The author, Timothy Shanahan, wrote “You Want me to Read What?!” which was published in November of 2013 in the Educational Leadership publication, and he makes a valid argument that informational text is as important as literary readings in the English classroom. Shanahan builds on his standing with facts clearly built from his research, citing compelling facts and data. Shanahan’s “You Want me to Read What?!” effectively persuades that teaching informational text and literary readings are equally important by presenting an optimistic view combined with strong evidence, research and statistics.…
1. Which statement expresses a general principle that serves as a foundational basis for the argument the author sets forth? a. In the article, “The Myth of ‘I’m Bad at Math’”, the authors Miles Kimball and Noah Smith include many well said points that contribute to the main idea of this topic. Based on the text, the authors are explaining how math is not really a genetic ability, and that “inborn talent is less important than hard work, preparation and self confidence”.…
The Common Core Standard Initiative is an educational program currently adopted by 42 of the 50 United States as well as the District of Columbia. Through Common Core, the federal government has hoped to unify nationwide education in hopes of preparing students for the competitive global economy, however opposers argue that no such program could be tailored to meet the needs of the diverse population of the nation. In support of the Common Core Standard Initiative, major points of support come with the promise that Common Core will: prepare students to be competitive to flourish in the global economy, bring creativity back into the classroom, as well as making it easier on teachers to share teaching methods nationwide to better educate their…
Children in society struggle daily with meeting the educational expectation. Compared to other countries around the world, the United States’ high school mathematics program stands in 31st place, and 24th in science. (Desilver, 2015) The American educational system remains below the expectation, and unfortunately, relays no signs of improving. In his essay, America Skips School, Benjamin Barber argues that the reason for the education crisis falls on the hands of the adults, because of their lack of initiative in supporting the youth of America.…
According to Neal McCluskey the associate director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom author of Common Core Treats Students Like Soulless Widgets “They learn different things at different rates, and have myriad talents and goals. Yet Common Core, by its very nature, moves all kids largely in lock-step, processing them like soulless widgets.” They need to be taught life skills that they will need after the graduate from high school such as check writing, signing in cursive, and simple adding and subtracting. All things lost or eliminated with these core…
International Legal Lessons on Closing the Achievement Gap” , the Common Core State Standards are explained as an enhancement in the U.S. education system, which overtime, will provide growth and stability in the nations economy. Frye then goes into details regarding America’s educational rank among other nations and how America is settling for mediocre learning in the classrooms. Next, Frye investigates the pros and cons of the Common Core Standards and defends allegations against the CCSS. Second, Frye analyzes other nation’s education systems and compares them to the United States.…
The Common Core is a set of standards that are currently being implemented all over the US. But with this legislation, there comes controversy on whether or not this actually raises the standards of education and is overall an effective way to aid children in the foundations of their learning. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essay Self-Reliance, explains the need to follow one’s nature and have one’s own beliefs and opinions and not rely upon others to form one’s beliefs. This legislation of Common Core Standards and transcendentalism go hand in hand with the controversy covering this issue as some believe that the Common Core could be helpful and others believe that this new standard is going to be more harmful. Governors, state commissioners,…
The majority of the educational mandates described in the Common Core Standards initiative are costly, ineffective, and have an inverse, negative impact on the quality of public education along with the students and teachers that are required to follow…
Walkowiak discusses the importance of educating the parents about common core. In her article, she presents three strategies to help inform parents. The strategies all involve getting the parents involved with their child’s schoolwork and educating them on how this is going to help their child in the future. The article touches on the math side of common core and the “new way” of doing math problems. The “new way” shows a deeper understanding of math and teaching students a new way to look at the math problems.…
“As the Common Core “State” Standards (CCSS) become reality, teachers have reason for concern. Their autonomy and intellectual freedom to craft curriculum, tests, and assessments are relinquished and put in the hands of ‘experts’ and testing companies such as Pearson” (Wexler, 2014, p.…
The article, “Closing the Achievement Gap in Math: The Long-Term Effects of Eighth Grade Algebra” by Frances R. Spielhagen, gives an explanation of the benefits of students taking Algebra in eighth grade as opposed to students who start Algebra in ninth grade. Such comparisons that were examined included the amount of mathematics courses students took in high school when they took Algebra in eighth grade as opposed to students who were on a regular track. The study also compared how well these students performed on standardized tests that they took in eighth grade and beyond, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) when the students entered 11th grade and the rate of which these students attended colleges. The researcher found that many…
“When’s it my turn?” Young girls are growing up in a society that really plays with their minds and a society that judges them every second. Women get judged for being too manly or masculine, but women also want to have strength. Neghar Fonooni wrote an article called “Why ‘Feminine’ and ‘Masculine’ Should Not Imply Weak or Strong,” it talks about how there shouldn’t be a difference between femininity and masculinity, and how women should always feel empowered. “When Bright Girls Decide That Math Is “a Waste of Time” by Susan Jacoby, is about how teenagers are giving up in their classes because they’re too manly and a waste of time.…
Anders Ericsson gained fame for his research showing that true expertise requires about 10,000 hours of practice, a notion popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his book "Outliers." But an often-overlooked finding from the same study is equally important: True expertise requires teachers who give "constructive, even painful, feedback," as Dr. Ericsson put it in a 2007 Harvard Business Review article. He assessed research on top performers in fields ranging from violin performance to surgery to computer programming to chess. And he found that all of them "deliberately picked unsentimental coaches who would challenge them and drive them to higher levels of…
In addition, it is observed that many curriculums or textbooks do not provide an adequate number of non-routine problems from which teachers can choose. This rather affects teachers’ use of problem solving approach in mathematics teaching since they mostly rely on the prescribed textbooks as their source of information (McIntosh, Jarret, & Peixotto, 2000). Such phenomenon is similar in most Ethiopian universities. Moreover, textbooks and assessments regimes used in the school and the time schedule for mathematics lessons are hindrances to the teaching of mathematics through problem solving (Anderson, Sullivan & White,2004).…
Just like Cindy Long says, “The Common Core allows educators to take ownership of the curriculum.” (Long, 2013) Formative…