Shift to Common Core

After watching the video with Dr. Daro, I was reminded of why the proposed shift to common core came to fruition.  Our students have been relegated to just pick "C" type strategies for many years.  The argument being that we have crated a generation of test takes with no concept of problem solving strategies.  Sadly I believe this is a very true statement.  Common Core strives to create an environment where students are able to learn multiples way of thinking mathematically.  Unfortunately the provided curriculum that I have reviewed falls short of providing students opportunities for discovery.  It is the same content written with steps all over again.  The steps are just presented with more difficult language in a vain attempt to connect students to daily situations.

That being said, the spirit of The Common Core Standards is one that I embrace.  I believe in making students thinkers.  The curriculum is just a resource for assisting student learning.  However, the current curriculum adopted by many districts does not lend itself to being a great resource.  The methodology presented in the text requires the teacher to follow the given steps.  The practice continues to be minimal and forces students to solve problem the books way.

In truth the proverbial cart came before the horse.   Many teachers have complained about the lack of training and preparedness.  In my opinion the intended shift has not occurred.  We have just repackaged the same standards, took a couple different algorithms from other countries, moved a few standards around to other grade levels, and added more academic vocabulary to an already academic deficient students.  Many of these students speak English as a second language and are finding increased difficulty with mathematical concepts.