Why I can't imagine giving up teaching...

I've been trying to complete this post for three months.  I'm too verbose.  The article that prompted all this irritated me, but then I became entrenched in it, picking it apart, and then lost interest.  So, below is that unfinished post.  I'm posting it, and moving on, not revisiting the original article...

I came across an op-ed article yesterday, written by a veteran teacher, denouncing the Common Core initiative.  I read the article to the end, and reread multiple parts, trying to understand the author's perspective and motive.  I tried to rectify her experience of implementing Common Core with my own.  I failed.  

The above mentioned article was the impetus for the birth of this very blog, so I'm going to take a few posts to address it.  Otherwise, this one post would be miles long, and you would stop reading!  As I am a super orderly, logical person, I'll examine her assertions one by one, in the order they appear in the article.  Click here to read the article for yourself.

My first point of contention is the statement regarding technology standards in the Common Core.  The author states, "The Common Core standards require teachers to march lockstep in arming students with '21st-century skills.'" (Natale, 2014).  Common Core standards include technology components, just as most preceding standards iterations, but no where do the standards militarize the instruction of technological skills. Technology has been in our nation's schools since it became affordable to do so, and rightly so.  The world is run by technology, so doesn't it make sense to prepare our students to be able to research, communicate, and present information utilizing the most up to date technology?  Or would you rather our children continue to peck out traditional five paragraph essays, use markers and poster board, and look up information in outdated encyclopedias?

The author follows up her fear mongering statement by saying, "In English, emphasis on technology and nonfiction reading makes it more important for students to prepare an electronic presentation on how to make a paper airplane than to learn about moral dilemmas from Natalie Babbitt's beloved novel "Tuck Everlasting."  When looking at the eighth grade English Language Arts standards, one finds a nearly equal distribution of standards between the literary and informational strands.  The one difference is RL8.8, and informational text standard, which addresses sound reasoning and evidence in informational reading.  Otherwise the standards for literature and the standards for informational text are nearly identical, only differing in the types of materials each is targeted to (literary vs. informational).  

Continuing with the attack on technology, the teacher-author turns her attention to the push toward computer based testing, lamenting over how she is supposed to make children competent test takers when they don't even own a computer.  

As an educator, I see the Common Core standards as my road map.  They tell me my students' final destination.  The standards do not, however, dictate all the stops along the way.  Common Core is not an all inclusive travel agency, with a minute-by-minute itinerary for teachers and students.

I must be doing something wrong....

I love special education. I love common core. I still love teaching. I must be doing something wrong. According to blog posts, articles, posts by fellow educators, I must not be doing it right if I actually like common core and see its value. 

And so, this blog was born. I'm off to begin exploring, analyzing, self-reflecting, and drawing conclusions. Would you like to join the ride?