For the purpose of this case study on issues related to the Common Core Standards I’m taking on the stakeholder role of a high school teacher in a Title I urban community school. My area of specialization is in Urban Adolescents with Learning Disabilities and I’ve decided to take on this viewpoint organically because I am here to advocate on behalf of the urban population which inspired me to become an educator in the first place. As an NYC high school teacher, I serve the needs of a diverse population of students in Title I schools.
According to the National Association for Education of Young Children, the designation of Title I is “the foundation of the federal commitment to closing the achievement gap between low-income and other students. Nearly 14,000 of the 15,000 school districts in the nation conduct Title I programs.” Title I - Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC," n.d.
First-hand, I’ve seen the trauma that both students and teachers are experiencing as they are both assessed using Common Core standards. Title I schools and the Special Needs students / ESL students who attend Title I schools are the most vulnerable to issues related to the Common Core Standards. There is a backlash against these standards and this is an extremely timely debate.
According to C. Burris as published in Principal's Last Advice: Let's Move Beyond the Rhetoric and Really Question the Common Core “Common Core is dying a slow death of a thousand cuts. Just recently in New York, the governor's task force came out with its Common Core report that called for an overhaul, with the Common Core being replaced by New York State standards. Now, how different they're going to be, we don't know. The task force expressed concern over the early childhood standards and the effect of the standards on special-needs kids and English-language learners.” Common core at a crossroads. (2016, March). Principal Leadership, 16(7), 24+
With the emphasis placed on rigor and critical thinking, this educational paradigm shift associated with Common Core is akin to “putting the horse before the cart." The basics of literacy are not even part of the curriculum unless they are tied into content. These basics such as grammar, syntax, etc… should not be blown past because they are building blocks of literacy. Ironically, the new Common Core Global Regents is really a test of literacy. As educators we should set rigorous expectations, however we should not inherently damage an already disadvantaged population by setting unrealistic expectations. The Common Core graduation required state exams are detrimental and placing students most at-risk even more at-risk.
References:
Title I - Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/policy/federal/title1
Common core at a crossroads. (2016, March). Principal Leadership, 16(7), 24+.
Burris, C. (2015, July). Principal's Last Advice: Let's Move Beyond the Rhetoric and Really Question the Common Core (HechingerReport). Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/principalslastadvice.
Reilly, K. (2016, August 30). Homework: Is It Good for Kids? Here's What the Research Says. Retrieved from http://time.com/4466390/homework-debate-research/
Links I used:
National Center for Education Statistics
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