She confirmed that the Florida Standards are just another name for Common Core:
We were told this new way of teaching was going to make you better in math. We were all deceived.This year, I was told to forget everything I have ever learned about teaching. The past eight years of my career and my four years getting my bachelor's degree in elementary education were apparently a waste of time, because this year, the state of Florida told me to do something totally different. It's called Common Core. Parents, you were probably told that Florida has its own standards. That was a lie. We just gave Common Core a different name.
She confirmed that standard teaching methods(algorithms) using the methods that she and most parents had learned were being thrown out:
Here's what I did to you: I taught you three different ways to divide multidigit numbers except the one way everyone else in the world was taught. I tried my best to teach it to you, but since I was never taught this way, I know I confused you quite a bit. When you went home to your mom and dad confused as to how to solve a division problem with pictures and partial quotients, your parents -- out of desperation -- showed you how they were taught. We call that the standard algorithm, which in Common Core is a dirty word in fifth grade.
Among the worst of all, she confirmed that process is far more important thatn accuracy and that the right answers are marked wrong if not done the Common Core way:
The next day, you came back to school so excited because you got it! You weren't confused anymore. All your answers were correct because you checked them using multiplication.
And then, I did the unthinkable. I gave you a zero because you didn't do it my way, the Common Core way. I told you to use partial quotients, and you didn't. I told you to draw a model, and you didn't. I didn't care that you got them all right. You got your correct answer the wrong way. I watched your face fall and tears well up in your eyes. I felt terrible, but I had to do it because that's how you're going to be tested on division. (Emphasis added).
And then, I expected you to turn improper fractions into mixed numerators, but I didn't teach you the standard algorithm for division, which made it that much more difficult for you. How could I have expected you to do that when I didn't teach you how to divide easily in the first place?
I did this to you with every single math skill I taught. No, you can't do it your parent's way. You must do it my way. My way is the right way; your way is the wrong way. I don't care if your answer is right. I don't care if it doesn't make any sense. I don't care if it takes you 20 minutes per problem instead of one. I watched your self-esteem plummet. (Emphasis added).
And then, I did the unthinkable. I gave you a zero because you didn't do it my way, the Common Core way. I told you to use partial quotients, and you didn't. I told you to draw a model, and you didn't. I didn't care that you got them all right. You got your correct answer the wrong way. I watched your face fall and tears well up in your eyes. I felt terrible, but I had to do it because that's how you're going to be tested on division. (Emphasis added).
And then, I expected you to turn improper fractions into mixed numerators, but I didn't teach you the standard algorithm for division, which made it that much more difficult for you. How could I have expected you to do that when I didn't teach you how to divide easily in the first place?
I did this to you with every single math skill I taught. No, you can't do it your parent's way. You must do it my way. My way is the right way; your way is the wrong way. I don't care if your answer is right. I don't care if it doesn't make any sense. I don't care if it takes you 20 minutes per problem instead of one. I watched your self-esteem plummet. (Emphasis added).
Jeb Bush has mocked self-esteem in his various speeches. Obviously, he doesn't have children or grandchildren who are have to live through Common Core math.
And finally, she explains how developmentally inappropriate the testing will be and that the students will have no chance to practice on the computer to understand how to take the test that they will not be able to completel in the allotted time:
And then, to make matters worse, I'm now going to test you using question-and-answer styles you've never seen before. Instead of multiple choice, you are now going to have to check all that apply. If there are three correct answers and you only pick two of them, you're entire answer is wrong. I'm going to make you draw diagrams and pictures of how you got your answer instead of letting you show your work using the standard algorithm. And they better be done my way. I'm going to make you answer questions that should only take one minute and make sure it takes you 10 minutes. You'll never finish the test in the 80 minutes I'm going to give you. I'm going to make you "drag and drop" and explain your work using words, but I'm not going to give you any practice tests on the computer in this style. Only on paper. I'm saving the computer for the day of testing.
Child psychiatrist, Dr. Gary Thompson gave a fabulous pesentation on the problems with Common Core and the AIR/FSA/SBAC tests:
Particularly relevent to the math discussion is this slide on the alarming effects of the rambling, incoherent word problems on brain function and learning:
Common Core must be stopped!
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