Let's do some critical thinking
Let's do some critical thinking
Sent to the Denver Post, March 7.
Sent to the Denver Post, March 7.
The Douglas County school superintendent says that students should not just "compare and contrast" but "create and evaluate" and engage in critical thinking ("Educators to state: Let's go above common core," March 6).
Agreed.
Let's start by evaluating whether we should have common core standards and tests at all.
How many policy makers are aware of these facts?
(1) US students do very well on international tests when we control for poverty: There is no crisis.
(2) 23% of our children live in poverty.
(3) Poverty means lack of good food, lack of health care and little or no access to books. All of these have a devastating impact on school performance.
Now let's do some critical thinking and evaluate this proposal: We can protect children from the effects of poverty with improved food programs, more school nurses and investing in libraries for a fraction of what we are about to spend on the common core, especially online testing. This will improve school achievement as well as the quality of life for millions of students.
Stephen Krashen
Original article: http://www.denverpost.com/dougco/ci_25273289/educators-lets-go-above-common-core