Common Core Task Force Comes To Jonesboro

Paige Gibson was one of about 50 people to show up at the Cooper Alumni Center at Arkansas State University Tuesday night to talk about Common Core.

Gibson and several others stressed the need of seriously looking at the system, while others said the system is creating smarter children.

The Governor’s Council on Common Core Review held their fifth of nine meetings around the state to learn more about the issue.

The task force was created earlier this year to study a variety of issues including testing, data privacy, implementation and standards, the group’s chairman, Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., said.

Supporters of the plan have said it helps students learn complex problems, while opponents say the program is enigmatic of a “top down” approach to government.

Much of the talk Tuesday night centered about math and how it is taught in schools. Gibson, whose children attend Valley View, said the math curriculum at her school has hurt good students.

“It is good for the low-performing students but it is killing the high performing students,” Gibson said. “In the real world, your boss does not want you to write about it. They want you to be able to figure it out.”

Greene County Tech Superintendent Jerry Noble said he believed the issue has sacrificed other subjects.

“No educator is against higher standards,” Noble said, noting he believes the length of test taking has cut into instruction time for students.

Noble said he was also concerned with how a test created in another state, like New York, could be given to students in Arkansas.

Dr. Jeanne Glover, who works as a K-12 math specialist at Jonesboro, said the system used in some schools – Cognitive Guidance Instruction – was not part of a curriculum but a tool used to teach students.

Glover, who has worked in education for 42 years, said the teaching of math has changed over the years.

Melva Henderson, a math teacher at Pocahontas, said she became a teacher at age 40. Henderson echoed the statement made by Glover, noting standards have changed since she graduated high school.

Henderson said the standards have provided students with more than book learning.

“(With math), it teaches reason, thinking abstractly and to persevere,” Henderson said.

Several others who attended the meeting said Common Core has not been communicated effectively enough for people to completely understand the issue.

Jonesboro STEM Academy principal Dr. Jeff Flanigan said both sides in the debate have trouble articulating their position.

Flanigan said he went into education due to his grandmother.

“Teaching is a calling,” Flanigan said of his grandmother, who taught for 39 years. “She told me two things. Stay out of teaching and that students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

FUTURE
Griffin said the task force has received a lot of valuable information, both for and against Common Core. One issue that the task force has learned involves the “top down” approach, Griffin said.

“Implementation was inconsistent at best,” Griffin said, noting there should have been better communication on the issue. “There is a lot to improve on, regardless of what happens. Both teachers and parents are critical of the decision making process. We have to make sure that teachers, parents and local folks are at the table.”

Griffin said he expects the task force to wrap up its work this summer. The final stops of the listening tour include:

Tuesday, May 26 – Hot Springs
5:00PM – 7:00PM
National Park Community College
Fred Dierks Building, Eisele Auditorium
101 College Dr, Hot Springs, AR 71913

Tuesday, June 9 – Batesville
5:00PM – 7:00PM
Lyon College
Edwards Commons, Maxfield Room
2300 Highland Rd, Batesville, AR 72503

Tuesday, June 16 – Pine Bluff
5:00PM – 7:00PM
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
L.A. Davis, Sr. Student Union
1200 University Dr, Pine Bluff, AR 71601

Thursday, June 18 – Fort Smith
5:00PM – 7:00PM
The Blue Lion at UAFS Downtown
101 North 2nd St, Fort Smith, AR 72904

SPECIAL SESSION
Griffin also spoke Tuesday about the impending special session involving Lockheed Martin.

The session, which kicks off May 26 in Little Rock, will involve a bond issue to seek to attract construction of a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle at the company’s location in Camden.

Griffin said the opportunity to bring 600 jobs to south Arkansas is huge.

“It is critical,” Griffin, who grew up in Magnolia and whose wife, Elizabeth, is from Camden, said.

Griffin, who served on the House Armed Services and Ways and Means committees in the U.S. House before becoming lieutenant governor, said military contracts can definitely have a positive impact on a region.