5 Common Core Lies Your Boss Is Telling You
by Guy E. White on 6 October, 2014
Your boss may be lying to you about what Common Core actually means.
I talk with lots of teachers at lots of schools throughout the country. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Many administrators in charge of implementation are skewing “Common Core.” Here are some examples of some big lies.
If you are inside a school that is undergoing the most significant shift in educational policy during our lifetime (arguably greater than No Child Left Behind), then you have seen much being implemented for the new Common Core State Standards. In the past three years, I’ve spent much time talking to educators about what they were seeing and hearing at their schools regarding Common Core implementation. Big changes are happening, and not all are actually part of the Common Core – even if your boss says they are.
Here are some of my replies to some of the biggest misconceptions, lies, or mistakes I hear from teachers throughout the country:
1. Common Core Is Not Worksheets and Workbooks
Updating instructional materials is great, but nothing inside the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) mandates the use of bad teaching strategies. In fact, the CCSS are meant to strengthen instruction in the classroom. However, if you are being urged to stick to a script and teach solely from a workbook, then something is direly wrong. Great teaching utilizes multiple teaching strategies, hand-picked for the students in the room. A worksheet can’t do that.
2. Common Core Does Not Mean We All Teach On The Same Timeline
It’s great when teachers get together and decide what to teach. That’s just good practice. However, students learn based upon their needs. Rigid timelines cannot account for the variation of learning needs within your classroom – the teacher inside the room needs to account for that. Take a look at the CCSS. There are standards mentioned by grade level, but are not scripted by month. Serve your students where they are – not where the calendar demands.
3. Common Core Is Not District Mandated Assessments
Testing is part of educational life. States have adopted specific testing methods as the standard for that state. They have established timelines and modes of delivery. However, just because it’s a new test does not mean it has anything to do with Common Core. Assessment should be aligned to (1) the standards, and (2) what’s being taught in the classroom. When that alignment is off, some big problems can occur: namely, cheating students out of valuable instructional time. Assessment is “understanding what students know.” There are many ways to do that without “tests.”
4. Common Core and “Change” Are Not The Same Thing
Not all changes that are being ushered through your school’s doors that bear the “Common Core” label are truly part of the CCSS. Administrators may be making implementation choices related to the CCSS that are bringing such changes to your school – but that does not mean that they were mandated by the Common Core or supported by the Common Core. Sometimes, a change is simply that: a change desired by an educator, brought into your school.
5. You Are Still A Human Being – Not An Automaton
Just because some new (and, frankly, what I think are “awesome”) standards are being implemented does not mean that you have to blindly accept every change that you see around you. As an educator professional, your input is invaluable. Don’t be a saboteur; instead, communicate well with other professionals about what’s working and what’s not.
In the end, do what’s best for your students: utilize great instructional strategies, communicate with your fellow educators, and be part of the unfolding dialogue of this amazing time in education.
What about you? What are some misconceptions that you are witnessing in the field these days?
Image Copyright © 2014 Lightstock, LLC and is licensed by Triumphant Heart International, Inc. and is used with permission. Photo is for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the photo, if any, is a model.
