A look at Arizona’s idea of Common Core
It is called “Common Core” everywhere else but Arizona. Here, it is called “College and Career Ready Standards”.
Common Core started in Kentucky in August 2010. The goal of this style of learning is to have kids engage in their learning and have conversations about what they are learning about. The standards are focused mainly on English Language Arts and Mathematical Standards. College and Career Ready Standards are supposed to help kids learn real-life skills for careers and lives in the 21st century through group work, public speaking and productivity.
“The world in which we live has vastly changed, and therefore education must change in order to prepare our students for their future. The skills we are trying to teach kids are definitely different than education in the past”, said Principal Christine Barela.
Regarding education in previous years, according to an article by Katie Hurley on Huffington Post, she says that, “With this hyper-focus on the core areas of learning and the constant testing to ensure material is memorized, kids are constantly under pressure to perform.”
Memorization was the old way of learning, and a bill recently went through the senate that would have banned Common Core in Arizona classrooms, but was later killed.
Common Core is a good way to teach because it teaches students skills they will actually use in their life and career.
Main Points of Common Core:
- Critical thinking
- Teamwork
- Technology
- Literacy
- Flexibility
- Adaptability
- Self-direction
- Cross cultural skills
- Productivity
- Accountability
- Leadership
- Responsibility
