Quote:As a teacher and someone who is NOT a big fan of Common Core I have to disagree with the idea that it is based on having a standard answer.  As a matter of fact, that is the argument that many  people have with it, that if you can explain how you come to your answers you can still get points.  I know that in Social Studies they encourage students to not memorize facts, but focus on argumentation and cause and effect relationships.

 

I know that in the Social Studies curriculum changes encourage thinking like the example below:

 

Old way - Explain why Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War.

 

New Way - Explain which of the following battles best represents the turning point of the Civil War:

 

Antietam               (You could argue it prevented foreign powers from entering the war and thus killed any chance the South had of winning)

Vicksburg             (You could argue that the North gains control of the Mississippi and divides the South in half)

Gettysburg           (Last major offensive in the North for the South and no major victories after it)

 

Each could be correct, and there is no real definitive answer.  When I grew up the right answer was Gettysburg, period.

 

I agree that Common Core limits my ability as a teacher to focus on areas of interest for students and that the tests that measure the students growth focus on things other than the historical thinking skills that they want the kids to use, but I think if we want to fix it or get real change we can't have statements that try to identify it as one particular way, that it is only detrimental.

If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already.
- Bob Marley