Hi Parents!
With the new school year almost in tow, many of you are grappling with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Introduced in 2009, the Common Core aimed to standardize learning across the U.S., ensuring that students in different states were taught the same content in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. While the intention was to create consistency, the actual standards have been found to contribute to high illiteracy rates and math fatigue on levels our country has not seen since 1870, prior to the Industrial Revolution.
As of 2024, 79% of adults in the United States are considered literate, while 21% are illiterate. At the same time, 54% of adults have a literacy level below sixth grade, with 20% below fifth grade reading levels, reports the National Literacy Institute.
In December 2023, an international survey revealed a decline in the math performance of U.S. teenagers, ranking our nation 28th out of 37 participating countries, the agency, ExcelinEd in Action, reported. Only 66% of U.S. students are performing at a basic level in mathematics.
Why the Common Core Can Be Frustrating
The Common Core’s shift towards more content and less traditional foundational instruction can be overwhelming for students. On top of that, concepts are often introduced in non-sequential order, in an abstract method that leads to increased stress and confusion. For teachers, adapting to standards has posed a significant hurdle. Furthermore, the focus on standardized testing adds pressure, creating a high-stakes bottom line rather than a holistic learning experience.
Parents, too, are affected. Many find themselves struggling to understand and support the new teaching methods, especially when these methods differ greatly from traditional approaches they are familiar with. This has caused frustration for all, preventing students from working independently and forcing parents to hold their child's hand through the most obtuse of homework assignments.
Why Parents Need to Step Up
Given these challenges, parents must step up to supplement their children's education. The Common Core’s standardized approach can overlook individual and foundational learning needs, making it necessary for parents to provide additional support. By reinforcing foundational skills, unleashing old-school learning, and addressing lessons through a step-by-step and project integrated approach, parents can restore their child's academic achievement.
Foundational, Concrete Learning is Needed
For young learners, foundational skills, such as learning the alphabet, letter sounds and blends, sentence structure, vocabulary, counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, are crucial for children to master early on. While some teachers still incorporate these essential skills, many have unfortunately discarded them. You might have noticed this firsthand. In our experience, teachers have told us things like, "We don't teach the ABCs here," "We don't teach phonics; instead, we encourage children to guess the word based on pictures," or "We don't cover math facts in class; we expect parents to assist with these through homework." Even at the daycare level, some states have deemed it inappropriate to teach toddlers how to read and write. One daycare even informed us, "We don't focus on handwriting because holding pencils can be dangerous for 2-year-olds." 'But kids can write with markers and crayons,' I thought. This puzzling approach ignores centuries of human development, dismissing common sense and research that show writing unlocks reading, and counting and math facts are the foundation for advanced computational skills.
The key point to keep in mind is that Common Core doesn’t require the teaching of foundational skills like phonics, handwriting, basic math facts, and the alphabet. These crucial lessons often fall to dedicated parents or teachers who make an effort to include them despite the confines of the standards. A strong foundation in reading, writing, and arithmetic is vital for success in all academic subjects. The good news is that there are countless fun and engaging ways for parents and teachers to teach these foundations, ensuring that children have the skills they need to thrive.
At Jaifunde, we're original creators of ABC Beats phonics system and Fro, 2, 3, 4! Math Activity Book, a hair-inspired math learning adventure. Language and Math is within us, and all around us, and we have to remind our children that every particle of the universe can be expressed in word, sound, and spirit, and be measured in time, space, weight, size, shape, numerals, and more.
The only thing that is immeasurable is our kids' creativity and potential!
