"What is tested ends up being what is taught."
While going through the MAT program I was able to observe teaching in Mineral County, WV and Allegany, Garrett, and Washington Counties, MD. This was just before the implementation of Common Core. I witnessed a wide variety of teaching styles and techniques, some great and some not-so-great. What struck me as the most disconcerting was observing a teacher instruct students on a daily basis how to answer questions that would be found on the standardized test for math. The examples for practice were almost identical as to what would be found on the test. The students were then explicitly instructed how to answer these problems to obtain the full 3 points. The written math calculations (show your work) were all identical. These answers even included a written response as to how or why they arrived at the answer. Out of a class of almost 30 students their answers were nearly identical given a word here or there. These methods allowed this school to achieve Blue Ribbon Status based on test results.
"Recent research on learning indicates that students learn best when they have opportunities for collaborative, hands-on and minds-on manipulation of real-world problems, data, and/or patterns."
Since my teaching experience began during this chaotic transition to Common Core, it has given me the opportunity to observe teachers that have embraced the freedom of exploring a wider approach to teaching math. Last year, I observed second grade teachers piloting Engage NY for their math curriculum. I also attended professional development for Numbers Talk and was able to implement it during my math intervention groups and observe whole group implementation within the classrooms. After arriving at my new this year, I recommended Engage NY to the first grade teacher when she expressed her frustrations with Everyday Math. She and her students have fallen in love with it!
Watching parents and especially educators blast Common Core math on social media sites drives me crazy!! Like some of the others, I used the widely circulated Facebook post below. It blows my mind that adults, particularly well educated adults, view Common Core Math this way. My question to these complainers is this, when you are out in public and you are faced with a math problem such as this or calculating tips, do you whip out a calculator or grab paper and pencil to calculate these things. Hopefully not! You calculate it in your head. I would solve this problem by adding up, 316+100=416. 416+4=420, 410+7=427. 100+4+7=111. Grant it, I have only looked at Common Core at the elementary level and can't speak for anything above that.
Overall, I think the general idea of Common Core is fantastic. A cohesive set of standards that can be applied state by state has been long over due with our modern day mobile population. I think there are issues and areas that desperately need addressed, such as any standards not coinciding with the developmental readiness of students, assessments, professional development, and the access to resources. One of the hot topics is kindergarten and whether or not students should be expected to read before leaving kindergarten. There is a great deal to be covered in kindergarten and those students who have phonemic awareness typically are successful. I believe reading in kindergarten is achievable but the biggest hurdle is the wide variance of readiness for kindergarten which could be mediated with implementation of mandatory Pre-k. There should also be an understanding that not all children at this age are on the same level developmentally and it shouldn't be expected of all students. Those who are not ready should be given the additional time and support needed without delaying attainable skills for other students.
Censorship Now: Revisiting The Student's Right to Read
"Regardless of the form it takes, censorship has uniformly negative effects on student learning. Research indicates that restricting students from choosing their own texts can limit their ability to become effective independent readers."
As a Title 1 teacher it blows my mind when a teacher complains about students in the class being "poor readers." When I question them about the time spent in the classroom for independent reading, the response is "There is just too much curriculum to cover. We don't have enough time for that" and the reading block is comprised entirely of teacher led instruction and teacher selected text. That is one of the reasons I am not a fan of county-wide implementations of a reading series such as Reading Street and Treasures. I believe teachers often get so stressed over following the weekly schedules and trying to implement all the provided lessons and activities there is no room for originality or individuality of teachers or students.
Reading Instruction for All Students
"Reading research shows that educational policy needs to include professional development opportunities that enable teachers to match instructional approaches to diverse student needs. In order to support teachers' ability to draw on a complex set of instructional approaches in service of diverse learner reading outcomes, teachers need frequent and sustained opportunities to learn with one another about the range of instructional supports, interventions, and formative assessments as they emerge from the latest research and practice."
Professional development is a major concern at our school and in our district. With only one teacher per grade, grade level collaboration within our school is not possible and county wide collaboration is only available for half a day at the beginning of the year. There is very limited time to collaborate with other teachers within our school. The only routine collaboration schedule is for the special ed teacher and myself to jointly meet with each teacher once a week in the morning during homeroom time. We only have about 15 minutes and during that time the classroom teacher is often distracted by students and trying to prepare for the day.
Financial budget cuts over the past few years have all but eliminated the necessary funds for high quality professional development, particularly on a school wide approach. A transition to Common Core is most definitely ill timed with the current economical condition of most school boards. This has placed not only the financial burden on the individual teacher but also the investment of time to seek out and attend quality professional development on one's own.
Yeah, this might be a little early for reading!!
