Jounal Post 3

The Common Core

The common Core state standards provide clear standards of what a student is expected to learn in each grade level. These standards were put together by teachers, parents, and community leaders. The purpose of The Common Core is that teachers and parents know what they need to do in order to prepare the students and enable them to learn better. These standards were approached with the purpose of reflecting the knowledge and the skills that students will learn in the classroom to those they will need in order to be successful in college and their careers. The Common Core sounds like a good set of standards specially that our teachers and parents also had a big input in defining them.

There are already 45 states that have adapted the Common Core. However, there are still others that are not as supportive of these standards. The Washington post website posted an article by Valerie Strauss discussing the views of Yong Zhao, presidential chair and associate dean for global education at the University of Oregon’s College of Education. Yong Zhao discussed that the Standards are too narrow and rigid. He also points out that we do not know what work will be available when today’s infants leave College and enter the workforce.  In another article by Jan Murphy in The Patriot-News website, the opposite is argued. “Pennsylvania has had academic standards in place since 1999, this is simply upgrading the standards to meet the new times and needs we see out there,” said Education Secretary Ron Tomalis.

 Fox news published an article about home school parents being concerned with the new standards. They state that the reason they homeschool their kids is to be able to focus on the individuals talents and personality. They are concerned the material will be too limited, and wonder, will they have to take these test too? The answer to that question depends on each state. Home-schooling groups, like the HSLDA, claim the Common Core creates a “one-size-fits-all approach to education” that rests on the “assumption that every child must learn the same things at the same speed.” In defend of The Common Core an supporting  institute explained, “Teachers and administrators, including principals and superintendents, will decide how the standards are to be taught and will establish the curriculum, just as they currently do, allowing for continued flexibility and creativity.”

While I can see both sides to the debate, The Common Core doesn’t seem like a bad option. We already have certain standards, and I don’t see a big issue in updating them. The world keeps changing and as does the material students need to learn to succeed. The common standards seem to leave some room for adjustments and flexibility depending on the school and student’s needs.

 

Resources:

"Common Core." Common Core State Standards Initiative. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2013.

Corbin, Cristina. "Parents Who Home-school Question Common Core's Reach." Fox News. FOX News Network, 05 Sept. 2013. Web. 05 Sept. 2013.

Murphy, Jan. "Central PA." The Patriot-News. N.p., 13 May 2013. Web. 05 Sept. 2013.

Strauss, Valerie. "Common Core Standards: Arguments against — and for." Washingtonpost.com. The Wasington Post, n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013.