Blog Post #2: "The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts Instruction in Grades 6-12: Origins, Goals, and Challenges"

 Throughout my first few years of college, I heard through the grapevine of how terrible the Common Core State Standards were for teachers, students, parents, and anyone who had a brain. As I started to take more education classes, I started to learn a little more about these standards and what they were really being used for. This last year, I did some research on my own and have been given a stack of papers on what these standards actually do for the education system and have gained valuable insight to these standards. This article informed me to an even further depth and my opinion of these standards has started to sway to one side. Obviously, there are upsides and downsides to these standards, but the authors provide a solid overview of what some of the benefits to having these standards in our schools can be.

            The authors of this article made it a point to show how learning in the 21^st Century is so important. They talked about curriculum framework that is built around 21^st century students and how we as teachers can help them lifelong learning skills and other real life situational abilities. I believe that it’s so imperative that students learn skills that they can take and use outside of the classroom in order to step into society and be a productive citizen. I find that some of these skills such as communication skills, social skills, life long learner skills, and reading and writing skills. The world is changing and the upcoming generation is going to have to adapt to the fast paced lifestyle ahead of them. Showing them skills that they can use inside and outside of the classroom has to be a main focus.

            One activity that really sparked my interested involved students online role playing and creating an essay based on topics that concern them directly. Not only does this activity differ from the traditional essay prompt, but it also gets students the chance to experiment with a topic they are truly interested in. This is vital in order to keep students engaged.

            Another segment that I really thought was well written was the “Homogenization of Instruction” section. One part says, “teachers teach the same content using the same methods regardless of differences in their classroom contexts or students.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve experienced a teacher doing this first hand. Regardless of culture, race, poverty, learning levels, or anything of that sort, a teacher will use the same exact material regardless of those circumstances. These tactics are lazy, scripted, and an easy solution to slothful teaching style. I liked that they addressed this issue with an actual story because this is such a real situation that plagues the education system.