Teachers: Common Core Curriculum?

jgoetz1

If you teach, has your school started using the Common Core curriculum yet?  If so, what do you think about it?  I am definitely not a fan so far.  I teach in Maryland at a high performing school, so don't see the need for it.  We have always prided ourselves on using creative teaching strategies and now it feels like that is all being taken away so the country can teach the exact same material.  I think it's absurd.  What do you think of it?

nosoup4u

Agreed. The whole thing was cooked up by someone with no classroom experience - he tutored kids when he was in college. And the results of the tests will be used to shut down more public schools, and vilify public school teachers even more. Not a fan at all...

MNgirl326

We use common core as a basis but go well above and beyond common core.  So, I think meh, its fine for base line, but its important to not just teach to that line. 

MamaAllison

One of the main reasons I love teaching private school!! I'll be willing to bet that this too shall pass. I've already been reading that some states are re deciding not to adopt b/c it costs so much to train the teachers.

LauraChicago

I teach high school and we have been spending times lining up what we teach to common code objectives. So we aren't changing what we teach right now. As Weinberg everything up if we notice gaps we will add/change our lessons as needed. At least that is the plan until "they" come up with something new to push.

ReeB83

Common Core=More dumb staff meeting! Booooooooo!!!!!!!

When I could have been in my classroom preparing to actually teach, I spent TWO days making a list of new standards I'll be teaching every month.

ali0608

At the high school math level, the expectations are huge.  Algebra 1 is essentially becoming Algebra 2 in my eyes.  I'm not 100% against the standards.  I'm NOT a  fan of how it's being implemented.  "Here teach an entire new way and new content, but we aren't going to spend any money to train you OR buy new textbooks.  Good luck."

I hope it falls flat on its face.

jgoetz1

They gave us two model units to follow for Reading, but didn't give us any of the texts we'd need to teach them...and they said to start out the year with this unit.  Do they expect us to go out and buy 30 copies of the text for our students?  It's crazy.  The math makes a little more sense to me, but I am confused by how they took away all of our unit tests and replaced them with one problem formative assessments.  How will we know if our students have retained the information throughout the unit?  I would not want my own children to be taught in this way.

cwm11985

We don't use common core in my state, we're still on our old system (SOLs).  I've heard nothing but terrible things about CC so I am glad Virginia opted not to follow.

dglvrk2

jenniferb123006 said:

I love how common core goes back to critical thinking. With all of the current standardized testing, our kids are great at bubbling answers but not so great at thinking for themselves and through the reasoning behind why they think the way they do. I don't think it's bad to add that back to the curriculum. There are pluses and minuses to everything, but I think common core is better than our current state standards anyway.

This. As I did with the state standards (CA) I use them as one way to direct my teaching. However, my students' needs always come first. They do go deeper than the California state standards, which I appreciate. Also grade level standards are closely aligned - so second, third an fourth grade literature standards relate to one another. However, they seem quite unattainable for a lot of kids. As I did with the CA standards I wish they'd make them more attainable (make them easier tasks) and set "proficient" on standardized tests at something like 90% or 95%. I think "proficient" on these tests is something around 70% on standardized tests in CA now. That seems awfully low.

hsal

I agree. I'm now "forced" to teach in a way I already did.  I'm taking extra time to document what I was already doing and it's so frustrating!

Ladydidi83

I completely agree. I am a guidance counselor at a high performing school in New York City- our students already have a high rate of college readiness, but now we need to measure all these arbitrary standards. 

jgoetz1

hsal said:

I agree. I'm now "forced" to teach in a way I already did.  I'm taking extra time to document what I was already doing and it's so frustrating!

This is how I feel too.  I think that the strategies my county has taught me are superior to the ones I've seen so far in Common Core.  I don't think it's realistic to expect all teachers to teach the same thing or the same way since our populations vary so much.

hordol

I work at a private school (in a 5th/6th combined classroom) that just decided a MONTH ago that we were going to start doing common core THIS YEAR...the kids started a week ago. No training whatsoever, just a meeting that lasted about an hour.

I am incredible irritated by this because I do not live in a state that has adopted common core yet, so I have absolutely zero experience with it and I feel like I have been doing a disservice to the students. My school had us drop teaching science and social studies because common core is more about cross curricular integration (apparently? Like I said, I still feel like I don't understand common core at all) and told us we would find a way to work it in somehow in a couple months. Big eye roll from me.

Drea926

I teach in MA and we actually started implementing Common Core 2 years ago. It wasn't mandatory that first year but it gave us an opportunity to start utilizing them. I'm fine with them. Honestly there wasn't much difference between CC and MA standards. What and how I teach hasn't changed too much.

jgoetz1

Drea926 said:

I teach in MA and we actually started implementing Common Core 2 years ago. It wasn't mandatory that first year but it gave us an opportunity to start utilizing them. I'm fine with them. Honestly there wasn't much difference between CC and MA standards. What and how I teach hasn't changed too much.

Well that's good to hear at least.  I don't know anyone who has used it and had success with it.  It's crazy how they say that we should start using it to teach the kids right away when we haven't had any meetings explaining how to implement it.  I read through the math sample lessons and haven't ever used the techniques they're asking us to teach.  How can we teach it to the kids if we don't understand it ourselves?  I'm just teaching the objectives, but teaching it the way I did before. 

TMILLER45

Common core is not a curriculum! They are standards. I teach in NYC and we also implemented the standards voluntarily 2 years ago. We are starting a new curriculum this year in math, reading and writing to align to the standards. I like the idea of the CC standards because everyone will be on the same page but some of the standards are a little ridiculous.

jgoetz1

They are calling it the new curriculum at my school...  It pretty much changed everything that we have to teach.

hsal

jgoetz1 said:

hsal said:

I agree. I'm now "forced" to teach in a way I already did.  I'm taking extra time to document what I was already doing and it's so frustrating!

This is how I feel too.  I think that the strategies my county has taught me are superior to the ones I've seen so far in Common Core.  I don't think it's realistic to expect all teachers to teach the same thing or the same way since our populations vary so much.

Teaching in MA,we were already very rigorous in our frameworks.  

I do like the idea that unified frameworks means no matter where in the country you are, the concepts are the same at each grade level, but there is flexibility to teach it the way you do best. I just don't care for all the extra documentation.

Drea926

hsal said:

jgoetz1 said:

hsal said:

I agree. I'm now "forced" to teach in a way I already did.  I'm taking extra time to document what I was already doing and it's so frustrating!

This is how I feel too.  I think that the strategies my county has taught me are superior to the ones I've seen so far in Common Core.  I don't think it's realistic to expect all teachers to teach the same thing or the same way since our populations vary so much.

Teaching in MA,we were already very rigorous in our frameworks.  

I do like the idea that unified frameworks means no matter where in the country you are, the concepts are the same at each grade level, but there is flexibility to teach it the way you do best. I just don't care for all the extra documentation.

This, for sure!! :-)

skibunny59

This is why I teach music ladies.  I only had to do half a day workshop for common core because it doesn't really pertain to me.  Everyone else in my school had 2 whole day workshops and they have more coming.  I love teaching music!