21st Century

What does this mean?  My mom has come home several times stressed about the fact that their school is going to “common core standards” full time for the next school year.  She has been in training for this big event for over a year.  She was selected as a PLC (Professional Learning Committee) facilitator for West Lowndes Elementary School and has been dealing with this new wave of education for the future.

To my understanding,” the Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy” as written by the State Department of Education for Mississippi and 45 other states.  In other words these standards are being developed in every state so that if you decide to move from one state to another any children that you may have in school will be taught the same things and same way.  They will not have to adjust to new teaching styles and a new curriculum.

The idealism behind this method sounds good because kids seems to fall behind in a new school setting and teaching environment sometime which could permanently hinder their progress and growth.  But are the teachers prepared for the change?  Will colleges and universities prepare our future teachers for this change also?  Will the college graduating classes in Education this May be prepared to take on Common Core when they are searching for employment for the upcoming school year?  Will they be denied jobs because they are not familiar with common core or have not been introduced and/or trained in common core standards?  Are daycare centers and headstart programs incorporating common core?  My son is 4 years old and will be entering kindergarten next year, will his teacher be prepared to teach him common core standards and will he have been introduced to any of those standards before hand?

As a concerned parent, who do I seek out to give me the answers that I need to know about my child’s education?  My mom has done a good job explaining a lot of the teaching strategies to me which has helped me understand what is involved in common core.  The new MCT2 (Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition) test will be eliminated when the new standards take effect by the year 2014. This school year was the pilot year for grades K-2 and next year will be the pilot year for grades 3-12 and from my understanding it was successful at my mom’s school. The teachers made the adjustment and children grasped the style and level of understanding.  The testing and grading scale for this particular set of standards have not been finalized but by the beginning of the new school year everything should be in place.

 Education is a profession that I am interested in as a permanent career.  Will I be prepared for the 21^st Century in Education?