Category Archives: Common Core

The Common Core Weekend Reads – 11-30-14

Posted on November 30, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

These are the Common Core Weekend Reads for November 30, 2014. This is a review of the past week of news on Common Core nationwide and in North Carolina. Articles are organized by category. Prior Edition of Weekend Reads: 11-23-14   … Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | Tagged | Comments Off on The Common Core Weekend Reads – 11-30-14

NC Senate Bill 880 And The NC Superintendent Position

Posted on November 27, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

In June of 2014, Senator Jerry Tillman filed Senate Bill 880 titled the Education Simplification Amendment. It passed the first reading and was sent to the Education/Higher Education committee. See the bill’s history here.
According to the SB 880’s opening text, the NC Superintendent of schools position would be changed significantly from and elected superintendent to a Governor appointed ‘secretary of education’ through a state Constitutional amendment:

KEEP READING…. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION, June Atkinson, NC DPI, NCGA, Pat McCrory | Tagged | 2 Comments

Education Group Survey Appears On Wake School Sites

Posted on November 26, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

An education group called ‘Project Tomorrow’ is promoting a survey on a Wake County elementary website. The school is Cary Elementary.

2014 SpeakUp Survey

WCPSS is a leader among school districts in instructional technology, but there is always more that can be done. One important component of giving our students the best we can offer academically is to listen to them, along with their parents, the broader community and, of course, our teachers.

WCPSS is partnering with Project Tomorrow SpeakUp, an online survey for teachers, parents, students and community supporters to provide input around learning, and specifically the use of technology in our school.

WCPSS encourages everyone who cares about their school to take the survey. You can do so by clicking on the link below and following the directions to select your category (parent, teacher, student, etc.), and then to select your school for the survey.

We want to hear from you so we can provide our students with the best instruction possible. Please take a few moments and click on the Project Tomorrow SpeakUp button to complete the survey.

We will be working with the students during their computer lab time to complete the survey.

I also noted this survey on other Wake County elementary sites.

KEEP READING…. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION | Comments Off on Education Group Survey Appears On Wake School Sites

NCDPI Making Changes To Common Core Documents

Posted on November 26, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Last month, NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) gave a presentation to the Common Core Academic Standards Review Commission (ASRC) on the English language arts portion of the standards.

This month, in the DPI newsletter, it appears updates have been made:

Unpacking Standards For English Language Arts Updated

KEEP READING … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Standards Review Commission, Common Core, NC DPI | Tagged | 1 Comment

Here Comes The Common Core Curriculum

Posted on November 24, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

“It’s just a set of standards…”

Yeah, right.
The tests are aligned. Now it’s time to align the curriculum…for ‘free’, of course.

So who is going to align the curriculum?

Meet The K-12 Open Educational Resources Collaborative (K-12 OER).

From the K-12 OER Collaborative site:

“The K-12 OER Collaborative is creating comprehensive, high-quality, open educational resources (OER) supporting Mathematics and English Language Arts aligned with state standards.”

“This project is a state-led collaborative, with support provided by many of the leading non-profits in OER and education.”

“Members include eleven state education agencies, CCSSO, Achieve, Creative Commons, The Learning Accelerator, Lumen Learning, SETDA, and more. See the full list of participants.”

Open Education 2014
The K-12 OER recently held an event called Open Education 2014.

KEEP READING… THERE IS A LOT MORE, LIKE THIS QUOTE:

“This project is not creating a national curriculum and steps are being taken to ensure it will not be perceived in this way.”

Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | Tagged | 3 Comments

Jeb Bush Wants Opposition to Can It, Be More Like China.

Posted on November 22, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Jeb Bush, you can wave goodbye to 2016 if you’re going to use passive-aggressive constructs like the apolo-attack on Common Core critics that you used in your keynote address this week. The excerpt below is just flowery shutuppery.

​”​This is why the debate over the Common Core State Standards has been troubling. I respect those who have weighed in on all sides of this issue. Nobody in this debate has a bad motive. But let’s take a step back from this debate for a second. This morning over 213 million Chinese students went to school, and nobody debated whether academic expectations should be lowered in order to protect the students’ self-esteem. Yet in Orange County, Florida, that exact debate did occur. And so the school board voted to make it impossible for a student to receive a grade below a 50. You get 50 out of 100 just for showing up and signing your name. This was done, and I quote here from a local official, so the students “do not lose all hope.”​ – Truth in American Education, Jeb Bush Will Go Down Swinging On Common Core

Shorter: All you parents out there need to shut up. We know what’s best for our workforce….err, your kids.

KEEP READING… THERE’S MORE. Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, ELECTIONS | Tagged , | Comments Off on Jeb Bush Wants Opposition to Can It, Be More Like China.