#5 Common Core State Standards for ELA and Literacy

1. What is the purpose of the college and career readiness standards?
- The purpose of the college and career readiness standards is to make sure students are ready for college and their career. It helps teachers keep focus on what they are trying to accomplish in their students.

2. What are the benefits and challenges of the shift to reading and writing non-fiction texts?

- Students need to read informational text because informational text are so commonly read in college and in our careers. Informational text should be read in all subjects. Reading informational text can help students become better writers. Also, writing should not be focused on writing a paragraph about ourselves, but to write arguements and summaries about informational text we've read.

 

3. What are the benefits and challenges of having standards for Science, Social Studies and technical subjects?

- Students will be forced to work harder in these subjects.

#4 "The Biggest Fallacy of the Common Core Standards" Summary and Opinion

Diane Ravitch explains in her article, "The Biggest Fallacy of the Common Core Standards," that 45 out of 50 states adopted the Common Core national standards. It has been said that the Common Core prepares students for careers and college. Ravitch's main question of her article was, "Why did 45 states agree to adopt the Common Core?" Was it because states could be eligible to compete for a fund issued by President Obama or because commercials have warned us that our economy will be in serious trouble if every school does not adopt the Common Core or because another report warned that our national security was at risk . Ravitch says all of this is completely nonsense. There has been no evidence to prove all of these claims. She goes on to explain statistics of how the Common Core test lowered test scores in New York. Ravitch believes that these standards are written in stone and no one knows who can revise them. Across the nation, schools are going to suffer because of harder testing and less money availability. The whole situation is a mystery.

Diane Ravitch's article about the Common Core Standards made everything a little more clear to me. I defiantly agree with everything she had to say in her article. Exactly why are almost all the states adopting the CCSS? The states may feel pressure too or immediately do it because of all the claims on the standards. I agree that the Common Core has not been out long enough to prove any of the claims being made about it. There has been no evidence besides the statistics that show test scores dropped in New York. This is a very scary thing to think about for our school systems. We do not know what we are working with and the potential for disaster could be near. Schools are already suffering from low budgets and adopting this into the school system will only put more money toward testing and not enough money toward essential school programs. The Common Core are serious standards to think about. From what I have read, there is potential that more children will drop out of high school or just not graduate because they were not college-ready or career-ready, which the Common Core states to hold true.

#3 "The Common Core's fundamental trouble" Summary and Opinion

At the beginning of Valerie Strauss' article, "The Common Core's Fundamental Trouble," the nonprofit organization, Rethinking Schools, mentions that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is the next big thing in education reform and the CCSS is being pushed into classrooms across the country. Strauss states many positive claims made for the Common Core, for instance, developing critical learning skills and student-centered teaching. In the article, Strauss' says, "the misnamed 'Common Core State Standards' are not state standards." In reality they are national standards developed by the National Governors Association (NGA). These standards are tied to assessments and the new Common Core test will be considerably harder than current state assessments. This had been seen before because the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) proved failure within school systems. Strauss believes that the engine for potential disaster will be in the Common Core tests. The cost of the test will be expensive and the scores will be an excuse to close public schools and open more private schools. Strauss thinks that the Common Core will cause more kids to drop out of high school rather than prepare them for college. Without help, the Common Core could be another stage in the demise of public education.

I had to read this article several times in order fully understand the concept of it. From the information and opinions provided in the article, I would have to agree with author Valerie Strauss. I say this because I am new to the education program and do not know that much about the Common Core State Standards, but I believe that Strauss does a great job explaining how the Common Core may not be the best policy for our school systems. As Strauss mentions in her article, the NCLB was a dismal failure in both raising academic performance and narrowing gaps in opportunity and outcomes. From what I understood in her article, the Common Core will most likely do the same thing to our schools. Not only fail our schools, but close more public schools and open more privatized charters and voucher schools. It is scary to think that these new standards could have the potential for disaster in our school system. This is defiantly a topic I will research more about in order to have a better opinion about the Common Core State Standards that are coming into play real fast in schools across the country.

#2 "How Teachers Are Integrating Tech Common Core" Article Summary and Opinion

"How Teachers Are Integrating Tech Common Core" by Fred Sitkins explains how the rise of technology is being implemented within the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Sitkin states, "schools across the globe are disrupting the traditional educational model through the incorporation of technology into instruction." The article describes how the adoption of the CCSS fits perfectly with the timing of the technological revolution. Technology allows students to connect to the world on a deeper level, which Sitkins says is now required in the Common Core. Sitkins gives examples of how technology is becoming a great success in the classrooms through programs on devices like iPads and programs like iBooks and iTunes U.  He further goes on to list a few examples of the CCSS that require the use of technology. Sitkins clarifies that students are not only demonstrating learning through the use of technology, but they are also learning to share their learning to the world around them. Sitkins closes his article by telling his readers that the technology in the Common Core allows children to learn deeper instead of just remembering facts.

I agree with Fred Sitkins article to some extent. Technology has proven to be very successful in schools and has helped numerous children learn better and faster. Even children with learning disabilities get the help they need from technology within school systems. I agree that students are learning on a deeper level now and the hands-on experiences of technology help better the learning of most students, but because of the rise of technology and the incorporation of technology in the CCSS, younger students are learning through a different process than the past and on a much deeper level than ever before. My fear with the constant rise of technology and the acceptance of it within the CCSS and school systems is that students will not be taught properly how to read and write correctly. We live in a technological world, which is not a bad thing, but I do believe that their could be potential for corruption in the education of students in the long run.

Jennifer Barton

#1 Introduction

My name is Jennifer Barton. I am from Mobile, AL and attend the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. My major is Elementary Education and Special Education with an endorsement in Math. My desire is to teach second grade. I have always had the passion to teach children and love to see the expression on their faces when they learn something new. Last summer, I went to the Philippines on a mission trip for 2 months and got to teach English and Art to underprivileged children. I have two older brothers who both attended Southern Miss. My oldest brother, Josh, played football here and graduated with a business degree. My other brother, Jonathan, graduated with a construction engineering degree. In my free time, I like to go to the beach, go shopping, hang out with friends, and go running. I am currently training for a half marathon. After I graduate, my dream plan is to either go back to my hometown and teach or find a job teaching in Birmingham, AL.