3 simple questions for Common Core mathematics standards…
In my last post, I said I would look at three questions about the new common core standards and how they play out for fifth grade in California:
- How do they compare with the current standards (with no assumption that the current standards are working–they aren’t);
- Are they too narrow, or too broad;
- Are they developmentally appropriate, and are some of the exemplars appropriate for elementary.
This post will cover the mathematics standards. I’m going to start with a story from my professional life. I’m doing this even though Mr. Coleman (co-author of the ELA standards) insists no one give a “hoot” what I think, and further that I need to read the text itself, without biasing things with prior knowledge, I think that’s stupid. I think it’s really stupid that someone as well educated as Mr. Coleman would say that because let’s face it, most learning is gained by creating analogues between something new and novel, and what we already know.
My story is this, when I was in the classroom last we used a text from Saxon. It was heavy on procedure and computation, light on visuals, and completely devoid of any joy. Four years later, I return from the computer lab to the classroom, and a new mathematics text. It’s full of illustrations! It’s full of real-life examples! It sucks. I wrote a bit here. My point is this, I don’t like my state’s current math standards. They are way too broad, way