by Vanessa Duersch
Common Core is expanding in an increasing number of states. Parents who wish to be a proactive role in their child’s education used to feel that they were sufficiently qualified to assist in their children’s learning-especially in grade school levels. Since the release of Common Core curriculum, many parents are scratching their heads and raising their eyebrows to the expectations in their children’s homework.
Danielle Palmer, a concerned parent, found herself surprised at how Common Core has impacted her children. “The tools [my son] is learning for spelling are seriously the tools a linguist would worry about in college. It’s training my kids to over-think everything! When would I ever dream to expect the word ‘inference’ in my kindergartener’s homework?” Danielle recalled other incidents and states, “I don’t even know where to start, let alone how to explain what my son should put on [his homework].” Many concerned parents have been discovering how controversial the issue really is and alarmed.
Photo Courtesy: Danielle Palmer
Common Core regulates not only subject matter, but also how the instructor must teach the material-eliminating any allowance for the teachers to use their skills to better reach the needs of the children. In addition to the ambiguity parents face from Common Core, there is a substantial amount of doubt that Common Core is appropriate or healthy to the development of the child. Palmer continued to express this concern by saying, “I don’t want to tell [my son that] homework is not important, but I have no idea how to help him. What do I say? It’s so stupid! But I can’t tell my son it’s stupid, because homework can’t be stupid.”
What are concerned parents doing if they can’t make the most of this ill-conceived idea? Work to repeal Common Core and learn a lesson to be more alert in what the government is doing in the future.