What’s your opinion of the Common Core?

Hi guys,

I’m a young teacher in my second year, and I often get asked about the Common Core by family, friends, and even strangers. I don’t feel like I know enough about it to give a solid answer. Isn’t it just a list of standards we’re supposed to teach? Don’t other places have similar requirements? I’m curious why some teachers and parents seem to dislike it. I’m not sure if my age or my limited teaching experience might be affecting my understanding of these changes.

I believe the common core values of teaching children how to think critically for themselves are excellent, however depending on the situation, this may not be the most effective technique to teach pupils. My experience as a teaching intern in NYC revealed that common core maths failed miserably. Students were learning about equations and slopes. They were given a few graphs and their accompanying equations, but they were unfamiliar with terms like slope and intercept. They were expected to discover these things gradually during the lecture session and then come together at the end to debate what they had learned.