Research Blog: Education in Today's Society

The New Ways to Learn 

What Are Your Favorite Things in School? 

Do you have a dream job? Do you want to be a musician, artist, or professional athlete when you grow up? What is your favorite class in school? Is your favorite class a special class, like music, physical education, or art class? Do you like to play an instrument in your school's band? Do you like to draw or color? Or do you like to play sports? In your school, teachers are now more focused on math and reading classes than special classes, like music, physical education, and art class.

Why Are Special Classes Not Getting Enough Attention? 

Figure 1

You might be wondering why your math and reading classes are receiving so much more attention than your special classes. The answer is your teachers are now required to teach you a new set of education standards in your school. Education standards are skills and knowledge that you need to know before you move up to another grade level. You then need to learn these things before you graduate from high school. These new educational standards are called the Common Core State Standards. Like mentioned before, the Common Core State Standards only include two subjects, which are math and reading. This means that schools are now focusing on teaching you things like how to use different times tables (Figure 1). You're teachers are also focusing on teaching you how to be a more critical thinker when you read. 

What Are the Differences Between the Old Educational Standards and the New Common Core State Standards? 

So what is so important about the new Common Core State Standards? In the past, before the Common Core State Standards were developed, each one of the fifty states in the United States of America had its own set of educational standards. The new Common Core State Standards and the old educational standards have three differences. The first difference grows from the old standards to creating more efficient ways to teach the same thing. For example, English used to teach about one fifth of of analysis while they read, while the new standards in Common Core involve analysis one third of the time in class. In other words, the new Common Core State Standards are making you think a lot more about what you are reading. The second way the Common Core State Standards are better than the old educational standards is it focuses on lower levels of algebra, than higher levels of algebra. The old educational standards put more emphasis on high levels of algebra. The third difference with the old educational standards, each state had its own set of standards. In other words, the standards were not the same from state to state. The new Common Core State Standards lay out exactly what students need to learn. Therefore, it makes the standards the same from state to state. It also makes the educational standards clear for teachers in each state that agreed to have the new standards. Forty-two out of fifty states have the new Common Core State Standards (Figure 2). 

Figure 2

Why are the new Common Core Standards important for you?

These three differences mentioned above all relate back to you! The first difference is import to you as a student because it teaches you to learn better reading habits to enhance your reading abilities. The second difference is very important to you when reach a certain level in math class in high school. In other words, when you get to high school, you will take a math class called algebra. With the new Common Core State Standards, teachers will focus on teaching you the basic levels of algebra more than the high levels of algebra. The Common Core State Standards put more emphasis on the lower levels of algebra because you will not be able to study the higher algebra classes without mastering the basics of algebra. Finally, the third difference is so important to you because if you move to another state, you're new teacher will know exactly where you left off in your old math or reading class. Like mentioned before, forty-two out of fifty states in the United States of America have agreed to have these new educational standards in their schools. Therefore, if you move to a state with the new educational standards, you're teacher will have an easier time catching you up in class. 

How Do You Feel About the New Common Core State Standards? 

Do you like that schools are focusing more on math and reading than your special classes? Do you dream of having a job that deals with math and reading? On the other hand, do you not like that schools are paying less attention to your music, art, or sports because you have that dream of one day being a musician, artist, or professional athlete? Would you rather be a well rounded student in every subject, instead of just math and reading? 

References 

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (n.d.). Development Process. Retrieved from       http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/development-process/

Garland, S. (2013, October 15). How Does Common Core Compare? The Hechinger Report.

      Retrieved from http://hechingerreport.org/how-does-common-core-compare/

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved           from http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/frequently-asked-                     questions/

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (n.d.). Read the Standards. Retrieved from                http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (n.d.). Standards in Your State. Retrieved from         http://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/

(Figure 1) Canon Proham. (n.d.). Multipcation Square [Illustration].Retrieved from
         http://canon-popham.vox-                                                                                                cms.com/Resources/user/docs/year2/multiplication%20square.jpg
(Figure 2) Common Core State Standards Initiative. (n.d.). Standards in Your State.                     Retrived from http://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/