Senator Kevin Witkos represents the 8th District towns of Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook, Granby, Hartland, Harwinton, New Hartford, Norfolk, Simsbury and Torrington. And on November 26th, 2013,
he shared his thoughts about the Common Core. He starts by explaining what the Common Core State Standards are, and finishes with his opinion about it...
The intention of the CCSS is positive – the goal is to make students more prepared for higher education and careers on a global level. However, I do have concerns about the control of education and associated costs.
These standards were created by a national group and do not directly take into consideration what we have found to work here in Connecticut. While teachers have some flexibility in how they teach, they are still being asked to teach differently than they ever have before. This change could limit their teaching style and force educators to pull lessons that do not match the standards exactly. The CCSS have also never been piloted or tested, so there is no way to know for sure if they are age-appropriate or effective.
Schools could also be pushed beyond their budgets to comply with the standards. Our schools need to invest in new professional development and training for teachers, new textbooks and materials, and new classroom technology to meet the demands of the CCSS. By next year, every school district in Connecticut will also replace the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance tests with a computerized test based on the CCSS. More computers will be needed in each school so that students can take the new test, which means significant spending.
Over the next few school years, we should all watch our children’s academic performance closely. New lessons, new goalsand new strategies could impact each student very differently. Shared education standards are not a bad thing, but the effects of a brand new approach are not known yet. One thing is for sure, our classrooms are changing, and I hope it is for the better.
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