It's not so common . . . the reality of the CORE!

Pin It OK! So, we finally admitted feeling secure in preparing our students for standardized testing. And, we understood recoding all the book labels in the classroom from Accelerated Reader levels to Lexiles. We've grown to expect the higher ups of educational change to buy into a new philosophy or product that will stamp its effects promising higher student achievement each school year. But, this one is a wowzer. The newly adopted Common Core incorporates many pieces of the best practice puzzle in one big, complicated package! It seems so overwhelming and morale crushing for teachers that are already struggling with classrooms bulging at the seams with students, years without a raise, loss of assistants, and increased teacher accountability evaluations. This is not the "regular" method of preparing for a new year. The Common Core in reality takes every classroom back to ground zero. Newbies and Veterans alike are learning how to teach from a fresh start.

I'm not saying that all the previous materials, books, and lesson plans need to be scraped. A major decluttering will be required though. This purging will incorporate huge piles. Reminds me of the organization shows on HGTV! You know the scene. There are three sections designated on the driveway in front of the garage. There's the THROW OUT pile, the KEEP pile and the DONATE pile. Homeowners and teachers alike have a hard time eliminating the clutter. My main fear is that I'll have to buy the same things again next year --- wasting all my hard earned money!

I think this system (and it is a SYSTEM!) is gonna' be hanging around for awhile, not a "here today, gone next year" scenario. It will take years to determine the effects on our children. So strap on that seat belt. We're in for a bumpy ride.

BEGINNING STEPS:

• I'm really impressed with the attitude of the state of Georgia. The website offers audio podcast and sample lesson plans to help teachers understand the complexity of new math requirements in Common Core. (Here's another one for language arts!) One of the facilitators stated, "We know that you are the client!" I love that! The dialogue was very supportive.

• My plan is to match easy to follow lesson units with the NCDPI curriculum standards. "I'm off . . . on a new journey!"

• How about an APP designed to find Common Core standards quickly? Go to Mastery Connect for a FREE download. (Note: Full access requires subscription payment!)