And so it begins in earnest..

Posted on Schoology June 8, 2012

 I've been dancing with the Common Core Standards since April. It's been an exercise in frustration. In the beginning, I thought it would be a cake walk, no different than the other changes I've made in the nearly 20 years I have been teaching, but the more I read, the more I understand that this is a revolution, and I need resources that I don't have have.

 To be super honest, I've been a little more than irritated as I read all the wonderful things that are happening in other districts, districts where it appears that teachers and administrators and board members and parents have all joined hands under the banner of the CCS. I feel alone and afloat as my district has no real plan or at least none that has been shared with those of us who are to administer it. From what I can gather, we are about three years behind the pack and that is not a happy feeling.

 So today, after whining and pondering and whining and reading and whining some more, I begin. If the goal is to master the writing of a paper, I don't see how slapping a grade on it and calling it done will be helpful. It seems that it will have to be about process as much as product. So the grade then should be reflective of that, and so I have revamped my grading system to be more in keeping with the type of effort I believe my students will have to put forth to master these standards or at least move in that direction.

 Now on to the next hurdle.