Uncommon Sense to the Core
I was talking to my neighbor the other day. On the front stoop, she introduced me to her friend who was visiting – a middle-school librarian from Maryland.
I told her I worked with the NEA, and we talked a little shop. I asked, “So what are you doing to get ready for the school year.” She said, “Well, my district is giving us all a lot of in-service on the Common Core Standards. I’m kind of excited about how it could change things. I’m getting all kinds of ideas about how our school library can be used in new ways.”
And so begins the revolution.
I’ll admit it. They had to win me over to the Common Core State Standards. Maybe it’s because it has “standard” in the name, and I can’t help but think of standardized tests – that tail that not only wags the dog, but has become the dog. Hitting your number on a standardized test has become what it means to teach and what it means to learn.
When state governors – Republicans and Democrats – started talking about national standards that would com