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October 22, 2015

At a recent medical appointment, the doctor struck up conversation as we spent time together.  Turns out we both went to Boston University, both are moms, and both have 5th graders.  When she discovered that I was an elementary school principal, her next question was, “Hey what do you think about all this Common Core stuff?”  Seeing as though I was laying on a table and unable to escape, I replied with a request for more information to better understand from where her question stemmed.  She elaborated, “I am really struggling with teaching my daughter math.  I just don’t get this new way of doing things.  When she brings home her homework, I can’t help her with it.  When I show her the way I would do it, she says that’s not the way they’re learning it at school.  I don’t know how to make sure she understands it.”

 

Where to begin?

 

My family, friends, and staff know that I am one who replies with candor.  If you ask me a question, I assume you want my real opinion and are not asking a rhetorical one to simply validate what you want to hear.  So...here goes.

 

I shared with this doctor three reflections.  

 

First, I confirmed that I did hear her say she was struggling with “teaching” her daughter math.  Without even batting an eyelash, she said, “Yes, that’s what I said.”  I pointed out that while as parents we have many responsibilities to teach our children many things, one of the reasons we send them to school is so that an expert teacher can relieve us of having to do it all.  I elaborated that while I am very competent and proficient in math, I myself am not teaching even my own children the subject areas that schools are in place to teach.

 

Second, a child coming home with homework that cannot be completed independently - is a problem.  We in the education field need to make certain that ALL children understand anything we ask them to take home for practice.  And if they don’t understand it, then our subsequent instruction must be design to mitigate the confusion that still exists.  A parent’s role in homework is to make sure it gets done, end of story.  If you correct your child’s homework, then the teacher will not know what he/she needs to reteach the next day.  Ahhh, but what about the grade?  Homework should NOT be graded.  As a district, we are in the process of transforming our mindset around this.  A grade denotes a stopping point, an end result - the final score in a game.  Once the game is over, there’s no way to adjust the outcome.  That’s not the point of homework.  Furthermore, there is abundant research outlining that homework has little to no impact on academic success in elementary school.  I have provided some links below.  

 

Lastly - I shared my concern over the amount of energy some are spending on arguing whether or not we should be teaching to the Common Core State Standards.  So, I got a bit feisty and said, “Here’s the basis of the argument I keep hearing.  As a parent, I’m frustrated that my children are being taught the fundamental concepts and worth behind numbers in mathematics.  I’m irritated that they’re learning to add with things like number lines and that they’re using foreign practices to me like tape diagrams.  What I want is for my child to memorize math facts, be able to spout them out quickly, and learn the formulas to combine numbers.  It is not important to me that they be able to talk about math, nor do I care about whether or not their attention to detail is there in terms of labeling or precise language.  I wasn’t held to that standard as a child and I’m a successful adult.  Frankly, it shouldn’t be necessary for my kids.”  My response has probably upset at least one of you out there reading this.  You’re welcome to stop me and bend my ear on this matter, or...we can accept that Common Core Standards are what we are teaching in education and focus our energies on how to help our children become the best thinkers they can possibly be.  Please see some links below that provide further information on this matter.

 

Homework Links

 

CCSS Math Links






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