-Kevin Nicolls, Coronado Pathways Charter School Director
In my 25 years as an educator, I have weathered countless movements in education. Common Core isn’t the first attempted overhaul, nor do I anticipate it being the last. Whenever we introduce a new approach to education, I always try to evaluate the motives of those promoting the movement. Are they focused on creating a deeper learning experience, or perhaps a profit in introducing new curriculum?
But let’s focus on the education methodology at hand.
At its foundation, Common Core’s intentions are honorable. The goal is to extend education beyond knowledge and comprehension, towards the higher-level thinking skills of analysis and synthesis. Some of the key objectives include guiding students to:
- Respond to various demands of audience, task, purpose, discipline;
- Comprehend as well as critique;
- Evaluate evidence;
- Use technology and digital media strategically and capably;
- Come to understand other cultures and perspectives.
Any educator can stand behind those goals. At Coronado Pathways Charter School, we have been striving to instill these practices into our students since our opening. Our main focus is to create individualized learning that develops resilient students who can adapt in today’s digital world. This ideology aligns very closely with Common Core objectives.
But, the final verdict on Common Core will be decided in the execution. Right now, we are still waiting to see the full extent of the roll out. Until that time, the jury is still out.
The Problem with Curriculum Implementation
With any new curriculum requirements, there are specific challenges in implementation. Especially with something this extensive, the new curriculum can be challenging to integrate with teachers’ current practices.
There are also discrepancies between learning and testing. Sometimes curriculum is released before tests are designed to measure that specific learning objective. Or, vise versa.
This leaves teachers and students at a disadvantage.
Then there is the hard cost. For traditional schools, replacing textbooks and adjusting course work is very expensive. It’s difficult to ignore the profits being made from designating all the old school material obsolete. While the approach to teaching may have changed, how much did the basics in high school physics? I don’t think Newton has changed any of his laws of motion recently.
But, this is temporary. These issues will be resolved over time, as long as we don’t lose site of our long-range objectives in the process.
The Common Core Challenge
The biggest challenge Common Core will face is to not increase the achievement gap.
This term, closely tied with learning gap, refers to any significant discrepancy between the academic performance of different groups of students, such as lower income or minority students.
So let’s break this down and see where it might apply:
The basic application of Common Core is to combine elements of math, science, and reading into comprehensive word problems. This allows students to apply several different skills to develop an answer. Once again, the intent to create critical thinkers is great.
But, how does this style of learning set you up to succeed if you are struggling with basic language skills? Or, basic math skills? We can’t ignore basic literacy and math challenges that we have in our schools.
Common Core’s ability to address this challenge will define its success in schools across the nation.
A New Age for Education
Ultimately, my hope is that the integration of Common Core leads us on a path away from cookie cutter education to more individualized learning. The incredible advancements in technology have given us the tools to fully customize the learning experience to leverage our children’s strengths.
Infinite opportunities in customizing learning is just one of the many reasons I am passionate about the advancements Coronado Pathways Charter School is making in education. Learn more about how we are changing the face of education.
