Ready or Not, Here I Come!

Education is changing.  Change is inevitable.  Change is important.  Change strengthens.  Change challenges. Change is good.  So why, then, do we resist change?  In schools throughout our nation there are teachers who teach the same curriculum in the same manner year after year.  They grow frustrated when it appears their students are not learning.  They grow frustrated when their test scores do not improve.  "Insanity," according to Albert Einstein, "is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."  If we want our students to learn, if we want results, we must be willing to adjust our lessons plans on a daily basis to fit the learning styles, strengths and weaknesses of our current students.  I will be the first to admit this is hard, and I struggle with it on a daily basis. 

The time for change is now.  Ready or not, Common Core State Standards are coming!  As an educator, you may not embrace change.  As an educator, you might not like Common Core.  As an educator, you may think that same lesson you have been teaching for fifteen years is working (it might).  Your opinion matters, it really does.  However, there comes a time where we all must face the future and embrace the changes that are coming.  The time is now!

On June 2, 2010 the State of North Carolina adopted the Common Core State Standards as their official state curriculum.  Ever since, the state and local educational agencies (LEA) like Guilford County have been working to train administrators, teachers and curriculum specialists on the standards, and begin to process of implementation in classrooms statewide. North Carolina has a significant amount of resources available for educators available on the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website, and LEA's throughout the state are offering required professional development this summer.

I believe that Common Core is an example of good change.  As of today (June 11, 2012) forty-five states and three U.S. territories have adopted the Common Core. I spoke on one of Common Core's biggest strengths, college and career readiness and twenty-first century skills in one of my last blog posts.  However, I believe there are other specific strengths of Common Core that need to be highlighted.  Under Common Core

• students across the nation will be exposed to the same curriculum standards and expectations.
• students will not be punished if their families are forced to move states in the middle of their schooling.
• teachers can make easier transitions between schools, counties and states.
• students will be better prepared for college or the workforce because the same standards will be taught nationwide.

Is Common Core THE solution?  No.  Is it an improvement from where we have been?  Only time will tell, but we appear to be moving in the right direction. 

What do you think?  Is Common Core the answer?  Is Common Core an improvement?  Are we moving in the wrong direction by implementing Common Core?

References

Common Core State Standards Initiative. Digital image. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Web. June-July 12. <www.corestandards.org>.