Common Core: Changing The Whole Learning Process

“The Common Core: A Disaster for Libraries, A Disaster for Language Arts, A Disaster for American Education,” was written by Stephen Krashen and taken from Knowledge Quest January/February 2014 issue. Stephen Krashen is professor emeritus, University of Southern California. Krashen points out that the Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, is not relevant for students. He states there are other issues that should be addressed, such as food insecurity or lack of health care, before we put more finances into strict testing and more advanced technology. His thesis is that American Education is missing the real problems affecting education and that the Common Core will continue to turn schools into testing centers.

Any parent with two or more kids will tell you, no kids learn the same. So in comes common core with the idea to teach different ways to teach the way that works best for students. Now at first this seems like a great idea why wouldn’t we want our kids to have the best learning experience? However, when it comes down to testing which is what really matters during school you are only tested one way “the right way”. This has started a decrease in state test scores and an increase in dropout rates in states with common core standards. Fast Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2017.

For starters, Common Core is defined as an academic outline that specializes in Math and the English Language that every student should know before moving on to higher grades. Common Core has various downsides. In order for states to recieve funding from the government they must adhere to the system guidlines. A brief note on Education and the government: education is a state right and not a federal right. Education has no right to be regulated by the government; in fact, it underminds the Tenth Amendment. The Tenth Amendment states that any power not delegated by the Constitution is delegated to the states or to the people.

Common core has become the new standard in which schools need to find some way to implement this change successfully. Schools must defend this challenge and make it easier and helpful to themselves, teachers, and parents. I believe between politicians and school legislatures need to take accountability and create a structured and adaptable solution to expanding the minds to our students

Forty-two states, along with the District of Columbia have adopted Common Core State Standards. These standards were created to focus only on English and Mathematics. An effect of states adopting Common Core State Standards is that all other subjects taught in school were emphasized less. History, Science, and many other subjects are no longer stressed; therefore students are limited to being proficient in only two subjects. The Common Core deprives students’ ability to be skilled in multiple areas. These standards do not provide a slight “break” from the challenging and fast paced teaching of English and Mathematics. In addition to limiting education to English and Mathematics, Jill Bowden explains that the Common Core is affecting kindergarteners by taking them “away from materials that encourage playful learning” (36). Simple, beneficial learning materials typically used in kindergarten classrooms are being replaced with workbooks and textbooks. These standards are not benefiting education; instead they suppress enjoyable learning that one could gain from free learning. All grades are affected, but especially kindergarteners. These kindergarteners are too young for authoritative standards, and should be learning concepts appropriate for a child the age of five. Standards were made “to become the backbone for student, teacher, and school accountability systems and will play an increasingly prominent role in the American educational ecosystem” (Gutierrez 78) Therefore,

The collection of articles talked about how the government wants Common Core and the debate over the Common Core. One of the authors named Lindsey Burke (2015) talked about how the government wants a “national curriculum” to establish a standard education. The articles discussed how the Common Core is causing several problems and encourage competition . Some of the problems are how Common Core takes away rights from parents to decide what best for their children. The government seems to want Common Core for everyone to follow the system but government does not think of the consequence in a smaller level. The articles talked about the negative impacts of Common Core such as taking control of our own education. I think Common

PARCC, TLI, Benchmark, and all of the common core standards have changed teaching methods. Instead of focusing on making one child better at a lesson they are not understanding, teachers have to move on to the next lesson. This could be a factor in the United States having a spot near the bottom when being tested against other nations. Teachers are not allowed enough time to accurately tutor their students on everything they need to know and be ready for because the individuals have to learn as much as possible before the end of the year. Therefore, they are constantly learning new skills with the possibility of not even knowing the last. Testing has made receiving a proper education almost impossible. The intended purpose of standardized test was to increase the score of the nation as a whole. In the past few years increased scores have not transpired, in fact, they have more than likely descended. The only effect these tests have acquired for this nation is making undergraduates feel less about themselves and increased the stress level of each individual.

In 2010, the education system in the state of Arizona began to change. The Arizona State Board of Education adopted new standards for school districts to follow and abide by. The new standards known as Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards (ACCRS) began to be implemented by schools statewide by early 2013. The purpose of the new standards is to be a set of benchmarks (standardized tests) for students of all grades to take and meet as they move through the Arizona school system. The state of Arizona believes that a “consistent framework to prepare students” is through the increased advancement of language arts, social studies (history), science and mathematics.

As mentioned earlier, Common Core wants to change the curriculum so that students from low-income families are able to be as advantaged knowledge-wise as their peers on exams. There is no doubt that some students are not able to gain the knowledge they need at home due to financial circumstances that could then be traced back to the education levels of their parents in which is related to the family income. Parents with lower salaries usually have to work longer hours to afford to raise their family, meaning they have less time to spend with their children and inform them about certain topics. If the low-income students are given more knowledge and less skills in schools, they will fall behind their classmates in regards to skills. If working

In every public school the standards will be the same; this is one of the main reasons why Common Core was initially created. When students change schools they either miss information, or fall behind. With Common Core each school will be on the same pace covering material in the same manner. The higher expectations that are now being placed upon students will cause problems. Not all students come from the same backgrounds; there is a wide range of students in each school ranging from those that are either below or above the average grade level criteria, have a mental illness, or struggle at home.

    Not only is Common Core a stress to students, but also to the people teaching it.  Teachers are now forced to deal with the challenging transition of  teaching a whole new way, and the standards that are given by the Common Core are cursory.  Not being able to teach the way they believe is right could lead to many veteran teachers to become ineffective and bored at their jobs (Meador).  Common Core also brings with it a myriad of topics that have to be taught to the students, which makes the teachers have more on their plates and not able to teach lessons to their fullest (Strauss).  Many superlative

I have not done any research or read much about common core to know fully about the topic and what it entails. However, I chose this topic to research in hopes of finding out more about it. So what I am about to brainstorm and write is all based on my experiences of hearing about it and conversations with others. I am keeping an open mind about both sides until I can do further research that will help me determine whether its standards are good or bad.

The Common Core Standards are words that we are all formulary with. We all have heard those 3 words once before but I’m sure most of us didn’t know the real meaning behind it unless we work in a school or have young children in school, or a teacher.The common core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts with literacy, also can be known as ELA. These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade. We are told that the standards were created to make sure that when the time comes for the students to graduate from high school they will have all the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in not only college, but their career, and life regardless of where they are from. The Common Core focuses most on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students will need to be successful. Those are all things that students all around the world need in order to move forward, and continue to get their education. Having these standers make it easier for all the teachers around the world to know where they need to have their students be by the end of each academic school year, but what if there was a different way for our teachers to know where each child should stand without having to use the common core standards? What if some children don’t work well with it?

Common Core gives students a deep dive into focusing on their education. “ The Common Core Standards assessments will allow teachers to monitor students progress throughout the year. The assessments will have optional pre-test and progress monitoring tools that teachers can use to find out what a student knows, where they are going, and to figure out a plan to get them where they need to be”( Pros and Cons of the Common Core Standards p1). “ When students can explore a concept and really immerse themselves in the content, they emerge with a full understanding that lasts well beyond testing season” (Six Ways Common Core is Good For Students p1) says Kisha Davis Caldwell, a fourth grade teacher at a Maryland elementary school. The standards for common core include, “Research, evidence based, clear, understandable, consistent, college and career expectations, and an application of knowledge through higher order thinking skills” ( Common Core State Initiative p1). These are some ways Common Core is proven to help students

I am not very familiar with the common core other than I had to use it as a reference last semester, to create a lesson plan for EDUC 100 class. I did ask some of the teachers I work with if they like or dislike the common core and why. The response was not reassuring. One of the reasons why they did not like the common core was the introduction of Algebra II as a core class requirement for high school graduation. They say not all students need that class in real life. Another reason was that not all states have the same standards, so when the students move to Iowa from another state, it makes it difficult for them to keep up with the classes that are required for them to move on, or they are not academically prepared for the next level.