{"id":22835,"date":"2014-10-06T02:00:42","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T06:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=22835"},"modified":"2014-10-06T12:53:21","modified_gmt":"2014-10-06T16:53:21","slug":"why-a-miami-middle-school-is-teaching-debate-to-conquer-common-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2014\/10\/06\/why-a-miami-middle-school-is-teaching-debate-to-conquer-common-core\/","title":{"rendered":"Why A Miami Middle School Is Teaching Debate To Conquer Common Core"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"full_story\">\n<p>Bridget McKinney, principal at Miami&#8217;s Allapattah Middle School, says her students struggle to pass the state&#8217;s reading and writing tests.<\/p>\n<p>So when McKinney first read the Common Core math and language arts standards used in Florida schools this year, what jumped out was the emphasis on answering questions and making arguments using examples and evidence from what students are reading.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22836\"  class=\"wp-caption module image center\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Allapattah Middle School principal Bridget McKinney sits in on one of the speech and debate classes she's required her students to take. McKinney says the Common Core standards emphasis using evidence and making arguments.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-BridgetMcKinney3.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-22836\" alt=\"Allapattah Middle School principal Bridget McKinney sits in on one of the speech and debate classes she's required her students to take. McKinney says the Common Core standards emphasis using evidence and making arguments.\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-BridgetMcKinney3-620x413.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-BridgetMcKinney3-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-BridgetMcKinney3-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">John O&#39;Connor \/ StateImpact Florida<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allapattah Middle School principal Bridget McKinney sits in on one of the speech and debate classes she&#39;s required her students to take. McKinney says the Common Core standards emphasis using evidence and making arguments.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It took McKinney back to college &#8212; she was a speech major. So she decided her sixth, seventh and eighth graders would have to take a speech and debate course each year.<\/p>\n<p>McKinney says the goal is to improve reading and writing skills &#8212; and state test scores.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s been our Achilles\u2019 heel at Allapattah, meeting that minimum requirement for literacy,&#8221; McKinney says. &#8220;I have to be very, very innovative or an out-of-the-box thinker to make this connection for my students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2014\/09\/08\/new-teachers-union-leader-promises-more-florida-activism\/\">New Teacher&#8217;s Union Leader Promises More Florida Activism<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2014\/09\/03\/miami-dade-schools-chief-wants-to-delay-new-testing-school-grades\/\">Miami-Dade Schools Chief Wants To Delay New Testing, School Grades<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2014\/08\/25\/gov-scott-wants-to-review-florida-standards-and-local-testing\/\">Gov. Scott Wants To Review Florida Standards And Local Testing<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2014\/08\/19\/poll-finds-support-for-common-core-declining-among-republicans-and-teachers\/\">Poll Finds Support For Common Core Declining Among Republicans And Teachers<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2014\/08\/07\/crist-wants-to-pause-penalties-during-switch-to-common-core-based-standards\/\">Crist Wants To Pause Penalties During Switch To Common Core-Based Standards<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/01\/2-20-CommonCoreApple.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/topic\/common-questions\/\">Send Us Your Questions About The Common Core<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>Florida is one of dozens of states which have adopted math and language arts standards based on Common Core. The standards outline what students should know in every grade.<\/p>\n<p>The state also will begin using a new, tougher test tied to the standards.<\/p>\n<p>McKinney thinks the class will help prepare her students for changes in the the state\u2019s new reading and writing exam. On the previous tests, she says, students would read a single passage and answer a few questions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow they\u2019re going to have four sources and maybe two questions,&#8221; she says, referring to snippets from magazine articles, textbooks or poems. &#8220;But in those two questions are embedded so many requirements. They have to, one, cite evidence from the four sources. They have to choose a side. They have to use proper grammar and spelling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>LaDemia Albury is constantly asking her students for evidence.<\/p>\n<p>She asks her students about their book, \u201cFoster Care Oddysey&#8221;: Why did Mrs. Chester turn sour after her husband got sick?<\/p>\n<p>She asks a student to read from her essay but cuts her off when she isn&#8217;t specific enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore Mr. Chester was in severe issues \u2013 what is the severe issues?&#8221; Albury asks. &#8220;Just be specific. You\u2019re wasting time with that. You wasted your opportunity to win a case.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The man is dying. He has emphysema. Why didn\u2019t you write that?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Math and language arts are the main focus of Common Core standards.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22840\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"LaDemia Albury moved from an A-rated school to Allapattah Middle School at the request of principal Bridget McKinney.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-Albury1.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-22840\" alt=\"LaDemia Albury moved from an A-rated school to Allapattah Middle School at the request of principal Bridget McKinney.\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-Albury1-300x200.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-Albury1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-Albury1-620x413.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">John O&#39;Connor \/ StateImpact Florida<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">LaDemia Albury moved from an A-rated school to Allapattah Middle School at the request of principal Bridget McKinney.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But literacy \u2013 reading comprehension, analysis, critical thinking \u2013 are embedded throughout the standards. And that encourages schools to add more reading in non-Common Core subjects like science and social studies.<\/p>\n<p>Experts say speech and debate is a natural way to support the standards.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Rothman is a fellow at the Alliance for Excellent Education, which supports the Common Core.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve been included in some state standards before now but haven\u2019t really gotten much attention,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>Common Core is supposed get students ready for college or to help them get a job after high school. Rothman says employers want workers with better communications skills.<\/p>\n<p>But a lot of educators argue the standards are too hard for younger students and don\u2019t ask enough of older students. Parents complain about convoluted homework or the continued emphasis on testing.<\/p>\n<p>Critics say the standards don&#8217;t address problems related to poverty, such as homelessness, hunger, or unstable families, that so many students at Allapattah Middle and other schools must deal with in addition to their studies.<\/p>\n<p>And many worry special education students or kids learning English will struggle to keep up. About half of Allapattah\u2019s students are Hispanic and many are new immigrants, particularly from Honduras.<\/p>\n<p>Veldreana Oliver teaches many of those students. She says some couldn\u2019t write in Spanish, let alone English.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22841\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"A stack of books in Veldreana Oliver's classroom.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-ClassroomBooks.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-22841\" alt=\"A stack of books in Veldreana Oliver's classroom.\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-ClassroomBooks-300x200.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-ClassroomBooks-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2014\/10\/10-6-ClassroomBooks-620x413.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">John O&#39;Connor \/ StateImpact Florida<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacks of books in Veldreana Oliver&#39;s classroom.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But she points to a wall full of essays as evidence the debate course is working.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen they entered here in August, they couldn\u2019t do that,&#8221; she says. &#8220;It\u2019s October. I couldn\u2019t get a sentence, but now I\u2019m getting two paragraphs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And just like walking comes before running, back in LaDemia Albury\u2019s classroom, you have to learn to write before you can debate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen are we going to start debatin\u2019 in here?\u2019,&#8221; Albury says, immitating a student&#8217;s question. &#8220;And I made it clear to them that until you learn how to put your argument down clearly\u2026 on a sheet of paper, we will never start the verbal part of it because we have to get the written part down pat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bridget McKinney, principal at Miami&#8217;s Allapattah Middle School, says her students struggle to pass the state&#8217;s reading and writing tests. So when McKinney first read the Common Core math and language arts standards used in Florida schools this year, what jumped out was the emphasis on answering questions and making arguments using examples and evidence [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":22836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[1157,975,949,1032,1063,976],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22835"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22835"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22844,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22835\/revisions\/22844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}