Essential Learning Standards have been and certainly are all the buzz. The Chief State School Officers (CSSO) and the nation's Governors understand that there have been way to many standards and they were so different from state to state that it was a struggle to see how students really measured up. that is why they have released what is being termed, "The Common Core." Measuring up is very important. Our society is no longer measured by schoolhouse or community or county. We are a part of a much larger community, the world. Communication and the ability to work in a team are key factors in success. A team could have members in China, Germany, Australia and the United States. They are not sitting at a single table but at a computer using video conferencing or a webex service. Because of this education MUST change. Instead of a mile wide and an inch deep, we need to determine what is essential? Essential to our community and to the educational and workforce systems we are sending our students off too.
It is not enough that our kids are versed in the basics any longer. 60% of incoming students at Western Technical College have to take some sort of remedial course work. Preparation is no longer about passing a student to the next level in the hope they will take care of things. It is a matter of teaching and learning differently. For years we have taught in what educators call "silos." Everybody teaching their content independently and sometimes oblivious to what others are doing, and why? Because that is how they were taught or what the curriculum required of them. We taught to get to the end of the book not to level of understanding.
Education must meet the needs of all learners. The best way is through establishing Essential Learning Standards (those that have been plucked from the state standards and are the root core of what is necessary) and insuring that those standards will be taught with rigor and relevance no matter what happens. The second part to this is to stop teaching in isolation and bring contextual learning to the forefront. Contextual learning can be done similarly to those mentioned above working in various countries. All teachers do not have to be teaching the same lesson at the same time etc. They need to reinforce and support the lessons that are being taught and to demonstrate in real world ways, how the information can be transferred and use in a real world context.
This is no small switch in education. There are places that this is taking place and in the Sparta Area School District the revolution has begun. But in the United States where it is all about academic freedom and so on, systematizing this is no small chore and will take years to change. But for us the change has begun, slowly and surely. Our train has left the station and we have no intention of turning back. As we tell staff, it is time to jump on or stand at the platform and wave good bye.
