Friday, March 9, 2012

A Common Core Movement



In class we discussed the topic of Common Core Standards and what we thought they were.  I defined them as common frameworks and standards that are the same across the entire nation where we teach to the same standards and the students will learn from the same standards. With all states having to meet this certain criteria for curriculum (per grade level) provides a consistency in the classroom to prepare students for their future.

After viewing the YouTube video, Elementary School CCS, and reading more on the Common Core Initiatives I am very excited to be part of something I find to be revolutionary. Finally, education is going to become more streamlined across the country so that everyone will benefit the same. With teachers and educators having that solid framework and a better understanding of expectations for teaching, this can only benefit students in the preparation for success in college and their future careers. Having these standards not only allow career readiness, but also provides more focus and a solid base to make learning a subject, like math, more interesting and fun. As I have read there are a variety of advantages to this movement. Having a ‘common standard’ and a ‘unifying theme’ across the country will not only bring people together across districts, but can also reduce costs because a collaboration between states will allow the ability to pool resources. Another advantage to these new standards is the fact that technology has been incorporated into every strand of education. So now not only will a student from California have the same learning objectives as a student from Wisconsin, but also both will learn a very important skill and that is Computational Thinking. I spoke about this term in an earlier blog. One road block is the fact that implementing these standards nationwide does take time and just like our students learn at different speeds so does our teachers. It is very important that all educators understand and are confident in their ability to implement these standards in their classrooms; they do not want to rush this process. For this reason the implementation of these standards for nationwide effectiveness will take some time.

April E.
Resources Used:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/

http://www.scoe.net/castandards/multimedia/common_core_faq.pdf

 (Video) Elementary School CCS:  http://youtu.be/1IPxt794-yU 

1 comment:

  1. Hi April,
    I have the same stance as you regarding the Common Core Standards. I think it's crucial for a common curriculum to be implemented all across America. It just makes sense. A fifth grade student in New York should be learning the same criteria as a fifth grade student in California. This whole movement will unite teachers and educators together, which I think is a wonderful thing. I agree that a setback to implementing these common core standards is time and money. Teachers may even be apprehensive at first, because it's a big change and they are probably used to tradition. However, once they get past that, this movement will greatly benefit educators and students. I am in favor! Thanks for your post!
    -Madison Pelzel

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