"Stay True to What We Know"

Cindy’s been doing some work with the Common Core State Standards and Hamlet.  And in her latest post on the work, she gets at something that I think is essential when it comes to working with standards – any standards.  But it’s often forgotten:

Part of me is pretty darn convinced that it involves our subversive intent going in to the unit to push back against some of the ways we already know the CCSS will be used to justify and perpetuate traditional practice. Susan Ohanian, for one, is very, very afraid. I think the fear is to some extent justified. But I also think that if all we do is rail against the standards, we’re missing opportunities to exercise our own agency as educators to meet them in ways that stay true to what we know. The alternative is to heighten our cynicism quotient so high that we might leave the profession altogether, and that would be shame.

Be subversive for good, y’all.  Remember that you are not a cog in a machine that is moving beyond you, no matter how much it might feel that way.  You are an agent for learning.  And you have the ability to act and react to what is happening wherever you find yourself.

So do that.

 

13 thoughts on “"Stay True to What We Know"

  1. One of my favorite start-up sites is JogNog. My students use this site in my classroom. I was so impressed that I shared it through social media platforms. Now, I have the opportunity to work with them part-time after school.

    This site is an online learning experience where students answer questions on all subject areas based on the Common Core standards. As they answer questions, they build a virtual city. http://www.jognog.com

    This site also saves time for teachers. JogNog Quick Quiz allows you to create an online quiz in literally 60 seconds or less. This video will show you how. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_60PKEZRsI FYI, JogNog Quick Quiz is free!

    Cara

    1. As a disclaimer, my students use this site in my classroom. I was so impressed that I shared it through social media platforms. Now, I have the opportunity to work with them part-time after school in the area of social media promotions.

  2. I thought that this blog post was a great way to sum up how the Common Core State Standard effect us as teachers. It showed a realistic viewpoint of the standards becasue it focused on how teachers curriculum is somewhat infringed upon by the standards, but that we can still us the standards to our own accord if we are creative enough. This blog post was both thought provoking and inspiring.

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