I have noticed that this year also Ellipses. In my DD's class the math is the last 35 minutes of the day...after lunch, recess and right before dismissal. There is much talk about it being important and keeping up with Asia, Europe etc. but I don't see the foundation being laid yet.
Thanks for those links kcab. If I had a $ for every time I've heard the term common core standards this year!
The article was interesting and also the comments. I mentioned something about "teaching to the test" (in a joking, what's to become of all of this sort of way) a couple of weeks ago in a circle of people in the neighborhood. A teacher who was present really got serious and she said that people say things about 'teaching to the test' but she said "really, these children are the lucky ones...they are presented with the material that REALLY MATTERS and have the opportunity to REALLY LEARN IT WELL". She was dead serious. I said cheerfully, "oh, well, I never really looked at it that way!" and luckily was distracted out of the circle of people talking.
