Category Archives: Common Core

We Will Not Conform Event PostMortem

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

I’m back from Dallas! The adrenaline that was pumping through me while I was participating in Glenn Beck’s We Will Not Conform has worn off and wow, am I wiped out! I met some amazing people and many other ‘mom warriors’ out there fighting Common Core.

Those participating included Michelle Malkin, David Barton, Matt Kibbe, Dana Loesch, Pat Gray, Stu Burguiere, Kyle Olson, Katheen Jasper, Shane Vander Hart, Heather Crossin, Emmett McGroarty, Heidi Huber, Josh Breechan, Jenni White, Dr. Terrance Moore, Dr. Jay Spencer, Brian Glicklich, Becky Gerritson, and Ellen Wheeler.

What a whirlwind night it was. The event had five panels giving advice and sharing their experiences with fighting Common Core. My panel was Messaging and public relations with Brian Glicklich, Becky Gerritson and Ellen Wheeler. It was really motivating and inspiring to see what they had been doing and what strategies we had that were working and which ones were not. We’ve got an action plan that contains the best of the best from the night. Keep reading! Continue reading →

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AFT Rides The Fence With Common Core

Posted on July 23, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Over at Huffington Post, Randi Weingarten has an op-ed up. Weingarten rides the fence with this op-ed. It’s titled ‘Tuning in to Teachers’. I wonder when we’ll see one called ‘Tuning into Students’?

Here’s the excerpt I was concerned with; emphasis added:
The most intense debate concerned the Common Core State Standards . Teachers have been told that these are an essential building block to help all students be ready for college and career, yet stories of inadequate resources and preparation for teachers and students were as legion as they were heartbreaking. The anger over the emphasis on testing and the profit-seeking developers of tests and textbooks as well as other “edupreneurs” was evident and justified. Continue reading →

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On My Way To ‘We Will Not Conform’

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

Right now, I’m on my way to Dallas to take part in We Will Not Conform, a Common Core Call to Action.
I’ll be joining over a dozen other great people trying to spread the word about the fundamentally flawed education reform, Common Core, later this evening. Those bringing their knowledge to the table include:

Michelle Malkin, David Barton, Matt Kibbe, Dana Loesch, Pat Gray, Stu Burguiere, Kyle Olson, Katheen Jasper, Shane Vander Hart, Heather Crossin, Emmett McGroarty, Heidi Huber, Josh Breechan, Jenni White, Dr. Terrance Moore, Dr. Jay Spencer, Brian Glicklich, Becky Gerritson, Andrea Dillon, and Ellen Wheeler.
Show starts at 7 pm Central, 8 pm Eastern. Hope you’ll join us and find the resources you need to stop Common Core in your state. Continue reading →

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Common Core Still Tanking in NY

Posted on July 21, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Via Neal McCluskey on Twitter:

In NY poll, #CommonCore taking a beating among registered voters (see Q35) http://t.co/P1xlwo8Tm3

— Neal McCluskey (@NealMcCluskey) July 21, 2014 Continue reading →

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Shocker: Pencil And Paper Still Work

Posted on July 21, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

My colleague in Common Core Fighting, Gretchen Logue, over at Missouri Education Watchdog has a very interesting article up about technology versus the ‘old fashioned’ way of doing things. Common Core is heavily dependent on technology, while the time-tested and proven methods of rote memorization and flash cards seem to be having more of a positive effect in one area of North Carolina. Read her article, Common Core Fallacy: Students Need Expensive Technology to be Successful.

This article jumped out at me personally as I have been working with my child over the Summer on math. Common Core math, as most have seen, involves multiple strategies being Dots and sticks math ecardemployed all on top of one another. It has created confusion and frustration for kids and parents alike. My own child even made the comment to me that he didn’t understand why he couldn’t just do it ‘the way I know how’ if he got the right answer. That was a moment in my parenting days that I will never forget. I had to bite my tongue and guide him in the understanding that he could do it the way he knew how and that the way they were demanding he represent his work wasn’t necessarily the only way. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | 1 Comment