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The point of common core math is to make sure kids look smarter on paper by manipulating grading systems and teaching a method which is supposedly easier. In reality, the methods are designed to slow down the smarter kids who understand math. Exceptional students are seen as a problem to common core because they make the others look bad by comparison.
There is also a stupid belief that all kids are the same. That "smart" kid probably just had some kind of unfair advantage somewhere. So they want to drag those kids back to the pack. I mean they have to. If kids are left to their own devices, then that group of exceptional students may not have the exact racial and gender mix that is desired.
I agree with this. There is not nearly enough done to nourish the smart students. It's amazing how quickly sports determines, selects and segregates the "talented" but when any effort to do what with intelligence is done, it's racist or unequal or unfair.
The double standard is one of the most hypocritical things done to our children in America (and sets a very bad precedence down the line with how we view athletes vs. smart people).
I'm not saying I agree with full segregation of students based on test scores or something. I think there are some benefits of being exposed to all walks of life as you grow to understand your own worth. And I don't want to see so much of school be defined by test scores and some intellect rank, especially for elementary school kids.
It's a tough debate that I don't have all the answers to and that many educational professionals struggle with. How much separation is good and when? How do you determine separation? What differences in the curriculum should be done?
The real fear is that we start pre-selecting the "path" kids get on too early in their development. We can't turn into some Orwellian society that tests 5 year olds and we determine their educational "path" that proves to strictly limit their function in society.
Maybe there is a way we could create 3-5 different "levels" of education in each grade. If your student ends up in the top-half of their class (as determined by test scores AND teacher evaluation), they parents have a CHOICE to either remain at that level the following year or jump up into the next level. Likewise if you are in the bottom half (and maybe it's really 30% highest, 40% middle and 30% bottom), then the parents can CHOOSE to go down into the lower educational curve.
But again, is that much segregation into like-minded groups a benefit to society? Aren't we limited who our kids know and hang out with and become friends with?
Tough questions in my opinion.