Day 9: Common Core Standards in the United States

I made a question in Facebook today asking about "What is Common Core Standards?"  A friend and I got into a bit of a conversation and I realize, "Hey, I really need to get on my soap box for this."

So first, let's take care of a minor administrative thing: I decided to drop the "365 Day Challenge" as it just added too much to the title. :)

Okay, back to our regular program.

What is common core standards?  It's an education standard adopted by 45 of the 50 states in the United States.  In a nutshell, it supposed to teach kids not only the core basics of math and reading but also teaches children to think cognitively and logically about how to apply what they learn and know into the real world.  Well, at least this is my understanding...

Sounds simple, right?  Well, the big upset seems to be that many complain about what is being taught and how it is being taught.  More about how it's being taught it seems.  One other complaint is that teachers are just teaching children how to take the test.  Which, in my opinion, has been going on forever and ever, for as long as there are standardize test and no matter what the education standards are.  There are just some teachers who teach to make sure the students pass the test.  There are only some more that can not only teach the material but inspire kids to learn and apply what they learn to the real world.

My opinion: I never did very well in standardize test.  Never ever.  Yet, I somehow passed with enough scores on my SAT to go to college.  (I mean, it wasn't too bad, I supposed.)  And in college, I learned.  And I took more test.  And then I barely squeaked by with my test scores.  But the real learning and life lessons was at work.  What I learned in school for 18 years... You can just kiss most of it goodbye.  There were a few professors I had that taught us "common sense" in engineering.  No, it doesn't take 6 hours to roast a turkey in the oven.  Heat transfer calculations tells us that you need 6 hours.  But real life, you only maybe need 2-3 hours (given you have an average turkey).  Yes, fluid dynamics, simple math, and economics do help in what I do right now.  But common sense...  For the longest time, I am actually against standardized testing.

So, let's rethink Common Core.  I know most people think we need to learn so we can know the basics and knowledge of math and literature to past standardized tests.  But a standard test does not describe fully a person's potentials in the world.  It just means, "This person is pretty smart, can follow the directions on the test, and pass."  Can this person intrinsically apply what they learn in the real world?

I do feel children need to learn basics.  That is a must.  Add, subtract, multiply, divide, algebra, geometry, grammar, writing, reading.  But I also want children to know is how this applies to everyday life and not just take a silly test.  They are not just robots learning this stuff.

• How much does an apple cost at the store?
• If there are 10 birds in a tree, and a hunter shoots down one of them, how many birds are left in the tree?  (Hint: this is a trick question... Common sense.)
• When I have 5 blue marbles, 10 red marbles, 7 blue pencils, and 8 yellow erasers, how many blue things do I have?
• If Sally and you each have 5 candy bars, and she took 3 of your candy bars, how many do you have left?  How does it make you feel?

(These are actual questions I made up for a child I tutored.  Wow, and I'm teaching common core without knowing it.)

My common core:

1. Teach in a way to inspire learning.  Don't just rote teach the class.  There are times you need to rote teach: ABC's, 123's, adding, subtracting, multiplication.  But how can you teach them and inspire them to learn most about these things?  How does it apply to real world situations?
2. Teach smart, work smart.  Teach efficiency, work efficiently.  Don't just teach them to hard work.  Teach them to work smart.  Some may say, "Hard work will get you somewhere."  But nowadays, hard work just means you work hard and sometimes in vain and you go nowhere.  People are clever now.  Not necessary being sly, per se.  But being clever can be done in a morally good way too.
3. Teach creatively, and let them explore their minds.  Structure can be a good thing.  I honestly need some structure sometimes to learn.  But let the mind loose.  That is how iPhones are invented.  Touchscreens and smart houses are invented.  Solar cell cars are invented.  That is how Mozart and Eistein did art and science, respectively.  Someone in their lives let them be creative and expand their minds to be innovative and create and express their minds to not only entertain but also to make our lives better.

That is what makes the United States one of the top countries for innovation.  Many people from around the world come to learn our secrets, I feel.  Just think a lot of our billionaires may not have graduated from college.  Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg became founders of big techy type companies.  None of them graduated from college.  I also feel, however, that the world is catching up to this concept of having a free mind.

Don't get me wrong.  I know many of you are against Common Core.  But I think the full intent of Common Core is to teach and inspire people that there is a world out there bigger and beyond their books and knowledge and tests.