Today’s students are preparing themselves to enter a world in which colleges and future employers are expecting more than ever before. In making sure students are ready for the world ahead, a new set of guidelines has been set called The Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
In 2010, The Common Core State Standards were adopted among 46 states. After hearing and reading that these new standards would transform and modernize education, I see little benefit for the public school system. After only a year of being implemented, students’ test scores began to drop, and only a mere 31 percent of students were capable of reaching achieved proficiency in language arts.
The “experts” who invented Common Core made their initial claims great, but educators and teachers seem to have their doubts. The need for advocacy is dependent on the continuation of Common Core. Rethinking Schools editor, Stan Karp, said in a recent article that, “organizing and activism are the only things that will save us, and remain our best hope for the future of public education and the democracy that depends on it.”
I could not agree more. It is time for us to stand up and stand against the federal government coming into our public schools and placing this amount of “college prep” curriculum upon the students. Now it feels as though we are uncommonly connected at the core.
Though Common Core is preparing students for the world at a college level, they have failed to provide substantial enough literary knowledge for kids to succeed in college. Due to the new mathematic standards being so advanced, elementary school students are struggling to understand the curriculum they’re learning, and are therefore reduced to guesswork. Geometry is being implemented in the curriculum that is not widely used anywhere in the world. Math such as this is a definite set up for failure.
CCSS seems to pose a much bigger threat than political issues amongst Republicans and Democrats. Did I neglect to mention all of the tests given to students? There is no logic behind it. These tests are supposed to help teachers keep track of their student’s progress, but instead are impeding learning. I have personally noticed an increase in fifth-grade students feeling stressed and unprepared. These tests are wringing out whatever positive potential Common Core could have on schools.
Education reform may be widely accepted across the country because it equalizes expectations for children, requires student-centered teaching and helps kids develop better critical learning skills, but what I have seen from CCSS is vastly different than these standards. As for the college and career ready aspect, it will take far more than good test grades to be prepared for college.
Schools should be open to new ideas and encourage imagination among students. It seems to me that Common Core eliminates creativity, and encourages collaboration. In contrast to letting teachers inspire their students, Common Core is a stint for learning.
