Common Core State Standards: Debunking myths and concerns
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Since Michigan adopted the Common Core State Standards into our classrooms, they have become highly politicized and very controversial. Parents and teachers alike have concerns and some have led to myths about what these teaching standards actually are.
Common Core State Standards are a set of English language arts and math standards that specify what K-12 students need to know at each grade level. Think of them as a road map for teachers to plan and create their curriculum.
They are a first-of-their-kind national standards that the National Governors Association and non-partisan group, the Council of Chief State School Officers, created, along with state educators. They are also internationally bench marked.
The Michigan Board of Education adopted Common Core in June 2010. Now, 42 states use them in full: four states have not adopted the standards (AK, TX, NE, VA); three states adopted and then withdrew from participation (OK, IN, SC); and Minnesota has only adopted the ELA standards.
A widely held concern is that Common Core tells teachers how to teach.
“It’s forcing the teachers to require all the children learn at the same pace, and children do not learn at the same pace,” said Melanie Kurdys, the co-founder of Stop Common Core in Michigan.
Kurdys is a former Portage School Board member and is now a math tutor who believes Common Core has taken the control out of the classroom. However, educators like Michelle Goodwin disagree, and believe it is still up to teachers to determine how to Common Core State Standards: Debunking myths and concerns | Fox17:
