If you're active in social media, you've likely seen something along the lines of...


Note: Rather than drafting a response, I initially thought I could ignore these types of posts or simply invite those closest to me into a conversation outside of social media.  With the number of these posts increasing by the day (or perhaps I am now starting to look for them),  I thought it might be helpful to post my thoughts in one place for easy reading, in the event a few heads might be turned.  Here it is:

Hello!  As a district curriculum director and former high school math teacher,  *I thought it might be helpful to let you know this specific type of homework is not required by the Common Core State Standards.  In fact, the third grade standards mention the word "subtraction" two times. 

One of the third grade subtraction standards says:
"Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction." (Source
I don't know about you, but that sounds to me like a pretty reasonable thing to ask students to learn (and not at all related to the photo!). You might be wondering..."then why are students being required to do this particular subtraction method if it's in a textbook associated with the Common Core?" 

Here's the quick answer in the form of an analogy: Sports memorabilia and clothing are often licensed by the NFL, NBA or MLB.  In other words, if you want to wear a real Chicago Cubs hat, it will have a Cubs logo and MLB logo on it indicating it has been authorized by Major League Baseball.  This is in stark contrast to educational publishers.  There's no such thing as the Common Core Police  For example, if you and I wanted to create a math textbook and stamp "Aligned with the Common Core" on it, we could and no one would stop us from doing so. We could write the most ridiculous math strategies into the textbook. Parents and students across the country would falsely assume this type of learning was synonymous with the Common Core State Standards. It's that easy and it's happening all around us.  Check it out for yourself.  Compare the approaches of the fifth grade textbooks in two neighboring school districts in Iowa and you'll likely see two different philosophies towards teaching the standards.  The Common Core State Standards establish what students need to learn but do not dictate how teachers should teach. Instead, schools and teachers will decide how best to help students reach the standards.

Bottom line: the Common Core State Standards aren't perfect. I invite you to read the standards first hand and come to your own conclusions rather than relying on textbook publishers, bloggers and commentators outside the classroom walls to paint a picture for you. 

I'd be happy to talk with you more about it on the phone or in person if you're interested in learning more based on my work with the standards, publishers and most importantly, teachers.  

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*While the homework problem you posted on your social space may be different, the same ideas I've discussed below likely apply to your situation as well.