Saturday, October 06, 2012

The Common Core: Should Homeschoolers Care?

Nearly all states in the U.S. have adopted a Common Core of agreed upon content and skills that should be mastered by graduates of high school in our country.  These goals are broken down into benchmarks by grade level in many states.


The mission statement of the Common Core State Standards Initiative is:

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.
Much money and government resources were spent developing these Core Standards to prepare children to become active citizens in the world around them.  Is this not consistent with the reason why many of us chose to homeschool?


Some features of the Common Core Standards include:

  1. Introducing a global perspective
  2. Emphasis on the use of technology
  3. Analysis of information
  4. Correction of common misperceptions
  5. Presenting data orally, written and through various media
  6. Teaching of practical skills such as choosing careers, caring for children and managing finances
Do any of these reflect the goals of your homeschool?

If so, you may want to take advantage of the rich resources available online for teaching common core standards in your homeschool.  

I will be featuring more of these resources on future posts.




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