This post was written by Jemelleh Coes, the Georgia Teacher of the Year 2014, and was originally published at Educators for High Standards. It is edited and reprinted here with permission:
One of the biggest questions teachers face is how to ensure that every student who comes through their classroom receives an equal education, regardless of previous academic experiences. This was brought home to me in stark relief when I started teaching in Langston schools, which have a large population of students from migrant farm-worker families. It’s not unusual for these students to transfer among schools throughout the year, depending on where their family moves.
[Related: Florida School District Becomes First in Nation to Opt Out of State Testing]
The new students that came into my class brought new stories, new perspectives, and new experiences to share with us. But they also brought new challenges because it was a toss-up where they would be academically.
The Common Core State Standards are based on a simple premise–that all students regardless of where they live, where they come from, whatever their advantages or disadvantages, they deserve the best education we can provide.
Common Core takes students out of their comfort zone, but that’s what learning is: It forces us out of our comfort zone so that we expand our thoughts, broaden our expectations, and increase our intellectual abilities. The Common Core does not teach to the lowest common denominator — it expects that all students can — and should — reach higher academic heights.
Five years ago, more than 40 states, including Georgia, adopted the Common Core standards. For the first time an effort was made to apply consistent academic standards across states. The standards were written by educators and, despite what opponents would have people believe, they were not forced onto states by the federal government. Each state voluntarily adopted the standards, and afterwards, school leaders and teachers worked hard to develop the professional training necessary for educators to implement the standards in the classroom.
The vast majority of states that adopted the Common Core have stuck with them, despite sometimes vociferous opposition.
Continue reading on the next page…
Five years after Kentucky became the first state to fully embrace the Common Core, new evidence shows that student achievement there is increasing in most subjects at every grade level. Kentucky’s experience proves that the longer students are exposed to the Common Core, the more likely they are to graduate from high school prepared for the rigor of either college-level classes or the demands of a career.
Move across the map to Arizona and take a look at the Osborn School District. There, fully 90% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Before Common Core, that’s all you would need to hear about a district to know that its test scores were going to be among the lowest in the state. That’s a hard statement, I know, but it’s one that rings true with
too many educators who strive day after day to do the best for students in underserved schools. This year, the Osborn district was the only Phoenix-area elementary district where all the schools scored A’s and B’s. The superintendent noted as critical to the students’ success the Common Core’s approach to mathematics and nonfiction readings, in addition to the educators’ commitment to students.Requiring a new way of teaching, the Common Core has certainly challenged teachers — both young and veteran — to rethink how we approach the material students need to master. To be clear, Common Core does not mandate that we teach a certain way. In fact, my colleagues and I were surprised to find that we had more freedom to construct lessons under the Core.
I saw firsthand how nearly constant relocating disrupted my students academic progress at Langston Chapel. The Common Core calms that chaos by establishing clear guidelines regarding what students are not only to learn but master at each
grade level. I know what it’s like to watch a student come into a classroom and realize that they are so far behind their peers that catching up seems impossible. It can be heartbreaking. Education should never be disappointing or filled with anxiety for children. It should free their minds to soar to the highest heights. It should challenge them to work harder and smarter, which is exactly what Common Core does.I am disappointed that the opposing voices are drowning out the voices from the classroom — the teachers who every day take the Common Core standards and turn them into teaching lessons. Talk of repeal creates confusion and chaos that inhibits students’ academic progress and ultimate success. I implore our legislators to follow the lead of states like Kentucky, New York, and Tennessee, and stay the course with Common Core for the betterment of all our students.