The Common Core State Standards for ELA Instruction in Grades 6-12

Until I entered this class, I honestly thought kids were still taking the WASL. I was so against standardized testing because we were being taught in a way that did not allow room for students who may learn differently. We were all being taught the same exact thing in the same exact way. I remember being so frustrated, especially in math, when my mom taught me a trick that helped me with fractions and my 6th grade teacher said I could not do it that way on the WASL test. There clearly needed to be some adjustments in the way in which students took standardized tests, as well as the manner in which we taught towards those tests rather than as a whole.

I am so excited that we are finally making a change in education, and I am so excited that I really get to be a part of this movement. I guarantee there will be some bumpy roads ahead for us as we step into implementing CCSS into our classrooms, but the authors of this article did a wonderful job of explaining what it looks like, how it works, and why it can not solve all of our problems. We have to understand that we as teachers can and should do everything possible to prepare our students for a bright future, but some things we simply cannot control. No matter what kinds of standards are being implemented into the education system, we will always have students who come from impoverished circumstances. What we can do is try our best to implement the CCSS into our classroom, and do our best to structure our classroom so that we are selecting readings that aren’t just in the “old dead white guys group.”

What I really love about these new standards is that they are preparing students, whether they choose to go to college or not, how to be successful after high school. By the end of 12^th grade, students should not only be able to comprehend a piece of literature, but history, science, and informational and technical texts. We want our students to be adjusted enough that if their boss asked them to read a manual on how to use new software at work, they would be able to fully comprehend it. That may sound silly and easy, but we don’t know what kinds of students we will have in our classroom and what their future endeavors may include. What we do know is that we want it as easy as possible for them to transition and adjust into college, as well as the working force.

I think that CCSS are going to be a difficult but much needed change in the education system. I am looking forward to learning more about them, and how it will shape my experience in college now as I work on my teaching degree.