Common Sense about Common Core

Today, I would like to share some common sense about Common Core. Below, copy and pasted from corestandards.org, is the Mission Statement of Common Core:

"The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy."

Okay, soak that in for just a second. You're probably asking, "Well, what's wrong with that?" I'll tell
you.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/02/114854-heart-wrenching-viral-photo-of-frustrated-little-girl-shows-what-common-core-does-to-children/

This picture has bee circulating on Facebook recently and if you haven't read the story behind it, I encourage you to follow the above link and read about why Common Core has this little girl so upset. There are also a plethora of news stories, blog posts, and others talking about woes created by the Common Core System. If you're looking for the story of someone personally touched by Common Core, please follow the above link because that isn't what my post is about.

Yes, both of my younger sisters as well as my boyfriend and his three younger siblings have been personally affected by Common Core Standards. I am among the last of the untouched. And while I have seen my second grade sister's standardized homework and heard my junior sister and senior boyfriend complain about pretests and post-tests and standardized exams, I have remained unscathed by the system. But as a college student and someone who has seen a little bit of the real world, I have plenty to say about it.

So, let's back up for one second. I have dealt my fair share of standards from OATs, OGTs, ACTs and
a whole lineup of state teaching standards. They are a pain. A pain for me, a pain for teachers, and a pain for colleges to decipher varying state standards. I am an intelligent person, so this is not coming from someone who doesn't test well and feels played by the system or someone whose genius doesn't lie in traditional meanings of the word, but someone who scored a 30 on the ACT and received above average scores on all of my standardized tests. Despite all of that, I believe that standardization stifles intelligence. Some of the greatest minds to ever walk the planet never finished school. Great, out-of-the-box ideas come from deviant thought processes that are stifled by comparing everyone to each other and bringing them down to the same thought level. It's wrong to force students to think inside a box.

Common Core also fails to prepare anyone for the real world. In real life there are no "ten sticks" to help us with our math and thinking like a robot is not what the real world needs. The world needs fresh, new ideas and people who think differently than anyone else to solve problems and help the world grow. As a college student, what would really help kids prepare is great teachers being allowed to just teach. Teach them good writing and communication skills, how to take notes, how to handle college loans. Teach them good professional skills and about the Constitution and how our government works. Teach them how to read a syllabus and hold them accountable for their homework and other responsibilities. Don't teach them how to think the exact same way as that other kid trying to get into Yale. Who does that help? No one.

If you need any more persuasion against Common Core, check out these videos. The first is a student from Tennessee and the second is a mother from Arkansas. 

I could say more, but I don't think I need to. These videos and the story above are more than enough. If you graduated from the Class of 2013, feel fortunate to be untouched by Common Core, but we need to protect our siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, and all of the kids that will be working with or for us in the years to come. We have to fight Common Core. All of us Americans. Together. United we stand. Only we can make our politicians, who answer to us, repeal Common Core. Remember that without us, the politicians are powerless because we legitimize their power. Let's take the power back and fight Common Core!