Thinking About Standards

Standards have been on my mind a lot lately, as I am sure they have been a topic of consideration for many educators. I started my teaching career shortly after NCLB was enacted, so my whole career has been during the context of standards-based reform. When I first saw the CCSS document for English Language Arts, I was not that concerned because of the emphasis of the standards providing what to teach, without dictating how to teach it. I could see how they could still align with the workshop philosophy, as well as appreciating the shift toward an emphasis on higher levels of critical thinking. I could also recognize advantages of collaboration among states.

Yet, I started to hear diverse perspectives on the Common Core and questions of whether or not it was really a step in the right direction. I also heard criticisms of professional organizations such as NCTE for accepting the standards too quickly without putting up a fight against them. One person in particular was a   name that I have known since my undergraduate ESL/bilingual education courses, someone who was regarded as one of the "big names" and who I highly respect, so it gave me even more pause and careful consideration.

However, over time I have realized that I tend to agree with NCTE's rebuttal that they recognize the standards are not going away completely and that as an organization one of their roles is to support teachers with the transition. I appreciate that they are prompting dialogue and considering how teachers can participate in the process of thinking about implementation. I also recognize that they have played a role in voicing concerns, both through the process to provide feedback and through their recent Resolution on Challenging Current Education Policy and Affirming Literacy Educators' Expertise.

Recently, I read two NCTE books related to standards, Adolescent Literacy at Risk?: The Impact of Standards and Supporting Students in a Time of Common Core Standards: English Language Arts Grades 6-8. I will post about both of them separately soon, but one of the main aspects that stood out about them was the dedication to treating teachers as professionals, just as the resolution mentioned above also highlights.