...I see many, many more angry parents against them. Many cite the abusiveness of the standards. One father invited Arne Duncan to come to his house and watch as his 12 year old son cried over his math homework...
In a perfect world, we would have the curriculum meet a variety of abilities without frustrating and turning off students. I just don't know if this is the answer...I'm still digging in and trying to push past the lobbyists for a clearer view of what the CCS are. And while I like some things so far, the explanations of why things work mathematically for instance, the jury is still out, I guess.
I have sympathy for students who are struggling with this stuff. However, many or most of them are struggling because what they were taught before was bad or wrong, NOT because the Common Core is abusive. The Common Core isn't the problem. Poor math instruction --- a near-universal problem in this country --- is the problem.
As others have said, I'm very concerned that the textbook manufacturers don't have the expertise necessary to produce books with proper CC material (perhaps they simply won't pay for it). And I'm just as concerned that many members of the teacher corps don't understand the CC material.
But again, these problems aren't the CC's fault. We have to start somewhere, and people will be unhappy for a while, but if we can manage to get some good textbooks and upgrade the skills of the teachers (or simply switch to hiring math specialists), things will improve drastically in this country.
Or, we could go back to
Everyday Mathematics or to memorizing algorithms and wondering why so many students fail math placement exams in college.
