COMMENTS ON CSCOPE FROM A TEACHER BLOG:
Here are comments from a teacher blog about their "new" software package (CSCOPE). Does it sound familiar?
"My district has implemented a new curriculum (to anyone in TX it's
Cscope!). We hate it. I'm sure it's great for upper grades, but we are really struggling
with it in 1st grade. We have walk through after walk through to make sure we are using
it, and they're forcing us to meet after school to go over the lessons. Many of these
lessons are 25 and 30 pages long! I am self-contained! I don't have the time to read that
many pages for every subject I teach!! But for some reason no one is listening to all 20
of the 1st grade teachers in my district when we say it's not working! They just keep
telling us it's new, and change is hard, and all that. Ok yes, all that's true, but you're
forcing us to use it, so we are, and it's NOT WORKING!!! UGH!!
So yes, I would totally agree with you! I am more stressed this year then ever, and find
little to no joy in teaching anymore. I used to be so passionate about it. I'm pushing
through this year, and if I still feel this way at the end of they year I'm done. It's
almost impossible to be a good teacher if you don't love it. I don't love it anymore."
Other teachers on this blog make the connection between KMAC and CSope. Can it be that when KMAC was dissed on this website and elsewhere, that the yahoos just changed the name? And that 90% of Texas' school districts bought this mess? Think about how much money that is for the creators! Talk about a pig in a poke!
Here's another post from the teacher blog:
Posted 9/24/12
"CSCOPE originally claimed to be a curriculum but you and I know
it is not a curriculum. They call it a management system and who
or what does it manage....THE TEACHERS. The Teachers hate it but
are afraid to speak out against out of fear of losing their jobs.
Contrary to what you think Cscope does not align with the TEKS.
The IFD (Instructional Focus Document) is nothing more than a
copy of the TEKS which can be downloaded online. The exemplar
lessons are of poor quality.. they are either above or below the
students learning level. And of course they have to indoctrinate
with a positive view of Islam and a negative view of
Christianity.
Why would a teacher want to work under a "Management System" like
this where you have CZARS that come in and monitor you and make
sure you are on task. This is outrageous.
Where and who is getting all this money? The ESC's receive
taxpayer money and then they create a business and operate it out
of the ESC's."
And another...
I was upset about the power point used in CSCOPE WH last year,
but a teacher has provided the following exert from a
reference in a CSCOPE WH lesson claiming that Jesus is not
God's son.
What else in being hidden in the CSCOPE lessons?
" The passages selected from the Qur’an emphasize
eschatological themes and especially praise for God and his
prophet Muhammad who is also an intercessor for humankind."
"They also stress praise for Jesus who is also a prophet but
not God’s “son” or an intercessor. Although the messages
clearly suit Muslim purposes, scholars speculate that the
inscriptions were also chosen with Christians in mind to
teach them the truth about Jesus." Article title and
link. Teaching the Emergence of the Islamic World through Art
and Architecture: A Lesson in Cross-Cultural Exchange Written
By: Mary Jane Maxwell & Clara Walsh
http://bit.ly/UAjSb
And another...
To PsyGuy,
YOU are a shining example of what is WRONG in public education
today. You think your #@^& doesn't stink and you think you are
smarter than everyone that works with you. YOU have little to
no experience in teaching young children how to read...and I'm
talking about in depth phonemic awareness, concept of print,
phonics instruction, and a total balanced literacy model. The
fact that someone put YOU in charge of writing any type
of "reading model" is not only assinine, it is just plain
stupid. But then, as the saying goes, "stupid is as stupid
does." Meaning, stupid people that are in charge of writing a
stupid curriculum, will produce stupid exemplar lessons, that
will be sold to stupid ESCs, which in turn will be presented to
stupid Superintendents, then thrust upon stupid campus-level
administrators, who must push it upon their tired, overworked,
underpaid teachers, who are forced to teach it to a classroom
full of trusting children that will not learn a darn
thing...other than to go home and tell their parents, "School
was stupid today."
On 9/25/12, PsyGuy wrote:
> See I love C-SCOPE, not only am I the C-SCOPE contact, and
> go to person at my campus, meaning I can pretty much do
> whatever I want and say its C-SCOPE, my P and AP dont even
> bother me. My principal actually thinks that Im testing
> "new material" in an effort to create a specific reading
> focused K-12 unit (seperate from ELA), so I can pretty much
> do anything I want, not that I ever get observed or asked.
> The great thing is next year when the "field testing" ends
> my principal will be transfering to central office.
And another....
Thanks to CSUCK we are turning out a lot of students that can't read or
write. Their parents should sue the district that decided their kids
were not worthy of a decent education.
And another....
If people are as upset about cscope as this board leads us to believe, then,
where's the public outrage?
Don't get me wrong, I don't like and abhor using cscope. But it's not doing
any good to vent and stamp our virtual foot here. When are you going to stop
being afraid to speak out and encourage others, ie parents, to do so?
And another...
ISLAM IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Texas Teachers Given Gag Order
Many Texas public school superintendents have thrown aside text books and
bought, at great expense to the local taxpayers, an unproven curriculum called
CSCOPE.
CSCOPE was never approved by our Texas State Board of Education, nor subjected
to public review. What is in the CSCOPE lessons that warrants superintendents
gagging their teachers?
How damaging could CSCOPE lessons be for teachers to be coerced into signing a
non-disclosure agreement? Teachers are not even allowed to reveal the content of
CSCOPE lessons to parents.
If children are not using textbooks and the content of CSCOPE lessons cannot be
shared with parents, how can parents be involved in the education of their
children? Are parents forbidden to visit classrooms to prevent their viewing
CSCOPE material being used?
There are lessons indoctrinating children with Islam and verses of the Quran and
the United Nations Agenda.
How can parents keep their children safe if they are not allowed to view
instructional materials used by a school?
Is the objective of CSCOPE to wedge out parent involvement?
Do public school superintendents have the legal right to force teachers to not
reveal content of lessons? Perhaps it is time to call for public scrutiny of
CSCOPE and demand answers to these questions.
And another....
I'm sitting here shaking on the inside after having to help
my tearful 5th grader with very confusing CSCOPE math
worksheets. School shouldn't have to suck this bad for a
kid. This is our third year of having to do homework that
usually involves tears at some point.
So freaking tired of this crap. It's only the fourth week
of school and we are all depressed.
And another.....
CSCOPE Instructional Material does not contain homework, so the
teacher is preparing the homework, or copying it from some workbook.
CSCOPE Instructional Material has not been approved by the STATE
Board of Education.
Your superintendent is responsible for making sure teachers have
materials that cover ALL the TEKS and CSCOPE lessons do not.
Parents are not allowed to see any CSCOPE material. Teachers
signed a non-disclosure agreement that forbids them from revealing
any part of the CSCOPE lessons to parents or anyone outside the
school system.
This is the best warning that something is seriously wrong.
www.scienceprojectideasforkids.com
Maybe I can help with the homework. Nothing to buy--no fees.
Until CSCOPE is removed from our public schools, parents will need
to work together to survive CSCOPE. I can help with science and
math. Anyone else good at other subjects?
And another....
Well there are problem sets that CAN be assigned as homework, but they
can just as easily be done "in class". The reason why, is that C-SCOPE
is producing a "homework supplement" (with a separate and additional
licensing fee) to accompany the current curriculum and lesson guide.
And another...
Separate and additional licensing fee"--Means more tax dollars being
spent while cscope peeps are lining their pockets. I hate what is
happening in public education. You cscope people can spout all your
worthless crap about how the rigor of the exemplar lessons will help all
students be successful. That's so untrue and you know it! Cscope people
don't give a rats a** about our kids in this state. All they care about
is making money. You sicken me...every last one of you.
And another...
Yes that's the point of a business to make money. We care about the kids, but
we care about our revenue, and success of our product much, much more. We're
not a charity.
The exemplar lessons aren't designed for all students they target the 1st
standard deviation of the mean, about 68% of the students in the middle.
I've written this before, it needs repeating, but no ones made your district
buy C-SCOPE. There is no law, statute, regulation, etc that mandates your
district license C-SCOPE. You think its crude, or junk, or bad for students
don't buy it, don't use it. Those decisions weren't made by anyone except your
district board/sup. Your admins determined how to implement it on their
campus.
And another...
Something I see happening that really sickens me is the dependency that
is
being created by CSCOPE. Under CSCOPE, new teachers will never have the
freedom to practice creative, meaningful, and successful teaching. They will
never learn to create their own curriculum using the TEKS and subject
expertise(we did go to college to learn a subject and how to teach it). And
worse, as I see great teachers leave the profession because of this loathsome
sham of a curriculum, many of the ones that can't get out are burned out and
just become CSCOPE whores. They allow the system to use them and draw a
paycheck because they have no other choice. Going to another school district
is not an option for anyone with more than 10 years experience...in today's
finance crunch, teachers with experience are expensive to the budget (teacher
applications with over 10 years experience are tossed before they are even
considered for an interview). As for other career choices, the outlook is
even more grim. Teachers with no experience are cheap and easy to get hooked
on CSCOPE. CSCOPE is creating a generation of dumbed down students and dumbed
down teachers. My light at the end of the tunnel comes soon with retirement,
but I see nothing but doom and gloom for future generations of teachers and
students if CSCOPE continues it's cancerous growth. Lucky for me I can
retire, because since I've become more vocal in the last five years, my AP
classes were taken away, my class sizes have increased, and you can bet that
I'm on outdoor bus duty during the cold months until I give it up.
And another....
"Not a CSCOPE junkie" wrote one of the most insightful
posts that has been submitted in a long time. It shows
that CSCOPE is not only detrimental to the students across
Texas, but it is also hurting the teachers. CSCOPE's
prescripted format is an insult to every professional
teacher. "Not a CSCOPE junkie" told the truth....our best
teachers are leaving as fast as they can. Young teachers
can't grow as teachers when they aren't allowed to design
lessons. It seems like everybody in the business of
education is accountable these days except the sellers of
CSCOPE.
And another....
Well yeah that's the idea. Too many teachers who don't know
what he are doing, or do their own thing, or don't do
anything bu babysit. Teachers shouldn't be making lesson
plans, they are teachers not curriculum specialists. They
are the messenger, not the writer.