Common Core Standards

The Common Core Standards are divided into two parts, English Language Arts and Math.  These standards are those that are to be met by the whole nation.  The Common Core Mission Statement boasts that The Standards are related to the real world and will have all students ready for college.  It is a teacher's responsibility to carry out these standards into his or her lesson plans.

Looking at all of the standards on this website is extremely overwhelming.  The ELA Standards alone are 64 pages long, and the Math Standards are 71 pages long.  Standards are broken down by grade level and categories/subjects. It is extremely confusing, and again, overwhelming.

I think that The Standards are both good and bad.  Most of the standards that are on the website can be met easily, but at times the standards can without a doubt restrict a teacher and leave him or her with not much freedom to do what they want.  With all of these standards and junk that we teachers have to adhere to, I feel like I a lot of passion and the "fun" of teaching can easily dwindle away.  With all that is going on in education right now, I would not be surprised if the statistic that 1/3 teachers drop out of the profession all together within their first three years, increases.  I definitely believe in holding teachers to high standards, but holding teachers to unrealistic expectations and having them receive barely any respect or support is leading the best and the brightest to go into other professions.

I believe that those who created The Standards have (mostly) a good motive (you never know with politicians these days), but I believe that the government can't save education with all of these bogus standards.  Something has to change, but I don't know exactly what. In my opinion, I think that the core issue is what our society values.  Until this country can re-prioritize, the education system will still suffer, with or without the Common Core Standards.