarten knowing what they needed to know upon promotion from first grade just a few years ago in order to meet corporate education deform imposed criteria for high school graduation.
The emphasis on nonfiction in this piece by Fox is a distraction from the real, significant issues. If you want to look into it deeper, I can pass on some links. Or else go read Diane Ravitch's blog--which, really, is the best recommendation of all.