Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Constance Kamii’s Critical Look at the K-3 Common Core State Standards for Math | Defending the Early Years

Constance Kamii’s Critical Look at the K-3 Common Core State Standards for Math | Defending the Early Years:

Constance Kamii’s Critical Look at the K-3 Common Core State Standards for Math



KamiiCover5.15


Today we release a new report, Selected Standards from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, Grades K-3: My Reasons for Not Supporting Them by Dr. Constance Kamii. In this report, Kamii shows that the Common Core math standards for grades K-3 are not grounded in the large body of research on how young children learn mathematics.  Dr. Kamii is a member of the DEY’s National Advisory Board and a leading scholar and researcher studying children’s understanding of mathematics.
Read a two-page summary of the report here.Summary
Dr. Kamii’s research and pedagogy have been the cornerstone of early childhood math education for decades. She starts with the theory that math is made up of mental, logico-mathematical relationships. While these relationships can’t be taught directly, teachers help children construct them when they encourage children to think as they engage in activities and interact with hands-on materials.  Dr. Kamii’s goal for math education is for children to become independent thinkers.
Dr. Kamii has worked for many years with early childhood teachers, experimenting with new ways of stimulating children’s independent thinking. She has described many kinds of specific activities. She has also conducted systematic research to assess how well children understand mathematical concepts as a result of doing these activities.  In the process, she has developed a solid sense of the kinds of mathematical concepts that children can be expected to construct at each grade.
In this report, Dr. Kamii explains that most of the CCSS are written as if the authors are not aware of logico-mathematical knowledge; they seem to think that the facts and skills in the mathematics standards can be taught directly.  Dr. Kamii goes on to explain why the CCSS are set at grade levels that are too early.  She selects specific standards for each grade from kindergarten to grade 3 and shows, based on her research, why young children cannot grasp the mathematical concepts these standards require.  Dr. Kamii’s explanations are thorough and grounded in child development research and understandings. They will give any interested reader a deep appreciation for the term “developmentally inappropriate.”
According to Dr. Kamii, in an effort to meet the standards, teachers will try to accelerate learning by directly teaching specific and too advanced concepts and skills. This, she explains, will result in empty “verbalisms” – children learning by rote what they don’t truly understand. Children will learn to accept answers on the basis of what teachers and books say and will lose confidence in their own ability to think for themselves.
LivelyMindsThe powerful ideas found in Dr. Kamii’s paper are echoed in the recent essay released by Defending the Early Years in April, 2015 called Lively Minds: Distinctions between academic versus intellectual goals for young children by Dr. Lilian G. Katz (Katz, 2015). Dr. Katz is Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). Dr. Katz is Past President of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the first President of the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children. She is an influential leader in the field of early childhood education.
In Dr. Katz’s paper, she explains the importance of intellectual goals for young children and contrasts them with academic goals. Intellectual goals and their related activities are those that address the life of the mind in its fullest sense – reasoning, predicting, analyzing, questioning – and include a range of aesthetic and moral sensibilities. Academic goals, on the other hand, involve mastery of small discrete elements of disembodied information designed to prepare children for the next levels of literacy and numeracy learning. Items designed to meet academic goals rely heavily on memorization and the application of formulae versus understanding. As Dr. Katz explains, intellectual dispositions may be weakened or even damaged by excessive and premature focus on academic goals.
In Dr. Kamii’s critique of the Common Core Math Standards, she shows how many of the standards further academic goals but not intellectual goals. Many of the standards she describes require children to master discrete bits of information and rely heavily on rote learning. For Dr. Kamii, genuine math learning engages children’s intellectual dispositions. In her opinion, the CCSS redirect education away from thinking and genuine meaning-making and focus it on more limited academic goals.
For both scholars, Dr. Katz and Dr. Kamii, an appropriate curriculum for young children is one that supports children’s in-born intellectual dispositions, their natural inclinations. In Selected Standards from the CCSS for Mathematics, Grades K-3: My reasons for not supporting them, Constance Kamii makes plain that most of the CCSS involve logico-mathematical knowledge and are therefore not directly teachable.  Dr. Kamii also maps out clearly in each of the examples why specific standards for the early grades are set at grade levels too early and are therefore developmentally inappropriate. She asks why the authors of the CCSS did not consider the large body of data available from research. And she concludes that any teacher of children in grades K-3 would easily understand that the standards are too hard for most children.
At Defending the Early Years, we are persuaded by the evidence from early Constance Kamii’s Critical Look at the K-3 Common Core State Standards for Math | Defending the Early Years:

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/14/15



Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM






Jersey Jazzman: Charter School Propaganda: A Case Study, Part II
Jersey Jazzman: Charter School Propaganda: A Case Study, Part II: Charter School Propaganda: A Case Study, Part IIAll this week, I've been debunking the Star-Ledger's big, fat, wet kiss to TEAM Academy Charter School, the Newark branch of the national charter chain KIPP.First, I showed how the author of this piece, Julie O'Connor, displayed what can only be described as willing ignorance about how
Train Wrecks and Teachers: victims of greed and corruption | Reclaim Reform
Train Wrecks and Teachers: victims of greed and corruption | Reclaim Reform: Train Wrecks and Teachers: victims of greed and corruptionPosted on May 14, 2015by Ken PrevitiHow is the Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia related to the financial disaster in Illinois that is being blamed on active and retired teachers along with other public employees?Both are legislatively created disasters which have
OMG HERE WE GO AGAIN: City employee files sexual harassment complaint against Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson | The Sacramento Bee
City employee files sexual harassment complaint against Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson | The Sacramento Bee: City employee files sexual harassment complaint against Sacramento Mayor Kevin JohnsonA former aide in the Sacramento city manager’s office filed a claim last month against Mayor Kevin Johnson alleging the mayor sexually harassed her multiple times over a seven-month period at City Hall, ac
solidaridad: Schools Los Angeles Students Deserve (SLASD) May General Assembly
solidaridad: Schools Los Angeles Students Deserve (SLASD) May General Assembly: Schools Los Angeles Students Deserve (SLASD) May General AssemblySchools Los Angeles Students Deserve (SLASD) General AssemblyThursday, May 21, 20154:30-6:30PMSt. Marks Lutheran Church3651 South Vermont Ave,Los Angeles, CA 90007(2 blocks north of the Expo line's Vermont station)Final General Assembly of the school year
Schools Matter: Guest Post: Citizen Jack responds to LA Weekly's fluffing Ref Rodriguez
Schools Matter: Guest Post: Citizen Jack responds to LA Weekly's fluffing Ref Rodriguez: Guest Post: Citizen Jack responds to LA Weekly's fluffing Ref Rodriguez“That’s not exactly investigative reporting or a critique of the powerful. But it represents the kind of contrarian, screw-you mentality that fits the New Times worldview now evident at the LA Weekly.” — Professor Jon Wiener"Jack,"
Country research and advocacy on the impact of privatisation in education | Global Initiative
Country research and advocacy on the impact of privatisation in education | Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Country research and advocacy on the impact of privatisation in education |: The GI-ESCR is currently involved in conducting innovative multi-country research and advocacy on the impact of privatisation in education on the right to education in 9 countries. The res
4LAKids - City "Ethics" Commission: INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE IN LAUSD BOARD RACES GOES FROM $250K to $2.5 MILLION IN ONE MONTH
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: City Ethics Commission: INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE IN LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD RACES GOES FROM $250K to $2.5 MILLION IN ONE MONTH: City "Ethics" Commission: INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE IN LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD RACES GOES FROM $250K to $2.5 MILLION IN ONE MONTH
High school sets up autistic kids to fail in college. Here's how to fix the problem. - Vox
High school sets up autistic kids to fail in college. Here's how to fix the problem. - Vox: High school sets up autistic kids to fail in college. Here's how to fix the problem.Ever since kindergarten, my son, Archer, has been "in the system." Before he started school, my wife and I notified the district that he'd been diagnosed with autism. Each year since then — Archer is wrapping up ei
How Big Business Has Driven Chicago Public School Reform for Over a Century | Chicago magazine | Politics & City Life May 2015
How Big Business Has Driven Chicago Public School Reform for Over a Century | Chicago magazine | Politics & City Life May 2015: How Big Business Has Driven Chicago Public School Reform for Over a CenturyFor generations, Chicago’s private power brokers have tried to shape the school system according to the management principles of the day, whether it’s the hierarchies of 19th-century industry o
.@TeachForAmerica Ground Offensive Stalling Spectacularly in California | Cloaking Inequity
.@TeachForAmerica Ground Offensive Stalling Spectacularly in California | Cloaking Inequity: .@TeachForAmerica Ground Offensive Stalling Spectacularly in CaliforniaThe media (social or traditional) has not reported on the Teach For America ground offensive going on in California. The traditional media has also missed that school boards are turning them away! It all started with an email from a San
This Week In Education: Thompson: Why That John Oliver Testing Segment Hit a Nerve
This Week In Education: Thompson: Why That John Oliver Testing Segment Hit a Nerve: Thompson: Why That John Oliver Testing Segment Hit a NerveMy wife kept pestering me to watch John Oliver's 18-minute, hilarious indictment of standardized testing on HBO, but I had a long "to-do" list. Skimming the replies by Alexander Russo, Peter Cunningham and others, I thought they were challenging th
LIVE BLOG: K-12 education gets $83 billion in revised budget | EdSource
LIVE BLOG: K-12 education gets $83 billion in revised budget | EdSource: Governor's Revised BudgetSummary PDFDetail - Coming soonhttp://www.ebudget.ca.gov/LIVE BLOG: K-12 education gets $83 billion in revised budgetK-12 education wins big in the revised budget proposal announced by Governor Jerry Brown today, with $83 billion in total funding.The “May Revise” included $6.7 billion more in expected
Red Lion Wear Red for Ed - Badass Teachers Association
Badass Teachers Association: Red Lion <3 a="" account="" an="" association="" attention="" badass="" bat="" by="" conducting="" div="" edwritten="" ever.="" facebook="" for="" got="" hotel="" ichael="" in="" karen="" last="" leadership="" legi="" lion="" maybe="" member="" more="" nbsp="" of="" on="" page="" pasco="" pe="" posted="" protest="" red="" rolling="" s="" state="" teacher="" teachers="" teamthe="" than="" the="" walkouts="" washington="" wear="" week="" well="" wolfe="">
Curious City: Were Chicago's public schools ever good? | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago
Curious City: Were Chicago's public schools ever good? | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago: Curious City: Were Chicago's public schools ever good? (Source: Metro High School yearbook, 1978)Our questioner Julie had completely forgotten she asked this when we reached out to her. She lives in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood and didn’t want to say much more about herself. But here’s what she wanted to know:There
Closing Costs: Parents Push For Role In Choosing New Charter School Operator | WWNO
Closing Costs: Parents Push For Role In Choosing New Charter School Operator | WWNO: Closing Costs: Parents Push For Role In Choosing New Charter School OperatorThe school year is winding down, and for three New Orleans charters, the last day will bring dramatic changes. Two of those schools are closing for good. The third – kindergarten through 8th grade school Andrew H. Wilson Charter – is getti
June 4th: THE DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARD | Deborah Meier on Education
June 4th: THE DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARD | Deborah Meier on Education: June 4th: THE DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARDPosted on May 14, 2015 by debmeierFor more information and to order your tickets, please go tohttp://www.fairtest.org/fairtest-to-honor-karen-lewis-and-leon-botsteinJune 4th: THE DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARD | Deborah Meier on Education:
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Insider Tells a Florida Charter Schools Story
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Insider Tells a Florida Charter Schools Story: Insider Tells a Florida Charter Schools StoryI received this from former Florida charter schools teacher and administrator, Jodie Pillius-MacKrell.Mike,I was very interested in your blog on the charter schools. I was the director at Richard Milburn in Lehigh Acres FL - it was called Lee Alternative Charter High School.  
State funding for higher education in US slashed by 20 percent since 2008 - World Socialist Web Site
State funding for higher education in US slashed by 20 percent since 2008 - World Socialist Web Site: State funding for higher education in US slashed by 20 percent since 2008State spending on higher education across the United States has fallen precipitously in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse, according to a study published Wednesday by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CB
King KJ (and Part Time Mayor) Out of Town Expanding His Kingdom Wants City Revenue to Pay for More Staff
King KJ (and Part Time Mayor) Out of Town  Expanding His Kingdom Wants City Revenue to Pay for More Staff and Dancing Girls
Jersey Jazzman: Charter School Propaganda: A Case Study
Jersey Jazzman: Charter School Propaganda: A Case Study: Charter School Propaganda: A Case StudyI really don't want to keep debunking this past Sunday's big, fat, wet kiss from the Star-Ledger's Julie O'Connor to the TEAM/KIPP charter school in Newark -- see here and here. But O'Connor has given us such a perfect example of reformy propaganda that it really does merit further deconstruction.O'Conn
The emerging populist agenda - The Washington Post
The emerging populist agenda - The Washington Post: The emerging populist agendaThe most surprising development in our political debate isn’t the gaggle of Republican presidential contenders or the ceaseless attacks on Hillary Clinton. What is stunning is the emergence of a populist reform agenda that is driving the debate inside and outside the Democratic Party.A range of groups and leaders are p
Teachers Offer Guidelines for Authentic "Teacher Voice" Projects - Living in Dialogue
Teachers Offer Guidelines for Authentic "Teacher Voice" Projects - Living in Dialogue: Teachers Offer Guidelines for Authentic "Teacher Voice" Projects By Amanda Koonlaba.A recent Education Week Teacher article titled, “Education is Political. Can Teachers Afford Not to Be?” examined the interesting dynamic between teachers and politics. Regardless of any controversy surroundin
2 Reasons Why Bad Teachers Don't Get Fired
2 Reasons Why Bad Teachers Don't Get Fired: 2 Reasons Why Bad Teachers Don't Get Fired Source: ThinkstockTeaching is often viewed as a noble profession. Almost everyone in society has a strong connection to a teacher: Either their mom or other family member has been in the classroom for an entire career, their sixth-grade teacher changed the course of their life, or they realize the value of educa
2015 Building a Grad Nation Report | GradNation
2015 Building a Grad Nation Report | GradNation: 2015 Building a Grad Nation ReportPROGRESS AND CHALLENGE IN ENDING THE HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT EPIDEMICReleased annually, by the Alliance for Excellent Education, America’s Promise Alliance,, Civic Enterprises, and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, shows detailed progress toward the GradNation goal of a national on-time graduati
No Child Left Behind Overhaul Needs to Fix Education Funding - US News
No Child Left Behind Overhaul Needs to Fix Education Funding - US News: Education Funding Fails the TestCongress' No Child Left Behind overhaul needs to fix how schools are funded.Right now, it often seems like the national education debate is dominated by a single topic: Tests. Should parents opt-out their kids? Should teachers be evaluated on student test scores? Will the new Common Core exams b
The Perfect Lobby: How One Industry Captured Washington, DC | The Nation
The Perfect Lobby: How One Industry Captured Washington, DC | The Nation: The Perfect Lobby: How One Industry Captured Washington, DCThis article is adapted from David Halperin's new e-book, Stealing America's Future: How For-Profit Colleges Scam Taxpayers and Ruin Students' Lives, available at Amazon.Many of America's for-profit colleges have proven themselves a bad deal for the students lured by

YESTERDAY

“Fast Tracking” the Privatization of Public Education: Who’s in Favor? | educationalchemy
“Fast Tracking” the Privatization of Public Education: Who’s in Favor? | educationalchemy: “Fast Tracking” the Privatization of Public Education: Who’s in Favor?(Here’s a beginning roster of who favors it: Lamar, Arne, Pearson, Apollo Inc, the National Governors Association, ALEC, and the Brookings Institute).Congress today voted whether or not to “fast track” a decision about the Trans Pacific Pa
Press Release from United Opt Out National: Response to Civil Rights Groups
Press Release from United Opt Out National: Response to Civil Rights Groups - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform: Press Release from United Opt Out National: Response to Civil Rights GroupsResponse to Civil rights Groups: “We Oppose Anti-Testing Efforts“ – Administrators of the public education advocacy group UNITED OPT OUT NATIONAL are concerned that well-respected adv
Now-closed Lagniappe Academy: A Case Study in Louisiana Charter “Oversight Underinvestment” | deutsch29
Now-closed Lagniappe Academy: A Case Study in Louisiana Charter “Oversight Underinvestment” | deutsch29: Now-closed Lagniappe Academy: A Case Study in Louisiana Charter “Oversight Underinvestment”This post features the story of a now-closed New Orleans Recovery School District (RSD) charter school, Lagniappe Academy.It is an excerpt from a report entitled, System Failure: Louisiana’s Broken Charte
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/13/15
Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMMistakes made with teacher evaluation scores, CPS admits | Catalyst ChicagoMistakes made with teacher evaluation scores, CPS admits | Catalyst Chicago: Mistakes made with teacher evaluation scores, CPS admitsCiting a computer coding error, district officials have acknowledged that they miscalculated last year’s REACH performance task scores for one out of every