Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Durando). Education is one of the most fundamental cornerstones of American society. It is the basis of a child’s future. With this being said, how do we want children in this country to be taught? Do we want them to be a well-rounded student, or do we want children to focus on what they will do after college? The manner in which children are being taught can either encourage or discourage them. It can also set children up for success or failure in their future. The Common Core State Standards that were put in place to help American children have, in turn, failed them because the United States still is not able to compete well in the global …show more content…
It is a fact that deprived students are more likely to have inexperienced or under-qualified teachers, and children from impoverished homes are much less likely to have the same kind of supports or enrichment opportunities that their luckier peers have. All these inequality aspects are critical for policymakers to address” (Akkus).
Although there are extreme critics of the Common Core, there are also adamant supporters. Teachers, it seems, are some of the most adamant supporters. “Many teachers realize that these changes are necessary because research constantly shows many first-year college students are unprepared for undergraduate work and need remediation” (Burks). Teachers are required to teach the standards set forth by state and national governments, and they desire for students to be college and career …show more content…
One educator feels that there is a grey area when it comes to a position on the Common Core State Standards. This grey area consists of people who are for some aspects of the Common Core Standards but are against other aspects of the standards. The educator who was interviewed falls into the grey area. She likes certain aspects of the standards, but dislikes others-particularly mathematics. The educator who was interviewed is a National Board Certified third grade teacher at a small 2A school in the state of Alabama. Her name is Denise Markham. Markham, a teacher of mathematics and science, likes that the Common Core State Standards “are more rigorous, which makes it easier to transfer from state to state, and when taking standardized tests, students of the same level will test on the same curriculum” (Markham). At the same time, Markham said, “the Common Core State Standards make concepts that should be simple more complicated” (Markham). Another educator that was interviewed, Beverly Hanson, a mathematics teacher at 4A high school in the state of Alabama, said that she liked the Common Core State Standards because she teaches “high school, and the Common Core has not really changed what I teach, only the order in which I teach certain concepts”