Common Core Standards

Common core standards are the standards that are set by the state for each school which are made public for the students, teachers, and the parents. It outlines the standards for the success of the students for each school and the expectations of the teachers and students. Standards have always been different among schools in different states in the United States and it has been backed by the Constitution granting state governments the right to set the standards and goals for education within their own state. Since the US is competing with other nations a common set of core standards has been developed and adopted by some states. The standards will make a common goal for each state so the whole of the United States is on the same playing field. The Common Core Standards were developed to provide students with the skills necessary to be successful in both college and their careers, but the development of these standards have both positive and negative aspects.
It is important to note that not all states have adopted these standards but the majority of the states have and New Jersey adopted the standards in June of 2010. The issue of adopting the standards has been going on for some time and it is important to make a standard in the best interest of the students. It is also important so each school and each teacher is teaching the same things to the students. Each teacher would be teaching the same curriculum so the teaching would be uniform and a student coming from any state would have the same knowledge. A major problem that the US has in education is that it is not uniform and students from the east coast or west coast don’t always have the same level of education as those students in the Midwest. Implementing a standard of education in the US would help to make sure that every student is getting the same education and have the same opportunities. It will make the states accountable to be up to date on their curriculum and it would also help us compete with students from other countries. There would no longer be a gap in education with the standards and there would no longer be low expectations for the students or the teachers.
The problem with having the standards is that it takes away the right given to state governments in the constitution and the federal government will be running the standards which take away the power of the state. It also effects the funding of the state because if the state doesn’t accept the standards then they lost their government funding. It also takes away the flexibility and creativity of the teachers giving them less room to tailor the lesson to the specific student. It takes away the unique lessons that the teachers can give to the students from their life experience and the methods that they teach the students have to be from the standards. The standards also create a problem for low income, rural, or other areas where the education standard is lower. It will pose a real challenge to those schools and students because they will have to really raise the bar and it will be hard for them to get up to standard quickly. It could take time to get the schools up to standard and they could face losing funding or criticism if they don’t bring the students up to the standard quickly.
In my personal opinion the standard is a good idea so the students in every start are learning the same thing. I feel that a good teacher will be able to keep with the standard and manage to be creative at the same time. It is important for us to be able to compete with other countries and to be able to do so we need to as a country have a higher educational standard. The structure in education is important so teachers are accountable for what the students are learning and are held to a higher standard themselves. Having the standards will help the students in every state have the same education and opportunities giving the US more opportunities globally.