Common Core has arisen from a variety of societal and political changes in the US. Ironically, a lot of the folk most upset about it are the folk who started this in motion: demands for teacher accountability ("Break the teachers unions!") required objective measures, which led to more standardized testing, which then requires a more standardized curriculum. Which then starts getting folk upset.
Of course, these sorts of things often ignore a huge variability in students, both in their capabilities and in their learning modalities (pardon my jargon; I used to be a teacher). But so do the backlash to say, "Hey, I learned multiplication by doing page after page of multiplication problems, so that's good enough for everyone" (because, really, it's not), as do calls for penalizing teachers based on how their kids do on standardized tests.
(That Common Core came out during the current Administration almost certainly plays a role in a lot of the brouhaha, though it's a clear evolution from the previous Administration's "No Child Left Behind" program.)
I'm less concerned over parents getting flustered over not understanding questions (processes and jargon) than some, because, hey, I grew up in the first wave of "New Math" back in the 60s, and in the late 00s I was struggling myself even then to understand the processes being used to teach my daughter multiplication and division (and, yes, today she uses the "normal" way, but that was always the goal).
At any rate, my take on Common Core is that the problems with it are less with what's actually there, or even its concepts, as in its implementation. New curricula and tests are always a challenge, and doing that sort of thing on a national scale is simply a national challenge. Doing it while kids are in school is problematic, but that's true no matter what you do. Assuming there isn't some new, abrupt, costly change in course again, I suspect a lot of the rough edges will be worn off in the Common Core and its issues in the next few years …
… which probably will be the cue for some new, abrupt, costly change in course, because that's how the Ed Biz works, public or private, local or national, regardless of the politics. Because nobody ever suggests that when there's a perceived problem, the answer is to do more of the same.
The Parent’s Guide to the Common Core
Depending on who you ask, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are either a step forward in creating a clearer and more consistent education framework for our kids…or complete insanity. Here’s what parents need to know about the Common Core and how we can help our kids in this unfamiliar learning environment.
Thank you, that was a good write-up on your part. Being in the middle of this with Ray right now, I think the reaction to common core is silly, at least on the FB-meme level. There are some serious concerns, but good grief, a lot of this math stuff seems designed to teach kids to be literate in math rather than just being able to answer problems that are already laid out for them. Does it work? No idea. Obviously some parents are struggling.
I have more problems with the worksheets that are getting sent home for math…they seem like they’ve been written by illiterates, and more than once we’ve had to play “WTF is this question asking? Okay, here’s what, logically, it’s asking, but here’s what I think your teacher wants to know, given the rest of the lesson…”