Embrace the Common Core

[Alan]

So far, 27 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards, and more states are anticipated to adopt them soon. What are the Common Core State Standards? Initiated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and The Council of Chief State School Officers, the Common Core State Standards (www.corestandards.org) were developed to provide teachers and students with a consistent set of skills to prepare students for the 21st century workplace. For more information of the importance of the Common Core and how to implement it in the classroom, please visit http://core4all.wordpress.com.

[Alan]

Ryan, I believe that when used to the fullest potential, the Common Core can become the vehicle to drive curriculum and in turn improve student achievement. The Common Core cannot stand alone, but when Common Formative Assessments based on the Common Core are created, and proven research-based instructional strategies are implemented in the classroom, it is then that we can creative a curriculum that will meet the needs of our students. Too often in the field, I see teachers who are so activities and content driven that they do not teach specific skills. The Common Core provides teachers with the imporatant skills needed to teach our students. It is then the job of the teacher to take a skill, unwrap it, model how to use it, assess it, and have students apply it. I believe the Common Core can help with our practice.

[Ryan Goble]

Hey Alan! You might add this to the ed policy group - FWIW - I am VERY underwhelmed with the common core and think it puts us another 20 years back into a very dated paradigm of teaching and learning.