Forty-five states have recently adopted the Common Core Curriculum that has clear and consistent standards for grades kindergarten through twelve.

“The concept behind Common Core, I believe, is to teach students to think on their own, and that’s something I feel like good educators have always done,” said chemistry teacher Mica Rose.

Teachers agree that teaching students to think for themselves has always been their task. 


“It doesn’t matter what we call it, our responsibility is to teach students to think. I choose science to do that, other teachers choose math, other teachers choose English,” said Rose. “But our main job is to teach students to think for themselves and be productive students, whatever you call that, whatever the politically correct term may be, its what our responsibility is to do.”


The Common Core has some effects on the path teachers direct their students down.

“I think we are trying to do more to help students think deeply and to derive answers from information that they have,” said geometry teacher Diana Beaty.

Teachers are having to take a step back and let students lead themselves to the answers.


“It has made me consider a little more of what my students are doing to get the answer than what I’m giving them to get the answer,” said Beaty.


English teachers are having to change more in their department than other teachers.


“I don’t think it affects the students very much in terms of reading comprehension or things we are reading but in writing, it does,”said English teacher Sherri Farhatt.


In writing, not only is the focus changing from reading to writing, but the terminology has changed as well.

“In the past, we have focused on a lot more narrative, expository, as well as persuasive writing,” said Farhatt. “Now we are having to change terminology and looking at argumentative writing, taking a stance,  looking at both sides of it, and that is proving to be a challenge.”

Along with the challenges comes a test to see how it’s affecting the school overall.


“We haven’t taken a test on Common Core standards at SHS, yet,” said Beaty. “Until we see what is on that paper and see what our students can and cannot do, we really can’t determine whether we are doing the job that they are describing or not.”


Only time will tell whether or not Common Core will ensure that students are ready for college or the workforce.