Why I Hate Common Core and Testing

Yes, I said it. And I am a teacher. I hate Common Core State Standards and the Testing that comes with it. I don't hate them because I think they aren't important or too hard. I hate them because they don't let children be children. They don't let children dream. They don't let children be creative, or read for fun, or use their God-given skills. To succeed at Common Core, you have to be a good reader (some people aren't, and never will be). To be good at Common Core, you have to have good analytical skills (I don't, and I hate doing it.) To pass the State Test, you have to be able to infer, deduct, justify....and WRITE a well-organized essay. To be good at CCSS math, you have to prefer to learn through drawing out the problem, making it more complicated than it really is (math is hard enough as it is, why complicate it?) Where does Common Core allow students to excel in music? Or sports? Or social skills? Not everyone is going to be academic. Not everyone will (gasp!) go to college--AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO. Many people succeed in life without college. Many women will become moms and never have a college degree or a career (and that's ok too). So where are the Home Ec classes? What happened to the art classes? I know, Common Core killed the creativity show.


OK, so I love to write. (Obviously, since I'm writing a blog....). But when I was in high school, I hated writing. Why? As a kid, I wrote stories for fun (they were dumb, but they were MINE). When I got to high school, creative writing went out the window and we were only ever writing 5-paragraph essays. And guess what? Not only did I hate writing the boring, structured, 5-paragraph essays, I also never wrote them again after high school. THEY DID NOT PREPARE ME FOR COLLEGE. In fact, when I got to college, I went to a writing class where the teacher was passionate about writing and told us that writing can come in many shapes and sizes. She encouraged us to jump out of the box and be creative. I wrote one of my essays in poem form and she loved it. It was then that I discovered how fun writing can be. And as a teacher, I find great joy in making writing fun for my students as well.

And then Common Core happened....sure we are supposed to teach narrative writing and whatnot....but it's SO STRUCTURED. I mean, I am teaching my 9 year olds how to write 5-Paragraph essays---WHICH I HATE! They are boring to write, and boring to teach. I want my kids to love writing, not hate it! I want them to learn to write for fun, not for obligation. I want them to be able to be creative, not structured. And yet I am stuck in the box of Common Core and can't get out. And neither can my kids.

Don't get me wrong, I want my kids to be successful. I want them to grow up to be responsible, productive adults. I want them to go to college and get a good job, or become amazing mothers. But even more important than all that is this. I want my students to love who God created them to be. I want them to see that they may have abilities that lie outside of the basic "common core" montage. I want them to realize that they have a purpose in life--whether or not they can write a 5-paragraph essay or draw and explain an array. Even if they don't pass the Common Core standards, they can be successful. I want them to know that. I want permission to go against the flow and let my kids be free to fail in math but succeed in humor. I want them to know that inside of them, there is SOMETHING they were designed to do.

Common Core, you give my kids high standards, which I love. But please let my kids be kids, have a little fun, and be who they were made to be.

Innocent?

I'm not sure that whoever said that "kids are innocent" has ever really spent any time around any kids--ever. Why? It only takes a few minutes to prove this statement false.Spend one minute or two minutes with any child and you will instantly see that they are NOT innocent. In any given day, I put up with selfish desires and pride (I want that pencil, I don't want to use the worst crayon, I want to sit in that spot, he won't share with me, I want to be first), manipulation (if I cry hard enough, I will get what I want), insubordination (I know what you said, I just don't want to do it) and the desire to NOT be guilty or punished for a wrongdoing--and making sure everyone else is. (I hit someone, but will cry if you send me to the office...he touched me, he pushed me, he drank water at the wrong time, he won't share...) or the every favorite (I am going to tell what everyone else is doing wrong because I never, EVER do anything wrong....and if someone tells on me, it isn't true. I didn't do it.)

Ok, so kids aren't innocent. But most adults are....right? Reminder: kids are just little versions of us....adult humans. They don't yet have their barriers up that tell them how to hide their inner desires. They haven't yet learned to hide their wrongdoings....or even to notice them. They have few inhibitions--remember? So spending time with kids teaches us something about ourselves...even if buried deep behind walls and good deeds, all those little things that kids are famous for are within us. We all have selfish desires in which we wish for the best of the best or to be the most beautiful or to have the most money. We all try to manipulate a situation--maybe not noticeably...but through our actions or thoughts or fears.We all sometimes feel like going our own way. We KNOW the rules, we KNOW what is ultimately harmful, we KNOW what our creator wants....but we go against it anyway. Even if just for a moment. And if we get caught, we deny it, or complain about the consequences--or run from them. We have no problem reporting other peoples' behaviors to the authorities, especially if it means clearing our own name. We don't like to be held responsible for our choices and instead try to make the world believe that our choices are good.

And then we come across the fact that children are the same--everywhere. I have traveled to many different countries and experienced children of many cultures. No matter where they have grown up, who their parents are, what color their skin is, how much money they live with or what religion is prevalent in their country and lives--they have the same inner desires and wrongdoings. All kids tattle, cry, disobey, rebel, deny and manipulate. The same goes for people of all nations as well...remember...kids = little people.

So what can we learn from this? Humans have a natural desire to do wrong. We have a nature that makes us want to go the wrong direction and rebel against the rules. There is not one person who is perfect and innocent. Kids and adults alike. Kids reflect our human desire to do wrong.It is within all of us.
But remember: we do not have to be be ruled by our natural desire. There is someone who wants to live within us to help us defeat the desires. He changes us and helps us to grow stronger.

What is this blog all about?

I have been wanting to start this blog for awhile. Why? As a teacher, I spend countless hours with kids each day. And if any of you have even MET a kid, you know that that leads to a very interesting life. Kids are full of new ideas and energy. They are brutally honest and have little inhibitions.Kids teach us many things about the world, about people, about ourselves. They are, after all, just little, less mature versions of us grown up humans. They reflect human nature, and our creator in daily life. This is a look into life as discovered by being with kids. I hope you enjoy it.