English Language Arts Common Core State Standards

Until recently, I knew nothing about the Common Core State Standards. I had heard things, mostly negative, about the standards. I began reading the new standards and I am trying to understand my readings as well as find supplemental information. The article presented in class has been a good resource for information and opinions on the Common Core State Standards. I am beginning to form my own opinions of the standards, including the idea that these standards will help shape better teaching in the future. It will be a challenge for established teachers, especially older, veteran teachers, to adapt to the new standards, but it is an achievable goal. As the field of education changes, as technology changes, as our society changes, our expectations, standards, and practices must be able and willing to change at the same time.

The article brings up the limitations of standards, and I believe these are important to acknowledge. Nothing is perfect, but we cannot improve if we do not acknowledge and attempt to work around these issues. A major problem is the idea of "standardizing," which most people do not want to see happen. However, "standardizing" is not the goal of Common Core, but more so to hold educators and students to a higher standards, as the author points out. Furthermore, it is great to realize a single method of teaching does not work for students, teachers, administrators, or parents. Common Core provides room for teachers to innovate and deliver a quality education tailored for their classroom while ensuring the students can meet certain objectives. Adopting the Common Core State Standards will require tweaking, planning, and a lot of effort, but I believe over time it can become an efficient tool for the education field.

“Discussion in a Democratic Society”

I used to loathe whole class discussions when I was younger because I believed I had nothing to the group. As I have gotten older, I have realized that just about any kind of input is appreciated and, typically, beneficial to the conversation. I have reached a point over the last few years that I now love offering my opinions and thoughts on topics in class, especially a topic I have an passion or even a slight interest in. This article demonstrates a major reason why that change occurred in me. I began to learn and process information differently when partaking in whole class discussions in a manner I never did from a teacher lecturing his or her thoughts to us. An important factor in this is that, as a group, you can bounce ideas off each other rather than being told what to think. Going with that, we can hear what our own peers think, which can many times relate to our own experiences over a teacher two generations removed from us.

This tactic for classrooms also sets the stage for conversation in the real world. By doing this, we learn to hold important conversations about our lives, our experiences, politics, international affairs, events, and many other problems that affect our lives every day. Furthermore, we learn how to open up, truly listen, and speak our minds with confidence. This is very important going forward as technology continues to being human interaction closer and quicker. We need to learn to communicate better on a global scale, and this is a great way to start.

When I am teaching my own classes, I will gladly encourage class discussions on many topics. I want my students to feel valued, engaged, and relevant to our society. Their opinions and thoughts matter, and we need to ensure they are aware. We must provide the platform to push these students forward in their education and their lives.