I’m skeptical of buzz words. Especially those overused ones. I’ve been especially skeptical of the two most spoken words in education right now… “Common Core.” I honestly thought, here we go again, more focusing on words and programs instead of changing HOW we are teaching. But, then I realized something. People are panicking and starting to question things. Common Core is heavily focused on non-fiction. Science and social studies can no longer be the ‘forgotten subjects’ in the elementary classroom. Science and social studies will have to be integrated into reading and language arts. You can’t integrate subjects authentically without taking a long, hard look at understanding, inquiry, and project based learning. Authentic learning? It can’t be done with a textbook or a stack of worksheets. It’s gotta be real.
After I read this post by Chris McGee, I realized, I don’t need to spend my time despising Common Core, even jokingly calling it “Common Chore.” I need to see the good in it. The discussions, the reactions, the panic over “so much non-fiction!” Education? It’s going to HAVE to change. We all are. We can’t teach the way we’ve always taught or we’re going to get what we’ve always got. As we shift to become facilitators of learning in our classrooms, we’ll no longer be the sole deliverer of content and knowledge. Our kids are quite capable of thinking, exploring, discovering, and being the researcher in their learning. We just need to support, encourage, and embrace the ‘new’ role of a teacher.
So, as long as we keep our eyes on our students, on authentic learning, and we make the most of learning how to integrate our lessons, then I see it. There is some good at the core of it all.
