Chapter 1: The Common Core and Inquiry
“The implications of the new Common Core State Standards are both exciting and overwhelming....Transitioning to the new standards and the new generation assessment systems that will accompany them requires determination, vision, commitment to change, increased instructional capacity from classroom teachers and school leaders, honesty, and incredible professional dedication.” -Cheryl Dunkle
The common core standards are feared by many but I see the point in them and love them. I think it is great that the standards focus on getting our students reading for college and the workforce. While it may seem like a HUGE change and a lot of work I believe it is well worth it. I mean we are teaching to make a difference in the lives of our students and these standards are making a huge impact in their educational journey-they deserve it! So while we as teachers may be stressed to the max (or not) we should always have the end result in mind :)
“Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed by teachers, schools administrators and experts to help provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare students for college and the workforce”---as I said above this chapter has restated it multiple times. Favorite quote so far “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” -John Dewey
This chapter talks a lot about CCSS and beginning with the end in mind. Which once again is preparing our elementary school kids for college. I tell my mom everyday I don’t know how they do it but they do and they are becoming better at it every day. I am jealous that these standards are just now being implemented. I honestly wish they had them when I was a kid because it gives kids such a great advantage and really is amazing and I am glad I am a part of it. Another great thing about the CCSS is that it will create consistency across the USA for both students and teachers and their educational experiences. While it has not yet been adopted by every single state, hopefully it will be soon.
In addition to the CCSS, new assessments-PARCC and SBAC-will be implemented in 2014-2015 which will mean that teachers will engage students in authentic and engaging instruction to meet the standards and use formative assessment to understand their students’ development of critical and higher-order thinking skills. Common Core wants the classroom to stray away from lectures, worksheets, and independent work to a community of learners, collaboration and engagement in authentic learning tasks. I love this idea. I was introduced to common core last year 2012-2013 in my first grade classroom and being able to see what a strong classroom community we had at the end of the year versus the beginning was truly amazing. Now I am a part of it in fourth grade and it is beautiful watching my students build a classroom community and watching them enjoy learning because learning has become a social activity where they get to work with partners and learn from their peers instead of having to listen to the teacher teach all day.
An AH-HA moment for me in this chapter was when it said “If implemented as intended, the CCSS will be used as a guide rather than a bible.” I feel like some teachers may be taking CCSS as a hassle when it shouldn’t be one. Another thing mentioned that I liked was that Common Core gives teachers and schools a lot of flexibility and allows teachers to be creative. It has less standards than before and says that teachers are only responsible for getting students to where they need to go! “The standards are not curriculum that tells teachers how they will teach but rather where they need to go with their students.” -Sums up the chapter beautifully! Common core is just what we need and once we are fully “converted” to it and what a huge difference it makes for not only our students but for us as teachers I am sure everyone will be in love with the CCSS!
“The implications of the new Common Core State Standards are both exciting and overwhelming....Transitioning to the new standards and the new generation assessment systems that will accompany them requires determination, vision, commitment to change, increased instructional capacity from classroom teachers and school leaders, honesty, and incredible professional dedication.” -Cheryl Dunkle
The common core standards are feared by many but I see the point in them and love them. I think it is great that the standards focus on getting our students reading for college and the workforce. While it may seem like a HUGE change and a lot of work I believe it is well worth it. I mean we are teaching to make a difference in the lives of our students and these standards are making a huge impact in their educational journey-they deserve it! So while we as teachers may be stressed to the max (or not) we should always have the end result in mind :)
“Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed by teachers, schools administrators and experts to help provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare students for college and the workforce”---as I said above this chapter has restated it multiple times. Favorite quote so far “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” -John Dewey
This chapter talks a lot about CCSS and beginning with the end in mind. Which once again is preparing our elementary school kids for college. I tell my mom everyday I don’t know how they do it but they do and they are becoming better at it every day. I am jealous that these standards are just now being implemented. I honestly wish they had them when I was a kid because it gives kids such a great advantage and really is amazing and I am glad I am a part of it. Another great thing about the CCSS is that it will create consistency across the USA for both students and teachers and their educational experiences. While it has not yet been adopted by every single state, hopefully it will be soon.
In addition to the CCSS, new assessments-PARCC and SBAC-will be implemented in 2014-2015 which will mean that teachers will engage students in authentic and engaging instruction to meet the standards and use formative assessment to understand their students’ development of critical and higher-order thinking skills. Common Core wants the classroom to stray away from lectures, worksheets, and independent work to a community of learners, collaboration and engagement in authentic learning tasks. I love this idea. I was introduced to common core last year 2012-2013 in my first grade classroom and being able to see what a strong classroom community we had at the end of the year versus the beginning was truly amazing. Now I am a part of it in fourth grade and it is beautiful watching my students build a classroom community and watching them enjoy learning because learning has become a social activity where they get to work with partners and learn from their peers instead of having to listen to the teacher teach all day.
An AH-HA moment for me in this chapter was when it said “If implemented as intended, the CCSS will be used as a guide rather than a bible.” I feel like some teachers may be taking CCSS as a hassle when it shouldn’t be one. Another thing mentioned that I liked was that Common Core gives teachers and schools a lot of flexibility and allows teachers to be creative. It has less standards than before and says that teachers are only responsible for getting students to where they need to go! “The standards are not curriculum that tells teachers how they will teach but rather where they need to go with their students.” -Sums up the chapter beautifully! Common core is just what we need and once we are fully “converted” to it and what a huge difference it makes for not only our students but for us as teachers I am sure everyone will be in love with the CCSS!