There shouldnt BE a school board really. There should be private schools, and they all can be different and you send your kid to the one you think is best.

I'm in California. So...it doesn't look good.

Yeah, isn't that a strange dynamic? As an Objectivist and engineer I have always dealt in facts, numbers, etc. But, we can have whole committee meetings that last hours totally built on B.S. I've gotten better at spotting it. It is usually favoring the dark side...

I agree, but if someone does not tell them there is no chance of change, no matter how small the chance is.

I have been on boards and committees and even the heads of some as president of thisandthat. I can tell you without a doubt you'd merely be wasting your time unless you decide to make your complaint the hill you choose to die on.

Waaay back when my boys were growing, I was unhappy about teaching methods then.('65 - '75). I found that when putting forth well reasoned criticisms, I got nods of approval, "we'll get back to you" followed by nothing. My son, being smarter than me, sent his kids to a well interviewed Montessori school. Are the Montessori schools also forced to comply with Common Core? If so, home schooling is an option, if you have the time, determination and patience.

Let the statists win what they can produce. Look how it worked out for Venezuela. 720% inflation this year? nice.

Convincing a school board is a useless task. You might as well petition the foxes to take better care of the hens in the hen house.

Homeschool while its still possible. Let the kids learn what they want to learn as much as possible. History channel, YouTube, and things like that will teach more than most of the public school books anyway

if Trump gets elected, common core is history and you wont have to waste time with the school board.

Hi Abaco,
You don't mention what state you live in. The reason I bring this up is b/c teacher's unions are all-powerful in some states ( like Maryland) so taking action as an individual in those areas is pointless. ( You might recall it was in Maryland last year where the father was removed from a Board of Ed meeting in handcuffs for challenging the status quo. It was all caught on video, so it wasnt a matter of the parent being threatening, other than threatening the powers that be. It was also in Md where an elem school kid was suspended for biting his Poptart into the shape of a gun. So Md is a lost cause.) So first you have to know your environment to assess it. Second, if you don't live in a state like Maryland, then see if any other parents feel like you do. If you can find even one or two people ( esp. if they have big community or neighborhood connections behind them - power in numbers !) then the next thing I'd do would be to get familiar with your Board of Ed members. If you can identify any alliances there, then schedule meetings with them individually to try to get their cooperation ( they're supposed to be representing YOU, not the other way around but they forget that.) and then if possible, organize all the supportive members into a power block that can withstand those on the board who will not want to change course. Will all this take a lot of time and effort? Yep. But so will home schooling. But if you're successful with changing the curriculum, you'll help change ( improve) your corner of the world.

What is your goal? If you want to assure education for your kid, you should already be aware that public education will not do it. The system is designed to create morons. Whatever natural abilities your kids may have had, by the time they graduate, all will be lost. The system is specifically designed for this purpose. Now, telling the administration that they are succeeding in their purpose will get you what?
I suggest that it is much better to quietly pull your child out of the school system and homeschool, either through a group or by yourself. There are a number of good programs on the computer, plus clubs and activities that the child can participate it. Unfortunately, the money that you're paying for the public un-education is gone. So be it. Think of it as another tax on life, but at least save the kid. If you make an issue, the school system will most likely take it as a challenge and they will challenge you back with social service parasites, courts, unfit parent accusations, etc. - is it worth it, especially knowing that you can't win?

You are either in the system or out of it. If you are in it, it makes no sense to anything that does not have a good chance of achieving your goals. If you're just venting, the system wins. The best course may be to get yourself elected to the board, but that will only make a difference if you are part of a majority. If you are out of the system, then take rational action to provide the best education possible for your kids and forget the school board.

You likely would be wasting your time, they are thinking of money, and those sending the money are thinking of one world dumbed down future citizens. If you go, be extremely calm, make sure you know the Delphi Technique, as it is at all meetings it seems - marginalize the one with the complaint.
Back when it was Outcome Based Education, Clintnton's baby), the forerunner of Common Core, I had one teacher tell me they did not have it in our school. I listed the elements one by one, and he admitted they had each. However, he said, "we don't call it that" - therefore, it did not exist there. To this day, they refuse to give what the kids were taught under that one at Colunbine any blame at all, even though a local TV station held a panel discussion on the dangers of what was being taught the year before.
Now, they just brainwash, and forget academics, it just gets in the way.

Old dino's dear departed mother once said "the squeaking wheel gets the grease" when I as a kid wondered if I should rattle someone's cage over something.
I do not remember what that something was but that saying has stuck with me ever since,

I would at least try to speak to the school board. Here are a couple of things you need to know, however.

1. You aren't likely to change their minds. They are looking at things from a funding perspective and until the rules change on a national level, that funding source is still the first thing on their minds.
2. It's not about education at all. The Common Core curriculum was developed to sell books - not to educate. No teachers I've talked to (especially mathematics teachers) like the materials, as they are incredibly counter-intuitive. What's worse is that many of the problems they give the students are either outrageous, or exactly the same, and they are very poorly vetted. I can't tell you how many I've come across with my kids with misspellings and even incorrect answers in their keys.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I'm a school board member for a local Community College, and I would by all means encourage you to address the Board with your concerns! Your arguments may sway a Board member or members who feels that they are in the minority and therefore they need to "go along to get along" which happens with some Boards.

Just my $0.02...

Find out what the standards actually require and define what you want them to teach. Start out with the assertion that as a person who works in a mathematically field, you believe it's critical to each X and/or not teach Y. If they answer CC, you'll have some evidence that your suggestion doesn't affect compliance. Don't start with criticizing CC because they may have marching orders to follow it, and they'll see your suggestion and creating more headaches for them.

Also, I would approach the teacher directly. He/she may be able to implement your suggestions without making a big deal out of it.

That's unfortunate...

Abaco, I sat on the dental board in my state. At one point the members passed a rule which was in conflict with the law; the board did not have the authority to enforce this rule. I made dissenting remarks of a logical and strong nature. Not only did every other member vote against me, they actually voted to delete my remarks from the record!
I made no difference at all, but still I am DAMN glad I said it. Would I do it again? Probably not.

Sorry, I did not expect you to answer that question to me. That was just my thought process.

What you bring up is a very valid issue. It likely would be a waste of productive time going to a school board meeting since most members would likely give you blank stares. The likely hood of getting positive results is slim to none. I don't envy the decisions you need to make.

Yes, I can see how there are big benefits to that approach. I noticed something recently. My son will bring home 3 to 4 sheets of math problems. All of them cover the same material, along with a little Common Core thrown in to confuse. He'll spend an hour or two doing the sheets. Yet, I can stand at the whiteboard I installed in his homework room and teach him a mathematical topic in about 10 minutes. I've taught him several things they don't address at his age: factorials, negative numbers, exponents. Just last night I showed him how to calculate the area of a triangle. It just seems to come so easy...

I read this great article over the weekend. A charter school in PA was requiring all of it's incoming freshman to take a pre-engineering class. Basically, they choose a big project and make it happen using skills and putting to work their math skills to that place and geometry-which they have not yet had much of. Then db said-it will be a huge success and then the district will pay attention and take it over and ruin it. My sister is homeschooling two of her children. She is actually using a curriculum from 1840. The first semester (I've heard others say a year) can be tough-then most say it just breaks through and a great learning flow happens. I also love the idea of looking at family vacays like field trips :)

LOL...

I call it irrational :)

I noticed that too. Thought maybe it was a glitch in the system since the comments were somewhat benign.