http://www.corestandards.org/
After reading that, I am learing about the Common Core Standards that have been recently adopted by Oklahoma Schools.
This is not an unfamiliar term, in fact I have encountered it several times, but never had the time, at the time, to question what they were. From what I understood, they were akin to some new curriculum that was to be implimented or some otherwise change to what was currently taught in the oklahoma classroom which would affect all teachers.
Rather, Common Core appears to be a more unified method of teaching math and english skills that will allow community memebers a better understanding of what is being taught and how. It is an interesting concept and I see how it could be effective if implimented properly.
I am not scared by the Common Core, other than the prospect that now every Tom, Dick and Harry is going to want to tell me how to run my class that they know what I will be teaching. Of course, these do not seem to apply themselves to the science classroom and right now are only applied to math and English.
The resource above could tell anyone significantly more than they ever wanted to know about Common Core, though I suspect there are plenty of other websites overburdened with opions about the subject should someone wish to seek that instead.
I can understand your statement about Tom, Dick and Harry, seems like everyone wants to add their 2cents. But on the other hand, I’m so glad that we are gearing away from “No child left behind.”
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest misconceptions is that the Common Core is a nation wide curriculum. It is not a curriculum, rather a set of standards. It doesn't tell you how to teach, it just specifies the concepts that need to be taught. It is not a prescriptive set of rules to follow. Also, there are Common Core literacy skills that are for science classrooms. They are not the content that is being taught in science, but the skills that scientists need to have like reading scientific texts, writing about science, and not just lab reports. The state of Oklahoma will still provide the content that you are teaching, but Common Core is asking you to make students 'science literate'.
ReplyDeleteHow will the testing standards be changed with the Common Core? It seems like every 5 to 10 years some agency at the state or federal level comes out with the "best" way to educate children. The program ends up solving some problems, but creating new ones.
ReplyDeleteDoye - I cannot say either way on nclb, but I do believe this stands to be a major improvement, especially if it stands to get parents better involved with their children's education.
ReplyDeletePatsy: That is a relief and I think science literacy is exactly what we should be striving for from the perspective of scientific advancement.
Lindsay: I do not know and I really hesitate to think. I do not feel there is anything wrong with evaluating averages with exams, but I have always felt that evaluating the individual with a single exam canbe very dangerous and is poor practice.