Common Core Thesis

While the “Common Core” article objectively defined common core and explained its function all of the sources cited were supportive of implementing common core standards. The article would state the opposition and then Sell would quote someone in favor of common core. Smith’s title alone lets you know that this is an opposing argument. The article is politically motivated. Throughout the article, Smith discusses democratic initiatives and state’s “relinquishing their right to control.”

Carol Burris is a principle and co-author to the book “Opening the Common Core”. In her article “I was naïve about the Common Core”, she addresses many personal experiences and negative outcomes from the modern day state standards for school districts. The Common Core is a set of state standards that schools teach to students so they have the skills, habits and knowledge to be successful for college and post high school careers. While in the beginning of the article she claims she was completely for this method of teaching, she later describes how gruesome it truly was to the students. The overwhelming stress to the children through extensive evaluations and tests became

Adopted by forty-two out states in 2010, the Common Core State Standard Initiative strives to provide an educational structure which details what English language arts and mathematics should be taught from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The initiative is the federal government’s attempt to ensure all students who graduate from high school are adequately prepared to enter a two or four year college or the workforce. Despite their intentions, the Common Core has caused much controversy in the education community. The thought behind Common Core is very valid and has the potential to help students, however changes must be made to unrealistic standards and wordy statements. Common Core must first be rewritten so that the language is clear and can be easily understood by the general public. Next ask experts on childhood development and elementary school teachers to review the standards and rewrite standards they see as unneeded or irrelevant as well as unrealistic.

Not all students are treated equally in a school. Age, race, and gender do affect how students are treated in some schools. Age is an obvious factor that distinguishes students at the elementary level. How teachers talk to students is interesting, in particular with the young kindergartner. In a study that defines praise and behavior states, “For example, an average of approximately 102 classwide violations were observed per hour in Kinder-garten classrooms, and approximately 35 classwide viola-tions were observed per hour at the grade 5 level (source 8, 8).

A freshman college level English Composition course aims to improve students' abilities with writing, critical thinking, mechanics and usage, punctuation, grammar, and vocabulary. By studying English 101 at Luzerne County Community College, I will work diligently to improve in all of these aspects. My main focus is to develop skills specifically to create clear and concise thesis statements, strong and persuasive essays with cajolement, and to develop different perspectives on narratives and other essays. These writing skills may also improve my critical thinking and reading skills.

Prior to writing this response paper, I had no pre-existing knowledge revolving around Common Core other than the negative ideas and opinions I’ve only vaguely heard, often including photos of honestly outrageous equations. What exactly is Common Core, according to them, and what is the goal? By definition, the Common Core State Standards Initiative details a list of subjects for students kindergarten through twelfth grade to have learned the by the end of each specific grade. The ultimate goal is to be certain that students across all of the states receive the same education and reach the same requirements in order to be prepared for college work; or, rather, the standardized tests that will determine whether or not they are even granted access into college in the first place.

In the article, “9 Reasons Why Common Core is Bad for Education” James Bascom addresses the problems with Common Core and standardized testing in the education system. James Bascom published his article on January 20, 2016 on the TFP Student Action website. Throughout the article, Bascom talks about the negative effect the change in the education system has on students and their parents. He addresses the way that Common Core bunches children together holding some back while challenging others too much. Teachers are often too set on teaching exactly what the core has lined out that they rarely stray from the plan. He outlines how the core has held students back from learning more and expanding upon their education.

The educational system in the United States was originally developed using concepts from around the world, created using ingenuitive ideas from countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. However, as the United States quickly moved into position as the leading country for state-directed educational standards, America looked less and less to the systems of other nations and more into how we could improve what was locally and currently being applied in education. Consequently, an improved type of education instruction was officially launched in 2010. These new state standards, practically titled Common Core, were declared to focus on developing a child’s skills in reasoning, problem solving, communication, and competition (Conrad, et al. 52). While the standards are professed to be an extremely practical and beneficial method of teaching today, there are issues which have recently surfaced and raised some concerns. The Common Core State Standards are emerging as the subjects of a provocative controversy in society today as they prompt discussion on global economic efficiency, nationwide academic standards, and the ultimate well-being of school-age children.

There are many opinions to whether the Common Core should be enforced across the United States. One of the most wildly accepted views is that even though the Common Core could be a good idea, it is unnecessary, that America has done just fine without it. The Common Core is not working how it should and schools should go back to the way it was before. Many professors and researchers agree that the Common Core does not work and might even be hurting the youth of America. Parents who disagree with the Common Core have started pulling their children out of public school resulting in national education to be even less standardized, which is the opposite affect than what the Common Core was meant for. It is also not preparing students for future

Another major issue and concern with the Common Core State Standards is the lack of creative freedom and control due to the enforcement of it curriculum. The current common core curriculum focuses so much on its blind faith in standardization of tests and curriculum that it promotes uniformity instead of customization. It doesn’t allow students to synthesize latent creativity, restricting their mindsets to a narrow path. With their performances directly tied to test scores, teachers are now held to a higher standard of academic performance. Karen Lewis, the President of the Chicago Teacher’s Union has said the Common Core to be a “poison pill for learning” because it eliminates the sort of imaginative and critical thinking that teachers need to

Education in the United States is in an abysmal state. It continues to spiral downward as students and educators fail to meet standards. The standards are then altered on a patchwork basis throughout the states. The goal is no longer to have a high standard educational system. The goal now is to maintain the status quo, allowing students and educators to strive for the minimum. There is no common approach to achieve success. Incipit Tragoedia, in comes the Common Core, agreed upon by educators, politicians, and

Every school has its own way of preparing students to be proficient in the future. Many school systems expose students towards a higher level of education, whereas others are not able to receive access of the same lesson. Common core standards were developed to provide consistent learning for all students across the country. Common core standards should be required in all school systems because it will ensure consistency in instruction among all states, it will make students college and career ready, and it will motivate critical thinking skills.

Common Core advances equity. If students from all parts of the country-affluent, rural,low-income or urban- are held to the same rigorous standards, it promotes equity in the quality of education and the level of achievement gained. (Moiser1) Every school is still struggling with equality and schools don’t know how to handle the demands of Common Core, they won’t be successful. While the goal of Common Core may be cut testing costs, help get kids college ready, and promote equality in education, it actually causes teachers and parents to have less say in their child’s education, stresses kids out too much to the point that they won’t want to go to college, and causes struggling schools to struggle even

Imagine a school system where all American students in each grade read the same stories in the same months with the same exams testing their knowledge. But what if one day after the system started, your teacher dropped a stack of government global warming bills on your desk, telling you it was replacing Huckleberry Finn?

In 2009, states around the country began adopting the Common Core State Standards. These standards were put in place to ensure that each child was on the same academic level by high school graduation. As the global marketplace becomes increasingly more competitive, the United States hopes that Common Core will enable the coming generations to be better prepared. As of right now, my working thesis is Common Core is overall unsuccessful in its effort, and discontinuing or, at the least, replacing it would improve the testing scores /academic progresses, mental health, and attitude towards school of the children in the United States. My two articles, “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys (Yet!): Motivating boys in the age of the Common Core,” by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm and Michael W. Smith (2014), and “Why Massachusetts Gave Up on Common Core,” by Mary Clare Reim (2015), both provide evidence on Common Core to support my thesis.