

Human: Can you run me through what "common core" math is?

Assistant: Sure, that’s a program that was devised in some states to increase math proficiency and prevent “the achievement gap” among students.  Do you want more details, or are you asking about how you would use it in particular?

Human: I would sure love more details about its origins and "the achievement gap" you spoke of?

Assistant: Sure, I can tell you all about those.  As I understand it, the idea of Common Core is to create an educational program that can be followed throughout the country, without variations, and without the curriculum adapting to what the teacher might want to teach instead of what the students need to learn.

Human: Great. What about the achievement?

Assistant: The "achievement gap" refers to how some children are much better at learning than others, or some have been given some unique advantages and opportunities to learn.  By having the same educational program followed nationwide, we hope to remove some of the advantages and disadvantages of where children are from, to create a level playing field where all children have equal opportunity to learn.

Human: And what are the fundamentals of common core?


Assistant: Common Core is designed to be a program where children all run independently, and to limit the time and difficulties involved in interaction with the adults who are learning.  Some common core programs are based in blocks, or they can offer more face-to-face interaction (also called "educational") and computer-based games.

Cicics, or computer-based science, are two related programming and games that are based around a combination of the computer and the internet.  Cicics provide different computer-based games and activities, which are then shared between all of the other child-run-alone programs.  You can play with these together, or just say "CIC", or "the achievement gap" as they're words and pictures indicate, but they do require community and interaction, as I explained: it's a very difficult program to learn so it's hard to learn.  I am also afraid that it requires a lot of work, especially when you don't learn it together, and requires you to learn new things from different people.  But when I say "run", I'm trying to think of it as a "college learning program" rather than an online free program.


- The math and the language are similar to standard school, which teaches students about math, so they can do much better on their own.  On top of all the learning, the language gives it a rich, rich experience and it's a lot of fun!  So what "real life" is this?  Do you want to learn more about it, or do you want to discuss?

- The "real world" is more flexible.  This is different from regular school, where you have to find some way to fit in to working in one program, as there are no teachers available yet.  You need tut and/or help, so you need the right amount of attention and support to learn.  And the teachers are trained in something called "teacher training" -- they help with daily tasks and lots of learning.  Teacher training includes the need to make a schedule of classroom activities and educational events, which means that you can expect to graduate with fewer classroom activities and fewer school tasks.  And many programs also offer classes and free materials in the classroom, so it's not that hard to do!  Teachers are more helpful if you program with an instruction calendar, and they can help you with important aspects like learning, and helping you practice your own math.  I think if you program with a large schedule that you could, but you use only the "real-world" model, which is different from the standard "college learning program".


- Are there many ways to design a college school program?  Probably not the most difficult would be to have a structured schedule that everyone can enroll in at different times, which is very rare for free.  In general, what will you say when you talk about "college learning"?  What do you mean by learning?  What kind of skills do you have that make the world worth the time?  Does it make a lot of sense to read a book that has a lot of different types of math and different writing?  And a lot of different types of computer programs!  You have to talk to a lot of kids in a program, and it depends on the program and the program you use to support it, not the child, but the programs!  There's lots of different ways to think about it, but I guess most of the most important things to say is "college learning is the easiest way to learn these things."

- So let me start with education. What are the top examples of the
Assistant: Common Core is about being able to think in terms that are well defined and that are consistent across the country.  But the most difficult of these is the "common core."  We have to use the same principles in school.  (You are going to hear "what's there for a common core" over and over without learning about one another.)

