Hey Class!!

I watched the video on Elementary school Common Core Standards. At first, like many of the teachers mentioned in the video, was scared by the idea of changing the standards in which we teach by and students learn by, and I'm not even a teacher yet!!! However, after watching the video I found that it was more than possible to implement and the schools showcased in this video were excelling. I was impressed by the way in which they were building a student's foundation beginning in Kindergarten. The students were learning at an exceptional rate. When they discussed English Language learners, they were struggling only a little and it was the responsibility of the teacher to support them and continue their progression in learning. The common core standards are about unifying education across the nation. I believe doing so puts all of us as educators on the same page and allows for more collaboration on ideas. For math, students are focusing not only on simple problem solving but using experiences and real life situations to relate these problems to students. I work with students in second to fifth grade and many of the second graders are not at the level that the Kindergartners in the video are at with regard to math. With these standards we are building a foundation that students can rely on and use to better prepare themselves for college and their future careers. Faster learners seem to excel, whereas, those that struggle through these new methods, teachers are able to discover where exactly the student is having difficulty. The main point of these standards is to limit the focus of what is expected so that they can perfect the aspects that are important and necessary in education. We must focus on fewer ideas and domains and truly develop the progression of these standards as students progress through school. I find that these standards are great at bringing the nation together on a collective idea of what we as teachers should teach and what students should be learning, as well as at what grade they should be learning it. I find that students were able to make better inferences and relate their learning in the classroom to their lives outside of school. These standards promote a deeper way of learning. No matter what, students and teachers require time to implement these new standards and to really understand how they work within the classroom.

Thanks
Brooke Gerrard