I suppose that after covering the beginning of public education up to 2000 I ought to post something about what is going on now (2000-2015) for public education. This last decade and a half has seen two major transformations in public education. That of the No Child Left Behind, and Common Core.
First let's discuss No Child Left Behind (NCLB). I really do believe that this was created with the best intentions and that it looked good on paper. However...reality is a lot different from writing down something on paper. It was designed to help all the students to achieve success, especially those who were struggling. In reality? It only served to make education mediocre, and perhaps it did help some of the struggling students but it had several negative and lasting impacts on education. It failed to acknowledge the bright and advanced students, and due to the extreme focus on standardized testing that it has forced out several of the fine-arts classes such as music and art which is sad. I feel that the fine-arts truly are what make us human, creativity is the breath of the soul.
Common Core State Standards are an attempt to correct the extremism of NCLB. It allowed teachers to once again have the ability to determine the "how" of teaching. It's focus is on standards and meeting those standards. It also attempts to create skills that children will need in college, which is fine, however a little short-sighted. I also feel that standards are great but we need to ensure that our students are actually learning and not just regurgitating information. And standards are fine how do we relate that to actual learning. Nor, do we as teachers, have a need to explain why the standards are there; I have seen more than one teacher post the standard on their whiteboard but never explain the importance to their students.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next 15, 30, 60 years in education.
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