Project 3 Outline

In this blog post, I will be writing out a complete outline for my public argument for Project 3. I will be answering and following the information listed in Writing Public Lives on pages 415 and 419.

Introduction (think about your situation or Kairos): 

• Engaging the reader: pick one current event that is in the news today (legislation, candidates that are pro/anti Common Core, or story about kid in NY)
• Transition: ineffective for more kids than it is effective; discouraging education rather than building up
• Thesis: The implementation of the Common Core Standards is hurting the education system as a whole and the students' morale and confidence in their academic process, as well as excluding the students involved in alternative education systems. 

Body Paragraphs:

1. Major Supporting Arguments

• displaying test results (gap between classes and ethnicity)
• homeschoolers/alternative schooling and their problems that they are encountering with implementation of Common Core
• children's personal accounts with experiencing Common Core in the classroom
• parent's complaints and arguments (social media, blogging)
• high cost of implementing program

2. Major Criticisms:

• Common Core Standards organization believe that it is the best solution
• government policies and legislation want to push our country to be competitive in other countries
• schools and states that have fully adopted the program and like it

3. Key Rebuttal and Support Points:

• a majority of schools that tried the program back out of it after
• kids/school districts/teachers do not think that it is effective
• governmental agencies and organizations are trying to come up with certain alternatives and ways to improve it, because the way it is now is not good enough
• other countries have not adopted this and are doing very well in education despite it

4. Topic Sentences:

• While some schools and states have fully adopted and kept the program, the majority of states backed out once the program started to heed it's results.
• The government and other agencies and organizations on the outside of the education circle view this program as successful, while those who are directly involved, including school district staff, teachers and especially students, do not favor the program or it's effects.
• The Common Core organization have talked themselves and their program up to be unblemished, however, many other organizations that are as credible as them are trying to alter or improve the current program.
• Instead of improving our current education system and providing schools with more funds, Common Core calls for their own large budget. 

5. Evidence

• Diane Ravitch's blog 
• quote: "They are introducing four- and five-year-olds to Common Core and imposing “rigor” on these little ones. Rigor for 4-year-olds? What about their social-emotional development, which goes hand-in-hand with cognitive skill-building? What about play, the primary engine of human development? Unfortunately, it seems like we’re subjecting our young children to a misguided experiment." (Ravitch). 

• New York Time's article
• "Chrispin had reason to worry. New York’s state exams were two days away, and he was having difficulty dividing large numbers and deciphering patterns. He had once been a model student — the fastest counter in the first grade, his teachers said. But last year, in the confusion of a new and more difficult set of academic standards known as the Common Core, he had failed the state tests in English and math, placing him near the bottom of his class." (Hernández). 

• Budget Photo

• Graduation Requirements
• "According to our analysis, graduation requirements in only 11 Common Core states meet this definition of alignment, and requirements in 13 are partially aligned.[3] This leaves 22 states that have adopted the Common Core but lack corresponding graduation requirements that match the expectations of new standards," (n.a.). 
• moving back from program because too difficult to achieve

• "The Trouble With the Common Core"
• "Reports from the first wave of Common Core testing are already confirming these fears. This spring students, parents, and teachers in New York schools responded to administration of new Common Core tests developed by Pearson Inc. with a general outcry against their length, difficulty, and inappropriate content. Pearson included corporate logos and promotional material in reading passages. Students reported feeling overstressed and underprepared—meeting the tests with shock, anger, tears, and anxiety. Administrators requested guidelines for handling tests students had vomited on. Teachers and principals complained about the disruptive nature of the testing process and many parents encouraged their children to opt out," (n.a.).

6. Map of argument

Here is a map of what the order of my argument is going to look like. Putting this together helped me visualize the transitions of my thoughts and ideas, and how I was going to incorporate this.

Jenny Bello. "Map of Project #3." 11/03/2015 via Coggle.

Conclusion:

• For the conclusion of my editorial, I plan on writing something that would establish a "common ground" between the reader and myself. This issue might be kind of controversial, so this would help me incorporate all of my readers and their ideals.
• I want to say something that would acknowledge that education does need to change, and there may be some beneficial ideas that started the implementation of the common core, but the way it has been carried out and established in schools is not the solution to the problem. We are in need of a change, but this change is not a solution. 

--Jenny Bello

REFLECTION:

I read over Addie's and Rachel's "Project 3 Outlines," and they were both very impressive. The two outlines were detailed and specific, showing that my classmates have thought a lot of this upcoming project and what they are going to be writing about. Rachel had a lot of evidence that seemed to be paraphrased into her own words. This will be beneficial in her writing, as she can just use, and maybe slightly revise, what she has in her outline. I, on the other hand, just included hyperlinks and quotes in my evidence section, which is not as helpful in the long run. Addie wrote fantastic topic sentences that are going to be helpful when writing her paragraphs. I need to work on my topic sentences a little, in order to forecast the direction I am going to be taking for each of my major arguments. Overall, all three of our outlines are going to be helpful when we are composing our drafts, but there are some things that I could have done differently to improve it.