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Does the Common Core Make Sense?

Courtesy of Google Images
Chester Finn, proponent of high standards, humanities, andcharter schools, speaks out in favor of Common Core. Finn sees “four greatassets” in the Core.

1.      Rigorous content-and-skill expectations.
2.      Voluntary development by states, using privatedollars.
3.      Comparisons of student, school, and districtperformance on a common metric—and gauging achievement against that of othercountries.
4.      Students moving from one locale to another canexpect to enroll in schools that are teaching the same topics at the same gradelevels.

Finn’s analysis of the attacks on Common Core, ranging fromcomplaints about flawed standards to expense, to national vs. state are foundin this article.

http://www.edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-weekly/#the-war-against-the-common-core-1.html

Would the Common Core be helpful in your classroom?

A Different Take on Collaboration in the Classroom


Courtesy of Wikipedia


Susan Cain is speaking up for introverts and against thepractices of brainstorming and group projects in the classroom and theworkplace. She backs up her opinion with plenty of statistics, but as usual,there are statistics on the other side of the argument.

If you are an introvert, you’ll be happy to read thisarticle, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all,and her new book, Quiet: The Power ofIntroverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.

I agree that students need to learn to work on assignmentsfor extended periods of time. I agree that some people are most creative whenthey are alone. Cain quotes William Wordsworth, who described himself as “Amind for ever/ Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.”

My personal experience is that many of my creative ideascome through contact with others. I love the activities of brainstorming (myfavorite exercise) and mind mapping in a small group. When the notes arecompiled I set to work on my own, but I always rely on trusted others forfeedback.

Teachers want to be sensitive to the learning needs of theirstudents. Some are introverts (%), and more are extroverts (%.) But if Cain’sdata findings are true, we must organize the school day with quiet, thoughtfultime and collaborative opportunities.

Is this something you can do in your classroom?

Thing Eight


Google, Inc. wrote “10 Things,” orguiding principles, which are revisited by corporate leaders every couple ofyears to see if they still hold true. (There’s a refreshing concept foreducators as well.)

How does this “thing” apply to education?

PrincipleNumber Eight: The need for information crosses allborders.

Teachershave a way of seeing their classrooms as self-contained. I’m sure there arereasons for this, but the practice tends to be short-sighted. Google has neverbeen a California company. They have always seen themselves as world changers.

Oneof the channels for worldwide communication is language. Google offers searchinterface in more than 110 languages at last count. Users can translate intotheir own language. Thus we have access to information from its originalsource.

Courtesy of Google Images
Languageisn’t the only worldwide connector. Teachers like Vickie Davis, writing andteaching from a small Georgia town, have had an exponential effect on teachingand learning. Vickie is enthusiastic about learning with technology and isn’tafraid to try anything. See http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/.