Common Writing Standards are Essential for Latino Advancement « NewsTaco

Common Writing Standards are Essential for Latino Advancement « NewsTaco:

Common Writing Standards are Essential for Latino Advancement

 By Ray Salazar, NewsTaco

By now, the term “Common Core” has probably found its way into at least one conversation about education, come through in a tweet, or created some buzz, positive or negative.

As an English teacher who holds a master’s degree in writing, I’m grateful and inspired by the Common Core’s focus on writing skills.  The Common Core standards, as you likely know, “reflect the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers’ in the 21st century.

Critics dismiss Common Core as the corporate takeover of education.  Regardless of these views, “writing,” Marquette University reminds us, “is the primary basis upon which your work, your learning, and your intellect will be judged–in college, in the workplace, and in the community.”  If we as teachers and parents want our children–especially Latinos–to succeed in this century, we must accept the Common Core Standards.

In the literacy standards, Common Core presents writing instruction in two components:

1. Writing in terms of purpose, distribution, research, and range.  This is demonstrated at the whole-text or paragraph level.

2. Language in terms of punctuation, grammar, and