Monday Musings, The Common Core

I came across a fascinating and provocative set of responses to the Common Core Standards that are now replacing state standards in many (most?) state public education systems.  While replacing one set of measurable standards with another may make testing easier, and facilitate mobility between public school districts, one professor rightly points out that by embracing any set of standards we are by definition not asking more pertinent and important questions. Here's a sample from Dr. Daniel Coupland of Hillsdale College: “Yes, man is made for work, but he’s also made for so much more… Education should be about the highest things. We should study these things of the stars, plant cells, Mozart’s Requiem… not simply because they’ll get us into the right college or into the right line of work. Rather, we should study these noble things because they can tell us who we are, why we’re here… If education has become –as Common Core openly declares– preparation for work in a global economy, then this situation is far worse than Common Core critics ever anticipated. And the concerns about cost, and quality, and yes, even the constitutionality of Common Core, pale in comparison to the concerns for the hearts, minds, and souls of American children.” You can read the article here. What do you think the purpose of education ought to be?

Monday Musings, An Early Labor Day

We sent our students and teachers out for an early day of labor last Friday, giving them a common experience with which to begin the year. While the annual Billy Goat Trail hike is a breeze for some (not including this "approaching middle-age" correspondent), for most it's a real challenge. Up and down the rocks, often using hands as well as feet to hoist ourselves up the cliffs, many of us woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit stiff and sore.

Nonetheless it's a great way to start the year, with everyone getting a good workout whether they took the trail or the towpath, or a combination of both. When we return to school in the morning almost everyone will have had the experience of a challenging walk on a beautiful day where they had the chance to talk with new and old friends alike.

Finding the right level of challenge is, always, the challenge for us as classroom teachers as well as for us as human beings. Trying to tackle an activity that is just a bit beyond our current capability is how we grow not only intellectually, but in confidence and courage. The Billy Goat Trail has been a wonderful challenge for Nora students going back many years, a bit of Montana ten miles from downtown DC, and will hopefully provide a good start toward tackling the challenges of the school year ahead.