Challenges of the Common Core

1. Challenges of the Common Core Will the standards shape who we are … Or, will we shape the standards ?

2. Hi, Cathy and Barbara! Just thought I'd connect to start us thinking about a few discussion questions for our panel discussion about the Core.What do you think about considering what faces us as department heads and veteran teachers as we : Make decisions as to how to communicate with administrators;Lead our departments;Select texts ( and budget);Mentor new teachers;Report assessment data; andReach out to the community?I will bet just a "what is on your mind?" kind of question will get us going, but if we have a few talking points we'll have a lively conversation. Maybe we could ask for specific responses from each NE state, or each school level.We could also ask for people to suggest resources on the Ning in a discussion, perhaps.It was good to talk to you today, Barbara, and we missed you at the table, Cathy. Wachuset was beautiful all day long!Take care,Liz

3. Hi Ladies Sorry to have missed what must have been a lovely day. Liz, I like your questions as they'll ground us. Something that I have encountered in my new home is a lack of experience with standards, period. They have not worked with state standards let alone the Common Core which leads me to wonder if that is true of other districts. Maybe the starting place for the discussion is to figure out where people are in terms of using standards. For those of us used to using state standards to design curriculum and instruction, the switch to CC will not be as difficult. For those who are not used to it, it may be more traumatic.Does that make sense? My question is: How are folks using their standards now?Take care-Cathy

4. Dear Liz and Cathy-- • Sorry for the delay in responding to these e-mails.  I've been up to my eyeballs in the new red tape of education--doing SMART goals and setting up an electronic grade book.  I am also doing a Proficiency Based Graduation handbook for a new charter school in Providence.  Not to mention getting the final draft of the NEATE program out the door.  Whooo!  Okay, a have a breath. • Anyway, looking at both of your discussions, I feel that, Liz, your questions are very applicable to what is taking place across New England, and Cathy, how many of us are in the dark.  How are we going to address the Common Core in our classrooms on top of new evaluation systems the "fear" that our student performance and achievement levels will affect our job security.  The climate and culture of our schools is changing dramatically, from Race to the Top grants driving what we do in our classrooms, to Common Core, which seems to be another prescription, another panacea, to cure the ills of the alleged failures in public education.  An open and frank conversation will unite teachers across the New England states, and perhaps create a solidarity and a real community to keep the discussions going and to continue offering support for each other--perhaps using the NING as our discussion board.  For those with questions, there will be those of us with answers.

5. Continued… • Right now, we are being bombarded with top down management agendas, that are leaving little room for autonomy in our classrooms, and veteran teachers, who are the mentors and backbone of English departments are discouraged and confused and ready to bolt out the door.  We've seen many "reform movements" over the past 20 to 25 years, and here we are again, questioning will this one work?  However, what is coming at us is big private/corporate money from Pearson, among other industries, who seem to be calling the shots this time.  These reforms are here to stay, because money talks.   • One of the questions we must ask is how do we support our veteran teachers who have worked tirelessly over the years, and offer the professional development to them, and even to newer teachers, that will give them what they need to survive in this new culture of education? • Oooops!  I'm sorry, now I will get off my soap box. Thanks for including me in this event! Sincerely • Barbara

6. Dear Barbara and Liz, • Is there room on your soapbox for us all? Pearson just bought an on-line learning company. In my darkest little conspiracy heart, I see Pearson, with support from the Gates Foundation, making the argument we can save money and improve education by downsizing schools and going to on-line schools and "ed.labs". That Pearson has the largest share of ed. text publishing, now has on-line schooling, and the endorsement of Gates scares me silly. • I'm actually more hopeful about the Common Core depending on how the standards are used. Having worked for 10 years where the standards gave us a goal line students had to reach, I did not find them restrictive though I did have to be a little more creative. I do find the Core a bit light and I am mortally offended that fiction and narrative writing are given such short shrift. Have any of these folks ever heard or piloting things first? I am leery of going so merrily down this primrose path without a lot of solid testing and data behind it. • That we need to differentiate for our veteran teachers is imperative. It's the how and the what that we need to explore. Maybe we can explore how to offer differentiated PD to meet the Core needs of the new, the mid-career, and the veteran ? • Looking forward to spending time with you both. Cathy

7. Here we are… • Know that you are not alone… • What would you like to talk about?

8. Transforming the roles of leaders

9. Transforming Teachers

10. Mentoring new teachers

11. Sustaining Veteran Teachers

12. Curriculum

13. Instruction

14. Assessments

15. Students