(An Opinion Piece)
What I love about Common Core
Teachers are able to use real time and current student data to determine their next instructional steps to drive instruction forward and determine what skills need to be reviewed and can identify the skills and strategies that students have mastered. It shows their strengths and weaknesses across the grade level curriculum.
It is structured so that educators can identify what skills the students are missing. By pulling students for small group instruction educators are able to introduce and expose in efforts to help students obtain and access prerequisite skills or build on skills/strategies they are deficient in before advancing.
It is scaffolded so that the skills are unpacked so that teachers are aware of what is expected.
Everyone is reading from the same educational script so if students transfer to another school district or state they should technically be able to seamlessly integrate and shouldn't have huge educational gaps.
Common core teaches strong leadership and creative skills in all academic subject areas. By using common core math, reading language arts, and other subject areas I am able to integrate what I have learned cross curricular as an educational blogger. In other words common core taught me how to become a blogger. I have had to read multiple articles on the same topic and then synthesis the information to write an article. On my blog I was able to use text features to create a art gallery of my artwork. I have to use both my analytical side and my creative side to be able to create this blog website. By integrating all of my passions, making relevant connections, using a variety of resources and sources, I have applied what I have learned so that I can present the information in an organized system. Once created this website allows me to access, integrate, and create new information everyday. It is easy for anyone to do. It has allowed me to become a Global Educator and a better Community Leader. Common core and technology enabled me to showcase my talents in a new innovative way. Pretty cool huh!
What I hate about Common Core?
It is fasted paced. It is highly regimented and is great for grade level or above grade level students, but not so much for struggling students and students with special needs who need constant and explicit instruction and reteaching of basic skills and strategies.
It is compehensive and massive. There is a lot of educational material to cover from day to day. This can be overwhelming for teachers and students and can cause them to shut them unvoluntarly.
It is highly stressful. The pressure of success is often times on the backs and shoulders of the classroom teachers. They feel intense pressure everyday to have students make significant progress. This is extremely unfortunate since progress should be the goal and not perfection. We all know based on research that learning takes time and the amount of time given may not be enough for everyone even in small group instruction to make significant progress. We also know that parent involvement is key to unlocking students ability to learn in school. Without their parents interest and buy-in it is almost impossible for children to make significant achievements. They need parental involvement. They also need all parties in their learning community to collaborate, communicate, cooperate, and participate in order for the learning community to soar and thrive in real time.
For struggling students Common Core can be overwhelming because they are deficient and haven't mastered previous taught skills. They are performing below grade level and are lacking prequistic skills to achieve mastery. In the regular classroom there never seems to be enough time to roll out new skills or to adequately revisit previously taught skills, and to be able to fully and completely invest in the skill for a set time before everyone is off to another skill/strategy or another class. Teaching common core is like speed dating and there are so many moving pieces on the chess board. There never seems to be enough time to teach and to meet benchmark or grade level proficiencies in guided groups or in whole group lessons in order to reach and elevate struggling learners. Struggling learners need time, a slower process, less distractions and pressure, lots of patience, because learning is a process that takes a lifetime. They are like plant seedlings they need sufficient watering, sunlight, space, and nutrients to flourish. Struggling learners need lots of TLC.
It's impossible for teachers to be able to differentiate for every child and to develop an individualize educational plan for each and implement with fidelity without consistent support from grade level specialists, resource personnel, support staff, administers, parents, and community & government leaders. Teachers need more support like paraprofessionals especially in minority communities because they need extra support and manpower up to 6th grade. The pressure to meet expectations has been intensely stressful and debilitating for the past fifteen years and with the pandemic the pressure grew and evolved. I know as a mom of two little ones that each child learns differently and I mean completely differently even opposite at times.* (This is supported by brain research and psychology studies and educational research studies have been done on learning. See multiple intelligence and educational research.) Now multiple 2 kids by 12 kids and we get 24 completely different personalities, learning styles, cognitive and behavioral differences in a classroom full of students. It is a struggle to manage two kids who need a program that specializes in meeting their individual age appropriate needs, now a days I can't imagine the pressure of having to manage 24 unique personalities, background, and a wide range of physical and cognitive abilities alone as a sole and main provider and sometimes acting as a case manager. Looking back I couldn't honestly managed it without divine grace and power for nineteen years. The intense pressure I get from managing two is overwhelming now and trying to balance their needs with those of a classroom full of students is impossible to do it with excellence and sufficient support.
Teachers are in charge of managing the educational program for a classroom full of students who are vastly different. It is a major feat especially if you are servicing a struggling population, high ESOL population, or a minority population because they are already at a disadvantage when they entered at the beginning of the school year. They may be significantly below grade level before the school doors open in the fall. Teachers are leaving because teaching is now a business. It doesn't allow for flexibility, creativity, and autonomy to meet the needs of your specific population. In other words in a mutual benefiting relationship the flow of resources, information, support has to go top down and back up and the cycle has to be continual unending flow. With so many obstacles and not enough educational support and resources you can see how common core is a great idea. However, more financial resources and time is needed for it to be a true success. True success occurs when children are taught by highly qualified and experienced educators who are emotionally invested and are treated fairly in regards to being protected, valued, fully reimbursed, and completely compensated for their hardwork, labor, and expertise. More needs to be done in regards to protecting the people who are doing jobs that only a few are willing to do. Protecting educators' human and civil rights, religious rights, and giving them more mental health care, support, educational time, and space that is necessary to help them improve the quality of care for their students. This is imperative that it is done for students as well.
What I know now that I didn't know when I was teaching?
Use your review days, field trip days, special event days, and testing days as days to implement and apply what students have learned in new and exciting ways. These days are your creative days- the intellectual sabbath rest time to allow the imagination and your students brains to rest and regroup. When students are given time to creatively rest from stress they are allowing information to flow from one side of their brain to the other side as information travels. This is important because it allow children to synthesize information and use it in new, practical, and exciting ways. For example, after watching the video about Ireland (see 30 and over tab) I was given time to express my self creatively and I ended up creating a picture of Ireland. I integrated what I had learned with my old knowledge to create something entirely new. When we learn we make tracks and we carry whatever we learned forward as we live, work, and travel and it impacts everything. I like the saying you can't unread something. Once you know something you know it and it influences you.
Think back to junior high when you were in home economic (home-ec) class or shop class and you learned how to cook simple things like cookies and you may have learned how to sew and make something with your hands. You were applying mathematics, science, and reading in real and meaningful ways. Those economic classes taught you how to manage your money and how to balance a checkbook and etc. All of these skills are necessary to produce independent and creative learners and thinkers. Those basic but vital skills enhanced your life even today. It taught you how to be resourceful and how to communicate and work well with others to achieve something simple yet amazing. Our students today are lacking the basic skills, simple decision making skills, critical skills, and information skills to be able to thrive successfully on and off the digital highway.
If possible use testing days as intellectual rest days. Use extra time to plan, reorganize, and restructure your classroom environment and educational program. This valuable time can be used to enhance and fine tune your academic and educational programs, be careful not to waste it and enjoy the process.
Being an educator in the public school sect was one of my greatest achievements aside from having my own family. I am honored to have had the privilege of being apart of three amazing school districts. I hope that I can inspire, encourage, and challenge others to not run from education but to run towards it. There were many joys and successes. There were also many challenges. There are many changes that need to be made, but I am hopeful that once our leaders begin to listen and implement more positive changes, they will change the negative direction of education so that all voices are heard and everyone is truly apart of the educational process and experience. That includes teachers, parents, administers and support staff and the community at large.
I hope that in time home educators like me can use their lifetime experience and online service to count towards retirement and that education moves in a more progressive manner so that all the needs of all parties can be better served. I believe that the power of Common Core will enable all parties to do just that.
From the desk of Esther Kamoche Robinson
Wix pic
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