Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
These are logical progressions of the standards that
already happened in my state.
So the changes have been subtle, but they've been real at the same time.
There’s more of an emphasis on literature.
There's more of an emphasis on reading for understanding.
And there’s a real emphasis on quality instruction.
You know, one of the things that kids are doing a little bit differently
in the classes now is really being able to articulate their own learning --
really writing intelligently about their own work and being able to communicate
why they're being taught the things they are and what they're going to be
able to use it for in their lives.
So it’s a really intentional process that students are going through right now.
I think one of the greatest parts about utilizing standards to
teach education is that we’re not utilizing it as a curriculum.
We’re using it as a target so that all of the teachers
know where students need to be by the end of the semester,
by the end of the year, by the end of their schooling and education.
So utilizing that same target, that same end goal, is vitally important.
If you take that away, instruction will still happen, but our students
might not be getting to the same place.
It’s really important to me that we have high-quality standards
that allow teachers the flexibility to teach in their own way,
a way that is relevant locally, so that when I’m teaching
about science in my area, we’re in an agricultural area of the state.
I’m going to talk about agriculture, which is going to be different
than the urban areas.
But I know that students in Seattle, Washington, that students
in Madison, Wisconsin, are going to get to the same place
at the end of their high school careers.
You know, I think parents really have huge obligation, actually,
to go in and read the standards.
When people ask me about the Common Core, I say, you know what,
take 25 minutes -- because that’s really all it takes to get a
good understanding of it -- and read the standards yourself.
See what it is that we’re asking our students to do.
As a parent -- I've got a first-grader now --
I want to know what it is that he’s expected to do in class.
So I've gone through, and I've read the standards for him.
As an educator, of course, I read throughout all of the standards.
But as a parent, I need to know fully what my student is being asked to do.
So parents, do me a favor. Do your students a favor.
Go read the standards for yourself so that you understand what it is
that the Common Core is all about and what we’re asking of our students.
[ Silence ]