OT--Private School/Core Knowledge Curriculum

[Zane_Anthony]

I am not very happy with our public schools here and I am thinking about placing my son in private school. One of the main schools I am looking at uses the Core Knowledge curriculum. From what I have seen this looks like a really good program. Anyone with any experience with it? I am looking for any comments good or bad.

 

[famofsix]

It is okay from what other teachers have expressed to me. There is quite a bit of memorization and a lot of "cookbook teaching" that tends to limit hands-on approaches in its true form. However, some schools will use it and adapt the curriculum to suit their needs. It is used frequently in charter public schools. I think if I was paying for private school I would expect a more challenging curriculum.

 

[Zane_Anthony]

It is okay from what other teachers have expressed to me. There is quite a bit of memorization and a lot of "cookbook teaching" that tends to limit hands-on approaches in its true form. However, some schools will use it and adapt the curriculum to suit their needs. It is used frequently in charter public schools. I think if I was paying for private school I would expect a more challenging curriculum.

Wow...Our public schools here must be horrible then! Or maybe this school has tweaked it quite a bit. When I took my tour I was surprised at the amount of hands on activities/learning I saw. It looked like every lesson had a project or activity that went a long with it.

 

[famofsix]

I thought the reason you were looking at this was because your public school was not doing a good job and the private school used Core Knowledge. My only point is that I would expect a broader curriculum for a private school since the Core Knowledge curriculum is often used to help students get the basics down and not much extension from the Basics. I did not mean to imply in any way that it was horrible, as it is not a horrible curriculum. The founder, Hirsch, has loads of books that parents have used to reference "What Your x-grader Needs to Know".I don't know your school so it would be good to ask many questions. Core Knowledge Curriculum has had a lot of success in disadvantaged demographics because it specifically fills in the teaching gap of knowledge that some students would not be able to receive at home.
So the good news is that is builds upon the knowledge taught year after year.
The bad news is that is does not necessarily build higher level thinking and it can be mundane in content.
Good luck

Wow...Our public schools here must be horrible then! Or maybe this school has tweaked it quite a bit. When I took my tour I was surprised at the amount of hands on activities/learning I saw. It looked like every lesson had a project or activity that went a long with it.

 

[Zane_Anthony]

I thought the reason you were looking at this was because your public school was not doing a good job and the private school used Core Knowledge. My only point is that I would expect a broader curriculum for a private school since the Core Knowledge curriculum is often used to help students get the basics down and not much extension from the Basics. I did not mean to imply in any way that it was horrible, as it is not a horrible curriculum. The founder, Hirsch, has loads of books that parents have used to reference "What Your x-grader Needs to Know".I don't know your school so it would be good to ask many questions. Core Knowledge Curriculum has had a lot of success in disadvantaged demographics because it specifically fills in the teaching gap of knowledge that some students would not be able to receive at home.
So the good news is that is builds upon the knowledge taught year after year.
The bad news is that is does not necessarily build higher level thinking and it can be mundane in content.
Good luck

Sorry! I didn't make my post clear. I didn't take it to mean that you thought the CKC was horrible. You had just stated that it wasn't very hands on but I was saying when I toured the private school I thought it was all very hands out but this could be because nothing in our public schools is hands on.

 

[famofsix]

the kinds of things that speak volumes about the curriculum is the classroom itself. Do you see centers in the classroom (like small groups that meet with the teacher during reading time, perhaps a section of the room that has readers or science exploration) Does the teacher stand in front of the class most of the day??? Where is the teachers desk? How are the seats arranged (tables or desks). What kinds of materials does the teacher utilize...globes, maps, computer technology, learning games, flashcards. What kinds of student work do you see displayed in the classroom? Can you read student work samples? Are they all the same or do you see creativity in the writing pieces.
I would observe for a day in the classroom for a couple hours without your child to see what it is like.
HTH

 

[snowy76]

I taught CK for four years. IMO it was VERY hands-on. Perhaps individual schools are just sticking to Hirsch's "What Your..." books but we were always encouraged to write interdisciplinary lesson plans and units that align with that content. Zane_Anthony, you can go onto coreknowledge.org to see more... and there are lesson plan links for teachers so you can see the sort of thing I am talking about. One neat thing about the CK foundation is that they hold a national convention each year - I attended in '04 and met teachers from all over the country; we shared lesson plans and teaching strategies. I've never gotten professional development like that in my public school job.

I loved CK in particular because I taught content that I personally wasn't exposed to until high school -- where else could I teach 5th graders about the Protestant Reformation?! Believe it or not, kids CAN get this stuff at an early age - by coincidence I taught the Ref. when Pope John Paul II died. It was a great tie-in as I was able to show the kids live video of the events at the Vatican. I actually landed a high school job based on having taught some of this stuff. The little kids LOVED the challenging content, especially in social studies and literature. CK even has "watered down" versions of the classics like Don Quixote and a Midsummer Night's Dream for younger readers. I wish more schools would use CK.

The only downside I see is if your state has standardized tests in science and social studies. The state curriculum usually doesn't line up with CK from year to year; in my case I scrambled to cover more material than I CK had me doing so my kids could be ready. By 8th grade they cover all the same stuff, just in different sequence.

 

[Zane_Anthony]

I taught CK for four years. IMO it was VERY hands-on. Perhaps individual schools are just sticking to Hirsch's "What Your..." books but we were always encouraged to write interdisciplinary lesson plans and units that align with that content. Zane_Anthony, you can go onto coreknowledge.org to see more... and there are lesson plan links for teachers so you can see the sort of thing I am talking about. One neat thing about the CK foundation is that they hold a national convention each year - I attended in '04 and met teachers from all over the country; we shared lesson plans and teaching strategies. I've never gotten professional development like that in my public school job.

I loved CK in particular because I taught content that I personally wasn't exposed to until high school -- where else could I teach 5th graders about the Protestant Reformation?! Believe it or not, kids CAN get this stuff at an early age - by coincidence I taught the Ref. when Pope John Paul II died. It was a great tie-in as I was able to show the kids live video of the events at the Vatican. I actually landed a high school job based on having taught some of this stuff. The little kids LOVED the challenging content, especially in social studies and literature. CK even has "watered down" versions of the classics like Don Quixote and a Midsummer Night's Dream for younger readers. I wish more schools would use CK.

The only downside I see is if your state has standardized tests in science and social studies. The state curriculum usually doesn't line up with CK from year to year; in my case I scrambled to cover more material than I CK had me doing so my kids could be ready. By 8th grade they cover all the same stuff, just in different sequence.

Thanks for your input. This is a lot of what I noticed that really stood out to me. Our state does have a standardized test (TAKS) and unfortunately I think that test is what has ruined our public schools. I feel like my son is being taught to pass the test and not things that he really needs to know. Also thanks for the website I will go check it out now.