After writing this morning's post about The Common Core - Fine Arts Connection, I read the final entry in the ARTSblog "Blog Salon" that marked National Arts in Education Week. In that post, Kristen Engebretsen referenced a panel discussion that was hosted in March by Common Core, an organization that is actually older than the CCSS, but supports them.
The panel, titled Truant From School: History, Science, and Art, was composed of "experts who discussed the implications of curriculum narrowing and explored how the new Common Core State Standards might serve as a vehicle for addressing the problem."
The experts included:
David Coleman* - Founding partner of Student Achievement Partners and a lead writer of the CCSS in ELA. He will become president and chief executive officer of the College Board in October.
Lewis Huffman - Education Associate for Social Studies at the South Carolina Department of Education.
Carol Jago - A 32-year veteran teacher of English in middle and high school and director of the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA. She is past president of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Lynne Munson - President and Executive Director of Common Core
If you are a teacher, a principal, a curriculum specialist, or a instructional supervisor, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you watch the video below. Implementation of the Common Core State Standards MUST be done with the understanding that their intent is NOT to narrow the public school curriculum.
*David Coleman forcefully says, "It is utterly clear if there is not an equal balance of high quality informational and literary text in kindergarten through fifth grade, with the specific declaration that informational text richly covers science, history/social studies, and the arts, it does not meet the requirements of the core standards, either in assessment or curricular terms. Period." And: "There is no such thing as doing the nuts and bolts of reading in kindergarten through fifth grade without coherently developing knowledge in science and history and the arts. Period. It is false. It is a fiction."
If you only have ten minutes, PLEASE at least watch this clip of David Coleman's address:
Having knowledge of the intent of CCSS ELA writers is invaluable, in my opinion. Watching the entire video has been mind-changing for me, and I hope you will find it just as beneficial.
Have a wonderful September weekend!
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