Response to "The Common Core State Standards"

Response to "The Common Core State Standards"

Chapter 1 from, "The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts Instruction in Grades 6-12," helps the reader understand what these state standards are all about. The chapter explains how—as an educator—curriculum will be shaped by the Common Core State Standards because most states in the US have adopted them. In addition, this chapter helped explain the origins, goals, and challenges CCSS face. CCSS has both positive and negative aspects to it. CCSS were created to help the US have better achieving students who will be ready to face the competitive 21^st century. Having high standards for America’s students helps them meet the high expectations of the 21^st century. But there are negative aspects to CCSS as well.

By 2030—in just 15 years—Americas’ students will be very diverse. Many of today’s ethnic minorities will be the dominant face of America’s future classrooms. No longer will only “white literature” be acceptable and normal to teach. Thus, one negative aspect of CCSS is it can in some ways hinder diversity (the chapter mentioned how this could happen). I felt like I really could identify with the lack of diversity in today’s literature. I went to a predominantly white school and language arts teachers seemed to pick literature that wasn’t diverse enough. I’m glad this chapter mentioned how books need to reflect America’s great growing diversity. I can only imagine how awkward it must be for students who are non-white to read—all day long—about dead white men. Therefore, it was great how this chapter addressed the issue: cultural diversity.

It was also interesting to read about one of the teachers experience in her classroom. The teacher overcame what seemed like the impossible: lack of diverse literature. Although she was teaching a class that was predominately white, she did find a creative way to get around teaching her students diverse literature. I found it intriguing how the majority of the class wanted to learn about different cultures. This was telling. All in all, this chapter helped me better understand the history, positives, and negatives of CCSS.