Common Core: The Dumbing Down Of America Has Reached New Highs

If you think for a moment that Common Core is the way of the future then you must be part of the problem.  This is certainly not a solution for present day deficit disorders...of which we have some unbeknown to me when I was a student.  There's ADD, ADHD, and probably a host of others that I cannot think of at the moment.  Probably the most absurd is one called, "Nature Deficit Disorder" but I'll most likely be chastised for thinking absurdly.  Of course most everyone has heard of the expression, "The dumbing down of America." so we can lump all of the D's (deficits) into that curriculum we call public education; the genesis of the dumbness.  Apparently the lack of smarts has reached those self-proclaimed intellectuals who now make the rules for rest of us...so the dumbing down has reached new highs!  Whoever thought up the Common Core program had to have Communist leanings of the highest level for whatever reason it doesn't seem to allow for individual thought...the essence of a free person.  And within any Communist system there are the haves and the have-nots.  The 'haves' are the rulers and the 'have-nots' are you and me who must fall in line with whatever the rule maker says and the only way to do that is to have a common core of beliefs.  And the only way to have a common set of beliefs is to set up a Common Core program to make us all the slaves they want us to be.  I don't know if any of this makes any sense to the reader but I hope it does because the following math and word problems make no sense at all... At a quick glance I can see that 53 + 19 equals 72 and I didn't need any number disks to figure it out.  I get the distinct feeling that someone is trying awful hard to make me feel real dumb.  Why is that?  OK, OK, its Common Core, the dumbest thing that ever came down the pike! ~ Norman E. Hooben

Source for the following: Cape Cod Online
Parents finding Common Core math doesn't add up
By The Associated Press

Under Common Core, parents are likely to see some unfamiliar terms on their children’s elementary-school math homework. Here are some examples drawn from New York state’s math curriculum:

 

—Grade 2 addition:
Solve using your place value chart and number disks, composing a 10 when necessary: 53 + 19

 

—Grade 2 subtraction:
Craig checked out 28 books at the library. He read and returned some books. He still has 19 books checked out. How many books did Craig return? Draw a tape diagram or number bond to solve.

 

—Grade 4 multiplication:
Represent the following expressions with disks, regrouping as necessary, writing a matching expression, and recording the partial products vertically: 3 x 24

 

—Grade 4 word problem:
Cindy says she found a shortcut for doing multiplication problems. When she multiplies 3 W 24, she says, “3 W 4 is 12 ones, or 1 ten and 2 ones. Then there’s just 2 tens left in 24, so add it up and you get 3 tens and 2 ones.” Do you think Cindy’s shortcut works? Explain your thinking in words and justify your response using a model or partial products.

Source: EngageNY, New York’s Common Core curriculum

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