The Common Core is fast becoming the Common Bore as many students and parents are thrown into confusion and despair over the new style of basic mathematics. “An Iowa woman jokingly calls it "Satan's handiwork.'' A California mom says she's broken down in tears. A Pennsylvania parent says it "makes my blood boil.'' “Simple arithmetic isn't so simple anymore, leading to plenty of angst at home.” [These quotes appeared in “2+2=What? Parents Rail Against Common Core Math” from http://www.nbcwashington.com by Michael Rubinkam Thursday, Oct 9, 2014]
When students get frustrated, they can readily give up and get bored having to sit through lessons they don’t understand. They are not having fun. This is not a very conducive learning environment. As Walter Barbee said “If you’ve told a child a thousand times and he still does not understand, then it is not the child who is the slow learner.” The Common Core does not give the child a real opportunity for success. The Common Core is top down curriculum that is not student centered nor is it student friendly. It takes simple math operations and makes them more complex. The resulting confusion does not make students creative thinkers or problem solvers as was hoped. The Common Core proponents and advocates lament the confusion is a result of poor program implementation and lack of adequate teacher training. If this is so, you have to wonder why they launched the program if it wasn’t ready. It makes you wonder if student success is really a consideration in this curriculum. So who is the slow learner now?
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