Fellowshiper.  No, this isn't a type-o.  It is not a spelling mistake. It is an app to download.

I will have to confess I didn't know much about this app until yesterday. A fellow teacher has created this app and had, of course, told me about it. Yesterday, I found out the story behind the app.

When he first told me about his app, I thought he was joking. After all, he is the building prankster.  Then he urged me to download his app and I thought that this was his way of spreading his infectious encouragement.

I know my colleague is kind and generous. I also know that he has a heart for children. What I didn't know is that he is looking for ways to increase his income so that he can purchase land and build an orphanage. I was speechless.

So, I'm asking for your help. Help a fellow teacher by downloading this app and spreading the word to your friends.

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We all have moments that stand out to us, imprinting themselves on our memories, but there is that one moment that seems to be foremost in our minds. 

For me, it was over 40 years ago (well over 40 years ago!). I was about 7 or 8.  Christmas was always special. It didn't matter if we had plenty or 'just enough'.  Dad and Mom made Christmas special.  Christmas Eve always found my sister and I nestled next to Dad for a reading of " ' Twas the Night Before Christmas" and then the Christmas reading from Luke. 

On this special Christmas Eve,  the three of us held a special secret. I'm sure Mom suspected something was going on, but she never asked. Christmas secrets were honored. I'm sure if Mom had asked I would have spilled the beans!  

Christmas morning seemed so far away, but sleep made the hours speed by.  Soon we were around the Christmas tree in anticipation of that one special gift. I can't tell you what I received that year, but I can tell you what my mom received.  Dad had purchased Mom a new set of wedding rings. I'll never forget Mom's surprise or tears of joy or the look in their eyes as Dad gave her this special gift.  We didn't have a lot, but Dad made a sacrifice because he wanted to show Mom just how much he loved her.  

I don't remember much about that day except this moment of time that is frozen in my memory. All the love and joy we held in our hearts was wrapped in a small ring box. 

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1. Prepare.  Do everything, that you can, in advance. Get the presents wrapped, bags packed, the car loaded, fill up the gas tank the day before. Plan on things you need to avoid last minute trips to the store.  If you are taking a contribution to the family feast, plan on something that will travel well. Casseroles that you can freeze, then place in a cooler in the trunk, work great. Appetizers are also a great idea. 

2. Don't forget the camera, batteries, medications, or wipes.

3. Throw in a few Christmas CDs to get your holiday spirit on!

4. Get plenty of rest so you don't arrive at your destination exhausted or get sleepy driving.

5. If you are traveling with children remember to take snacks and diversions. Small bottles of water, individually packaged fruit snacks, fresh fruit,  or crackers are healthy finger foods that aren't too messy.  There are several small card games and magnetic board games suitable for traveling that are a fun alternative to technology. 

6. Be sure to include emergency items like blankets, a pillow, water, batteries or car charger for devices/phones, and flashlight. Have your vehicle serviced before your trip. Do this well in advance in case something needs to be repaired. Don' wait until the day before you plan to leave. 

Make this Christmas the best ever! Plan ahead, be prepared, and enjoy the time with your family and loved ones. 
Merry Christmas!

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 Missouri Commissioner of Education finalist, CJ Huff, was quoted as saying that CCSS is not scary.  In fact, he thinks it is great. There are five finalist for this position and apparently all of them support CCSS regardless of what voters want and what decisions the legislature has made. Peter Herschend, president of the Missouri State School Board (and friend of Dr. Huff), declares that the state board desires to find someone to make Missouri a top state in education. Herschend's experience is in the field of family entertainment. The Herschend family owns more than 20 theme parks across the United States, including Silver Dollar City. He is also one of the 12 People to Know... based on his successful entrepreneurial endeavors.

CCSS scary?  Well..... 

The standards are not necessarily a "problem" until you reach secondary. At the secondary level, you find that the Bible is classified in the fiction category with fairy tales and myths. Also, some reading selections that are on the CCSS list or recommended by implementers of CCSS are not age appropriate or contain objectionable material.  As a Christian, I find this to be scary.

Standards touted to be rigorous actually lack rigor.  A 30 minute math lesson that was formerly taught by a seasoned teacher is now stretched to 1 hour and 30 minutes with no real depth. Using the word rigor in association with educating children is somewhat scary. Webster uses the words unpleasant, unyielding, inflexible, harsh, severe, and strict in the definitions of rigor.  The children's definition is just as scary. Not exactly what I would desire in a lesson designed to make students life long learners. In fact the word rigor seems to drain the joy right out of learning. Administrators have told us that rigor means that we have the highest expectations or challenges for our students. Maybe they should rethink this educational buzz word. Maybe someone should enlighten them that rigor is also associated with rigor mortis, in which case, this terminology should be laid to rest. 
So... to those that love children and love teaching children, rigor is scary.

While the writers of CCSS may not be scary, the fact that NOT ONE public primary, elementary, secondary, or special services teacher is on the list is alarming. In fact, I would have to say that it is scary to think that people who have never spent quality time in a classroom are setting standards for our children.  These people are taking their personal educational expectations (or lack thereof) and forcing them on experienced educators. When you dig deeper into their backgrounds and supporters, you discover tremendous financial gain. Selling out our children for a profit is scary.

And finally, the assessments. I haven't revealed a great deal of information about the assessments simply because the amount of information is overwhelming.  

By going to the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium Psychometric Services you can read the qualifications of the executive director (who has taught all grades from kindergarten to graduate school). You can also access field tests and view released sample items. However, typing psychometric into the search box brought up several additional sites: One for Under- Represented Students assures readers that students with disabilities and English Language Learners will have all the technology they need to demonstrate what they know. In the Quarterly Report you read that in 2011 a Lead Psychometrician was hired. A six month priority was to refine the College and Career-Ready definition, not only for high school students, but also for the vertical articulation of grades 3-8. This isn't something that is being created or implemented. It is already in practice. If you want a clear picture of where this is headed take a look at the the Assessment Consortium. From the cradle to the grave (or almost) the Smarter Balanced Consortium is going to make sure that every student has the knowledge and skills they need to be college and career-ready. Pages 29-32 of the Smarter Balanced General Item Specifications  give information concerning the assessment tasks and the increased use of technology and how tests will be tailored depending on the student's response.
The Missouri Education Watchdog is often a good source of information concerning educational threats. For information concerning surveys your children are being given at school, (this is where the need for a Lead Psychometrician comes in) read the article on Refusing Surveys. Then decide how these questions will invade the privacy of your home and how they are related to making your child college and career-ready. Many educators have seen (including myself) and have been required to give students these surveys. Surveys are not only given to high school students, but also to younger students.  Results for students in MO were released by the Missouri Department of Mental Health. How do questions about fighting, drug and alcohol use, and suicide relate to making sure your child is college and career-ready? A complete 2014 survey for Missouri students reveals more detailed information about the direction in which CCSS is headed and the invasion of our privacy (page 14). 

Questions on availability of drugs or alcohol hardly seem relevant to the education of our students. They are, however, relevant to parenting skills. Parenting skills are being questioned and, in some cases, resulting in court cases.  A July 2014 court case in Arkansas involves a neglect case in which a kindergarten child was removed from the home and placed in state care. While these are extreme cases, more and more cases are flooding the news concerning the conflict between parents and schools.  I DO NOT condone any type of child neglect or abuse. I have no tolerance for those who hurt the innocent. However, the actions taken by seemingly caring administrators makes me question who is the guilty party.

A concerned New York mother crafted a letter to her son's teachers opposing his participation in CCSS. She was applauded by his teachers and encouraged to share her letter. Parents, like this mom, will be what it takes to stop CCSS. Parents need to get the facts, get involved, and speak out without fear of retaliation. Teachers are afraid to speak out against CCSS for fear of retaliation. But, if teachers have the support of the community, things can and will change.  Another letter opposing CCSS in parochial schools was delivered by Dr. Bradley to a diocese of Catholic schools. Parents were encouraged to read and share this letter to increase the understanding of CCSS.

Scary???? Maybe Dr. Huff doesn't find CCSS scary, but I believe that it is scary to see where Missouri, and ultimately our nation, is headed in education. It is scary that classroom teachers do not have a voice. It is scary that our children's career decisions will be directed by computer-based assessments. Further erosion of FERPA, under CCSS, will violate the privacy of our children. It is scary that the education of our children is being diminished.  

Scary??? You decide.

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      Recently, I met with a small group to learn more about Common Core Assessments.  I wanted to know what it would mean to the future of education. I found out far more than I ever wanted to know. 

From my first two blogs, Part One,  the Standards and Part Two, Who Wrote the Standards?, you can see that the standards, by themselves, are not a major obstacle.  Teachers have been given vague, poorly written, or objectionable standards in the past.  In spite of poor quality of standards, teachers know how to continue doing what is best for their students.  Teachers continue to teach and students continue to learn. 

A excellent Huffington Post blog by Alan Singer rightly equates Common Core with testing.  According to President Bush, testing is a form of accountability. On this point, I completely disagree with President Bush. Who is being held accountable- teachers, parents, or students- and who should be held accountable? It takes all three, plus administration, to provide and maintain a successful educational environment.  If any one of these elements (teachers, parents, students, and administration) fails in their responsibility the education of the student suffers.  So, one element- testing- is going to measure accountability?  Testing is one of many methods that educators use to measure the progress of their students. Most teachers don't even need test results to tell you which students are struggling and the area in which they are struggling.  

Teachers have never been fond of administering a large number of assessments. However, when assessments are linked to a teacher's ability to teach and can effectively ruin a career in education the line is drawn.  No one wants to be held accountable for something they have little control over.  Just because I teach doesn't make me responsible for the home life, prior schooling, and ability of each of my students - Just because you put gas in a car it doesn't guarantee that the car will run. 

In hopes of learning more about the CCSS assessments that students would be seeing, I went to the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium. My first stop on the site was to look at field test results.  Technology is the first topic listed in the survey results.  In fact, three of the six topics had to do with technology or the test delivery system. Bandwidth was also addressed.  This explains why The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is so vested in CCSS, but it does little to explain what type of assessments our students will be given and how the assessments will benefit our students. To learn more about CCSS assessments you can visit the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium.

Next,  I took two of the ELA assessments- one for 6th grade and one for 12th grade.  I could not detect a great difference between the difficulty level of the tests.  In fact, both were very similar in type of questions being asked and content of reading resources.  I did not get any results. I wondered who, if anyone, would view my practice tests and score the responses.  

Speaking of reading test results and scoring assessments, members of a New York state teacher's union have filed a law suit in October against the state education department. Teachers who scored portions of the Common Core based tests were placed under a gag order. The union argued that this was unconstitutional. Teachers who read questions that are inappropriate or poorly written should have the right to say so without fear of retaliation. Apparently, this problem isn't limited to teachers in New York.  This problem will continue to sweep our nation as CCSS gains ground. 

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So, who wrote the standards?  It seems to have almost happened overnight, although I know this is not the case.  I've looked over the list and not one name is a familiar name in public education. Yes, some are college instructors, but how many have classroom experience working in general education and special education? Diane Ravitch has a blog post that brings some of these questions to light, as well as, providing a list of common core authors.  The Daily KOS also offers a list of authors and raises more questions about the authorship. 

I randomly took names, from the author list, to see what educational background they had. I started with Sara Clough, since her name appears at the top of the list and she appears on both the Mathematics and ELA work list.  As many articles I read connected to Sara Clough, the only information that I could find on her, connected with education, was her name on the list of CCSS authors. So, I tried a different tactic...... look at her role at ACT, Inc.  I typed her name into the search box and was directed to survey report concerning research of teacher attitudes. Sara Clough was one of the assistants to the Public Agenda's Communication Director. I have yet to find any credentials associated with teaching in a public school.

I moved on to Phil Daro. He is listed as America's Choice. That sounds good, doesn't it?  Finally, I'm getting somewhere. He actually has a website about his involvement (actually more of a CCSS promotional site).  But the million dollar question is...... when and where did he teach? BINGO!  The biography for Phil Daro can be found at Strategic Research Education Partnership.  He taught 16 years at the University of California.  I'm looking...... and looking...... Last sentence. "He taught mathematics and is the father of three daughters."1  OK.... How long did he teach math? Where?  What grade level?

Next, I tried to see what background was available for Jason Zimba. I was lucky enough to discover his bio on my first try at Achieve the Core.  Mr. Zimba has several degrees, he has written books and received awards.  He has also taught...... math and other subjects..... to mostly adults. However, he has taught math and other subjects to disadvantaged secondary students and children of non-English speaking parents.  But, when has he taught public school and for how long?

David Coleman is from a family of educators and at one time he did teach reading at Yale. It seems that most of his time has been spent founding organizations. I read his bio at College Board, but was too disheartened to continue reading about his organizations.

So... I moved on through the list. Searching. For. A . Teacher. Just one. Someone who daily nurtures students in the classroom. Someone who knows how to reach children from all backgrounds. Someone who believes that their greatest role in life is to guide, teach, and love children.  

I am not degrading the accomplishments of these authors that contributed to the writing of CCSS. I am questioning why they were chosen for the task of writing standards that would affect children and teachers of children. I am questioning if they were qualified for the task of writing standards that would prepare our students for the next grade level. I am questioning why I can't find ONE public school teacher on the list. Why are there so many members on the author's list that are employed by The College Board and ACT, Inc.?

This little background check did not satisfy my questions. Did it satisfy yours or only raise more questions?



Articles I used for research (other than the ones linked above):
Chicago Teacher's Union
Which Louisiana Teachers Wrote the CCSS?
Common Core Disconnect.....
ACT Recovery Act
Missouri Education Watchdog- CCSS talking points

1.Daro, Phil. "Phil Daro." SERP: Phil Daro. Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction, SFUSD, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://serpinstitute.org/index.php/people/staff/phil-daro/>.

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