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April 29, 2014 e Technician Page 4 National Common Core Standards: Are They Necessary? As many people know, public school systems across the nation have started adopting new “Common Core” standards of teaching. The move has been domi- nated by the fact that school systems receive their fund- ing based on the number of students attending, and the performance of those students on standardized tests. The Common Core standards are written based on extensive research for promoting student growth and preparation for college, life, and career. As explained in the promotional video, the core standards are equivalent to steps on a staircase, with landings provided to make sure that student development is on pace. The new standards aim to provide a uniform educational experience across the nation, with local and state practices still in effect. So in other words, a fourth-grade student from Idaho and one from Florida are expected to have mastered the same skill sets and basic functions. This is a far- fetched expectation, because the two areas have different local culture, family backgrounds, and career prospects. The explanation of the creation of the standards was based on input from teachers, researchers, and independent sources, and is by Jackson Coloske, Editor in Chief supposedly similar to international standards, such as France, China, and India. On the myths/ facts page, it lists one myth that “The standards are not internationally benchmarked” with the response, “standards from top-performing coun- tries played a significant role in the development of the math and English language arts/literacy standards”, which clearly states that they are not, in fact, internationally bench-marked. The standards are presented as such: • Research and evidence-based • Clear, understandable, and consistent • Aligned with college and career expecta- tions • Based on rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills • Built upon the strengths and lessons of cur- rent state standards • Informed by other top performing countries in order to prepare all students for success in our global economy and society With Mathematics and English/Lan- guage Arts and literacy (ELA) being the main focus of the revisions, other core subjects are left out. Social and physical sciences are left out of these changes. One concern I have about these new standards pertains to the adaptation of physical sciences and mathematics. Physics and chemistry are heavily reliant on strong math skills. Now, competent problem solving strate- gies rely on the ‘base standard’ provided by the changes. These standards are cut and dry. There is no room for individual education plans, 504 Plans, or alternative education. For the general populace, the standards will prove to be benefi- cial for students, but without providing individualized plans it will bring down the overall ability of the up and coming workforce to take on chal- lenges and personalize their capacity to take charge and solve problems. I believe that the over- all outcome of the first gen- eration to see Common Core the entire way through their education is dim. Students will be taught to listen and regurgitate information in a concise and accurate presentation. They will see things as they have been taught, basic arithmetic and comprehension skills will be the the most dete- riorated; along with exposure to ideas that may cause a change in ideals or thinking process. The end result will be a manufactured, cookie- cutter student that is basically a walking USA campaign poster. Someone who does what is asked, the way it’s asked, and when it’s asked. A drone. The Common Core standards will take away individual thought, and thereby reduce the American educational system to a haphazard pile of documented processes that continually churn out a single product. Source: www.corestandards.org education.vermont.gov courtesy of: hp://education.penelopetrunk.com/2013/07/01/the-common-core-will-be-the-tipping-point-for-homeschoolers/
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Transcript of Spring 2014 1e page4 5
April 29, 2014The TechnicianPage 4
NationalCommon Core
Standards: Are They Necessary?
Asmanypeopleknow,publicschoolsystemsacrossthenationhavestartedadoptingnew“CommonCore”standardsofteaching.Themovehasbeendomi-natedbythefactthatschoolsystemsreceivetheirfund-ingbasedonthenumberofstudentsattending,andtheperformanceofthosestudentsonstandardizedtests.TheCommonCorestandardsarewrittenbasedonextensiveresearchforpromotingstudentgrowthandpreparationforcollege,life,andcareer. Asexplainedinthepromotionalvideo,thecorestandardsareequivalenttostepsonastaircase,withlandingsprovidedtomakesurethatstudentdevelopmentisonpace.Thenewstandardsaimtoprovideauniformeducationalexperienceacrossthenation,withlocalandstatepracticesstillineffect.Soinotherwords,afourth-gradestudentfromIdahoandonefromFloridaareexpectedtohavemasteredthesameskillsetsandbasicfunctions.Thisisafar-fetchedexpectation,becausethetwoareashavedifferentlocalculture,familybackgrounds,andcareerprospects. Theexplanationofthecreationofthestandardswasbasedoninputfromteachers,researchers,andindependentsources,andis
by Jackson Coloske, Editor in Chief
supposedlysimilartointernationalstandards,suchasFrance,China,andIndia.Onthemyths/factspage,itlistsonemyththat“Thestandardsarenotinternationallybenchmarked”withtheresponse,“standardsfromtop-performingcoun-triesplayedasignificantroleinthedevelopmentofthemathandEnglishlanguagearts/literacystandards”,whichclearlystatesthattheyarenot,infact,internationallybench-marked. Thestandardsarepresentedassuch:
• Researchandevidence-based• Clear,understandable,andconsistent• Alignedwithcollegeandcareerexpecta-tions• Basedonrigorouscontentandapplicationofknowledgethroughhigher-orderthinkingskills• Builtuponthestrengthsandlessonsofcur-rentstatestandards• Informedbyothertopperformingcountriesinordertoprepareallstudentsforsuccessinourglobaleconomyandsociety
WithMathematicsandEnglish/Lan-guageArtsandliteracy(ELA)beingthemainfocusoftherevisions,othercoresubjectsareleftout.Socialandphysicalsciencesareleftoutofthesechanges.OneconcernIhaveabout
thesenewstandardspertainstotheadaptationofphysicalsciencesandmathematics.Physicsandchemistryareheavilyreliantonstrongmathskills.Now,competentproblemsolvingstrate-giesrelyonthe‘basestandard’providedbythechanges. Thesestandardsarecutanddry.Thereisnoroomforindividualeducationplans,504Plans,oralternativeeducation.Forthegeneralpopulace,thestandardswillprovetobebenefi-
cialforstudents,butwithoutprovidingindividualizedplansitwillbringdowntheoverallabilityoftheupandcomingworkforcetotakeonchal-lengesandpersonalizetheircapacitytotakechargeandsolveproblems. Ibelievethattheover-alloutcomeofthefirstgen-erationtoseeCommonCoretheentirewaythroughtheir
educationisdim.Studentswillbetaughttolistenandregurgitateinformationinaconciseandaccuratepresentation.Theywillseethingsastheyhavebeentaught,basicarithmeticandcomprehensionskillswillbethethemostdete-riorated;alongwithexposuretoideasthatmaycauseachangeinidealsorthinkingprocess.Theendresultwillbeamanufactured,cookie-cutterstudentthatisbasicallyawalkingUSAcampaignposter.Someonewhodoeswhatisasked,thewayit’sasked,andwhenit’sasked.Adrone.TheCommonCorestandardswilltakeawayindividualthought,andtherebyreducetheAmericaneducationalsystemtoahaphazardpileofdocumentedprocessesthatcontinuallychurnoutasingleproduct.
Source: www.corestandards.orgeducation.vermont.gov
courtesy of: http://education.penelopetrunk.com/2013/07/01/the-common-core-will-be-the-tipping-point-for-homeschoolers/
April 29, 2014
RegionalThe Technician Page 5
Opinion Head to Head:Welfare and Drug Testing
Con: Is it Really Worth it? Pro: Why it Keeps the System CleanOneofthelatestgreatAmericanissuesisaboutwelfaredrugtesting.
Atfirstglance,theideaseemssound—givethemoneytothosewhoneedit,notthosewhowilljustuseitfordrugs.However,inpractical-ity,theoverallcosttoemploythissystemandmaintainitfaroutweighsthebenefits.
Theideathatdrugtestingwouldsavemoneyonwelfareisamyth.Thecosttoemploythissystemisextensive.We’dneedtopayforthetesting,theoverseeingofallindividualswhoparticipateinthesystem,andsynchronizingthisinformationwithallothermajorgovernmentsystems.Evenifwecoulddothispractically,theissueofexecutingthetestingarises.Themaincon-flictistransportationofrecipi-ents.Typically,thoseonwelfareforshortandlongtermsituationsarethosewithlowmobilityorthoselivinginruralareas1.Get-tingadrugtestwillonlyhasslethepeoplewhotrulyneedit,ratherthanhinderthosewhowethinkdon’t.
Oneofthemostsignificantissuesiswhathappenstothepeopleaftertheyaredeclinedwelfare.Ifweputthedrugtestingintoeffectandthosewhoareusersnolongerreceivehelp,thenwhat?Thepeoplewhohaveaproblemlosetheirmeansofsurvivalandthen,weassume,areforcedtogetajobtoprovideforthemselves?Mostjobstestfordrugstoo.Iftheycan’tgetajob,doweassumethattheywillfinallyjuststraightenuptheirlivesandstopusing?Itwouldbegreatifitwasthateasy,butitoftenisn’t.Drugsarepainfullyaddictive;withdrawalscankillaperson.Soweneedtoputtheminarehabfacilitytohavethemedicaltreatmentandsupporttocleanup.Ifthesepeopledon’thavetheirwelfaremoneyorjobs,whohastopayfortheirre-hab?Theexactsamepeoplewhowerepayingtaxesthatprovidedforwelfarewouldbepayingforrehab.
Intheend,wewouldn’tbesavinganymoney.Infact,wemayendupspendingmore.Thepoolthatoncehadbeenforwelfarewillnowhavetobesplitbetweenthosewhoneeditandthosedeclinedforwelfareandinneedofdrugrehab.Thiswilldetractfromtheabilitytoprovideforthosewhouseitasitwasintended,mak-ingitevenlessefficientatitspurposethanisthoughttobecurrently.Toemploythissystemwouldbeastepinthewrongdirectioninregardstodecreasingcostsandincreasingefficiency.
Withoutadoubt,thewelfareprograminAmericaisoftenabused,butitcanalsobeverybeneficialwhenusedtosupportimpoverished
families.Themainpurposeofsocialwelfareistogiveaidtothosewhoarenotabletosupportthemselvesortheirfamilies,butareactivelyseekingwaystobettertheirsituation.Forthemostpart,drugtestingisnotneededtoapplyforaid;demographicallyspeak-ing,4.1%ofAmericansreceiveaidinfoodstamps,unemploymentinsurance,orgeneralwelfare.Thisisasignificantnumberofpeople.Ifyouthinkaboutthenumberofpeoplewhofallwithinthisgroup,theremightbeacorrelationbe-tweendrugabuseandbeingbelowthepovertyline.Withthispossibleconnection,thewelfaresystemneedsanewstandardofacceptingandcontinuingitssupport.
Whenapplyingforforaid,severalcriterianeedtobetakenintoaccount:whytheapplicantisfiling;howlongtheyanticipateneedingaid;aretheyactivelyseekingemploy-ment;dotheyhavetosupportchildren;dotheypassadrugscreening?Thedrugscreeningisimportantbecauseifanindividualfails,theindi-vidualshouldlosetheiraid.Straightandsimple.Theideabehindreceiv-ingaidisthatitisbeneficial,andnotsupplyingmoneyforanongoing
addiction.Withdenyingdrugus-
ersmonetarysupport,itmayseemthatI’mbeingverycriticalandneglectingatrueproblem,butthetruthofthematteristhatifsomeonehasadiagnosedcondition,likesub-stanceabuse,medicaltreat-mentisneeded.Itshouldnotbeuptothetax-payerstoberesponsibleforthefinancialburdenofsupportingdrug-rehabprograms,butitshouldbetakenseriously.
by Jackson Coloske, Editor in Chiefby Melissa Mikolowski, Assistant Editor
1 theconcordian.org/2014/01/17/drug-testing-for-welfare-recipients-con
courtesy of www.ampathkenya.org
source: http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-statistics/
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