No More Common Core?

This morning, I watched the morning news like I always do, and I saw a news story where local teachers were protesting Louisiana’s decision to implement Common Core. As a Louisiana teacher, I’ll put in my two cents about this issue.

When Common Core was introduced in my state and parish during the 2012-2013, I only knew about because there were so many TpT Common Core products. Other than that, I had no clue what it was. During my first year doing CC, it was rather difficult. I honestly do not feel like we had adequate training before we were asked to implement it in our instruction. Like many of the protestors in the news story I mentioned above, I felt like CC was just thrown at us. Fast forward to this current school year, and I felt much more confident in implementing CC. We had many professional development days before and during the school year where we unpacked the standards to get a better understanding of what our students were supposed learn. So, I felt more comfortable about CC, but unfortunately my kids were not really grasping the concepts. Parents were not too happy either. I found myself telling parents, “Well, as you know, the Common Core standards are very rigorous…” and I received some blank stares and some head nods. Needless to say, many parents were not happy, many kids were confused, and this teacher was/has been/is scratching her head.

I will say that I believe that CC is great way to make sure students in one state are learning the same things students in another state are. And let’s just put it out there, Louisiana does not rate too highly when it comes to education. I think our governor had good intentions, but the methods were all wrong. I do believe that CC was pushed too quickly. Teachers were not given enough time to understand the new standards before they were asked to begin using them. When teachers and parents began getting angry, “people” started back peddling and tried to give us training. It was just very backwards. Again, I am just stating my opinions about it.

I am not sure what the future holds for Louisiana and CC, but I do know that a lot of teachers and parents are very unhappy. It will be interesting to see. I’d like to know your views on Common Core. How is it working in your state/county/parish? Were you adequately prepared to teach Common Core standards? How did your students grasp the Common Core standards? Share your thoughts below.