Mom's Curriculum 'Roadmap' Helps Homeschoolers Choose Non-Common
Core-Aligned Publishers
Dr. Susan Berry 1 Sep 2014, 9:27 AM PDT
A Wisconsin homeschooling parent has developed a
curriculum “Roadmap” to help fellow homeschoolers distinguish between those
publishers who have chosen to align their instructional products with the Common Core standards and those who have not.
Tina Hollenbeck, a former public school teacher, now a
homeschooling mom, told Breitbart News that she initially thought Common Core
would not affect her homeschooling instruction.
“Then I found out homeschooling companies were saying,
‘We’re aligning with Common Core,’ and I knew this would not be a good thing,”
she said.
Though more parents are choosing to
homeschool to avoid the Common Core standards in public and some
parochial schools, some publishers of curricula and instructional materials
marketed specifically to homeschoolers have also aligned their textbook
content and products with the
controversial standards. Many have done so, perhaps, to increase profits by
making their products more appealing to public school curriculum purchasers, as
well.
Hollenbeck said she began her research project, called the Home School Resource Roadmap and an
accompanying Master List, in March of 2013 by sending out letters to homeschool
research providers to find out which publishers were aligning some or all of
their products to the Common Core standards.
“My goal was to be unbiased and neutral,” Hollenbeck said.
“The project was meant to be a service to the homeschooling community. I wanted
homeschoolers to know that if they choose to use curricula that are tied to the
Common Core – here they are; and if they choose not to, these are your
options.” She added, "Homeschooling parents deserve to know what we’re
buying.”
Hollenbeck’s Common Core "Roadmap" project
provides explicit definitions for each category related to the position(s) that
over 2,000 homeschool-related resources have taken regarding the Core and the
related Next Generation Science Standards.
According to the “Roadmap’s” categorization system,
“independent” companies have remained independent of the Common Core, but could
unknowingly have some material that aligns to the standards. “Correlated”
providers haven’t made changes in their products to become aligned with the
Core but note where or how their materials may correlate with it.
“Coincidentally Connected” is a designation for publishers that have indicated
a strong commitment to independence from the Common Core but do offer “package”
programs that utilize aligned materials from other publishers. “Explicitly
Aligned” materials are published by companies that have actively aligned their
products with Common Core and related standards.
“Eliminating those companies from which I’m still awaiting a
response as well as those that are just suppliers and distributors, 61.8
percent of the companies fall into the ‘Independent’ category,” Hollenbeck
explained. “The ‘Correlated’ category contains 12.2 percent of the companies,
4.3 percent are ‘Coincidentally Connected,’ and 24.7 percent are ‘Explicitly
Aligned.’”
As she performs her research, which is an ongoing project,
Hollenbeck said she has noted that some publishers have indicated Common Core
is “necessary” for students to succeed. She also observed that some homeschool
publishers, such as Alpha Omega, initially decided it would align with the
Core, but then had a change in leadership and education policy and announced it
would work instead to ensure its products would not be aligned with the
nationalized standards.
Similarly, Hollenbeck said Discovery K-12 and Dew Learning
initially said they were aligning with the Common Core but then changed their
policy.
As a former public school teacher, Hollenbeck said she is
concerned that the Common Core is causing teachers to behave more like
“robots.” She explained that in her school district, teachers have been
threatened with disciplinary action if they supplement their teaching with
non-Common Core-aligned instructional materials.
Hollenbeck, who runs a Facebook page for an organization of
4,300 homeschool members, said one of the reasons she believes most
homeschoolers oppose the Common Core standards is the fact that the initiative
represents a federal intrusion into education.
“If we have more federal involvement in education, we will
lose our educational freedom,” she said. “That freedom has always been a high
priority for the homeschooling community even prior to the introduction of the
Common Core.”
“Common Core is a one-size-fits-all initiative,” Hollenbeck
added as another reason most homeschoolers shun the program. “As homeschoolers,
we are already trying to individualize our curricula for our children – that’s
why many of us homeschool in the first place – and don’t want the effect of
having ‘common’ standards and instruction as the goal.”
Hollenbeck, who says that her project is a gift to the
homeschooling community, is continuing to add to her project, and she plans to
enhance the “Roadmap” so that homeschooling parents can also search for
curriculum materials by subject area.
Textbook Content
Mcgraw Hill Textbooks on Amazon
Note: McGraw Hill Financial
McGraw-Hill Education
McGraw-Hill Education is a digital learning company that provides educational content,
software and services for pre-K through postgraduate education.
The company also provides reference and trade publications
for the medical, business and engineering professions.[14] On March 22, 2013 McGraw-Hill
announced it had completed the sale of McGraw-Hill Education to investment
funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management for $2.4 billion
cash.
Lois Dickson
Fitt was a director at McGraw Hill Financial Inc., a VP for the College Board, a guest scholar at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), is a life trustee at the
Urban Institute (think
tank), and Susan E. Rice’s
mother.
David Coleman is
the president of the College Board, and was a co-founder for the Student Achievement Partners.
Student
Achievement Partners helped develop the Common Core educational
standards.
Jeb Bush is a supporter
for the Common Core educational standards, and an advisory
committee member for the Hispanic Leadership Network.
Hispanic
Leadership Network is an offshoot of the American Action Network.
Frederic V. Malek
is the founder & board member for the American Action Network, and a
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
James S.
Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member
of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Lester Crown
was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and is a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for Aspen Institute (think tank), the Brookings Institution (think
tank), the Urban Institute (think tank), and the Center for American Progress.
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and a supporter
for the Center for American Progress.
Cyrus F.
Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Valerie B. Jarrett
is a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack
Obama administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is Valerie
B. Jarrett’s great uncle, an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), a life
trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank), a director at the
American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference
participant (think tank).
Lois Dickson
Fitt was a guest scholar at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), a director at McGraw Hill Financial Inc.,
a VP for the College Board, is a life trustee at the Urban Institute (think
tank), and Susan E. Rice’s mother.
Raben
Group was the lobby firm for the McGraw
Hill Financial Inc.
Melody
C. Barnes was a principal for the Raben
Group, the domestic policy council, director for the Barack Obama
administration, the EVP for the Center
for American Progress, and is Barack Obama’s golf partner.
Barack
Obama is Melody C. Barnes’s golf
partner, and was an intern at Sidley
Austin LLP.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin
LLP.
Newton
N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
R.
Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial
Club of Chicago
James S.
Crown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a trustee
at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Lester Crown
is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a lifetime
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
James S.
Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member
of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Lester Crown
is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a lifetime
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Frederic V. Malek
is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the founder &
board member for the American Action Network.
Hispanic
Leadership Network is an offshoot of the American Action Network.
Jeb Bush is an advisory
committee member for the Hispanic Leadership Network, and a supporter
for the Common Core educational standards.
Student
Achievement Partners helped develop the Common Core educational
standards.
David
Coleman was a co-founder for the Student
Achievement Partners, and is the president of the College Board.
Lois Dickson
Fitt was a VP for the College Board, a director at McGraw Hill Financial Inc., a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution (think tank), is a life
trustee at the
Urban Institute (think tank), and Susan E. Rice’s mother.
Susan
E. Rice is Lois Dickson Fitt’s
daughter, the White House national security adviser for the Barack Obama
administration, and was a senior
fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
No comments:
Post a Comment