1. Dr. Magie Stuart says:

   March 14, 2013 at 12:11 pm

   It all boils down to a good/great teacher beginning where each student IS and not where the teacher wishes the student would be. Bring each student up to standard from where the student IS.

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2. Monica. says:

   March 17, 2013 at 8:37 pm

   Why do we have to divide everything along color lines? Has Common core state standards become a new addition to the stack. In order to make education equitable, everything else needs to be, job opportunities, pay scales, housing, etc. Maybe then we won’t have a debate about whether CCSS are meeting the needs of students of color. The socio-economic conditions of students of color will impact their educational needs and standards are not the solution, social and economic changes are necessary.

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   • Kate says:

     March 21, 2013 at 4:24 pm

     Thank you for your comment, Monica. You make excellent points, and it’s shameful that we even need to be discussing this issue. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how students who were struggling with previous standards are dealing with these, in many ways, more rigorous Common Core State Standards. When I taught 6th grade, many of my students were far from meeting the standards for their grade. As I read more, what came up time and time again was that a disproportionate number of students who are performing below grade level are students of color, and I believe it’s misleading if that’s not part of the conversation. I agree with you that standards are not the solution, but I also think that education professionals and writers of curriculum, standards, and assessments need to remain aware of the fact that a disproportionate number of students are still not meeting standards (despite massive federal and state efforts to reverse this trend). And while the problem still exists, the educational community has a responsibility to make sure that academically struggling students (of ALL colors) are given the best chance possible. In my blog post, I wanted to explore different things people are trying to do this.

     If this a topic that fires you up, then I encourage you to check out the following (the first is mentioned in my blog post):

     The Common Core State Standards Initiative: A Critical Response by Eric (Rico) Gutstein:

     http://ed-osprey.gsu.edu/ojs/index.php/JUME/article/viewFile/88/43

     “Back to School” from This American Life (radio program, with transcript available)
     http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/474/back-to-school

     “The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools” by David L. Kirp
     http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/the-secret-to-fixing-bad-schools.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

     National Black Agenda Education website
     http://blackeducationnow.org/id17.html

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