Pat Richardson Video: Transcribed by Marco Frucht
Arkansas Mother Obliterates Common Core in 4 Minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZEGijN_8R0
I typed this in so that people can make direct quotes if they’d like. I sure would. 😉
I am here today not speaking just on behalf of myself; I’m here representing 1110 other parents, educators and taxpayers in our state who have some very serious reservations about the common core initiative.
We are not alone in this regard; 6 other states have pulled out of their agreement.
22 other states currently have legislation pending to either get out of common core or to make significant changes to it.
After listening to what was said this morning, I have come to the conclusion that this board is clearly as uninformed as the parents are or were, when these standards were adopted.
We were told the same thing that you were told, and that common core is a set of rigorous college ready internationally benchmarked standards that prepare our kids to compete in a global economy.
This is nothing more than an empty sales pitch for corporations and government agencies to profit from our kids and sell them down river in the name of saving education.
I’ve a math question for you, board members, are you ready? Get your pencils out. I’m not kidding. Are you smarter than a common core 4th grader.
Let’s find out. The problem is, Mr. Yamata’s class has 18 students. If the class counts around by a number and ends with 90, what number did they count by?
I’ll restate the problem, Mr. Yamata’s class has 18 students. If the class counts around by a number and ends with 90, what number did they count by?
Does anyone on the board have an answer? 5. And may I ask madam, how did you come up with that answer?
You know why? Because that’s what makes sense, right? That’s the way we were taught to do it on the 4th grade level.
This however, is what the common core standards expect our 4th graders to do. If they solve it in those two steps they get it marked wrong.
They are expected to draw 18 circles with 90 hash marks, solving this problem in exactly 108 steps.
Board members, this is not rigorous. This is not college ready. This is not preparing our children to compete in the global economy.
Skipping rote memorization of of multiplication tables is hindering their ability to master long division and fractions later on in the semester and now our children who were testing in the 80th or higher percentile in math last year are now coming home with C’s, D’s and F’s on their report cards.
Not because as Arne Duncan would put it that white suburban mothers think their children aren’t as brilliant as they thought they were but because… [cut off being over 3mins] Thank you
I encourage you to listen to us when we send you our emails, despite the comments that were made by our chairperson here today.
Our concerns are not based on hysteria or propaganda; they are based on fact and we are prepared to present those facts.
Can you see the trembling in my voice?
Parents have not had a voice here and you need to listen to our concerns. We are moving forward with our legislature to make some very serious changes to this; and all I ask is that you bend your ear and take us seriously.
We are college educated parents. I come to you with 12 years of college education and a former member of the national Honor Society, when I tell you this is not working and it’s not what they told you it would be.
We will save the privacy concerns and the testing concerns for our legislature; but when it comes to standards, that’s your ball court and we need you to help us with this; because this program is dumbing our children down.
Thank you.