A Meeting of the Minds

It's no secret that Common Core is here to stay.  It's either already a reality for you or you know it's coming.  My district is not officially implementing the standards until next year.  This however does not mean that I'm not already learning and utilizing Common Core.  I have been knee deep in Common Core for awhile now. I found myself on the Common Core committee for my school and have had staff developments on it all year long.  

If you would like to skip my frustrations and little rant, skip the next few paragraphs! If not, read on...

I would like to call Common Core what it is....a national adoption! The politically correct answer to whether Common Core is a national adoption is no, since the federal government was not involved in the development of the standards.  However, to date, it appears there are only 4 states (NE, VA, TX & AK) that have not adopted Common Core State Standards (MN has adopted ELA only).

So, where are the National Common Core Pacing Guides??? A curriculum map wouldn't hurt either.  Isn't this the point?  I'm a little confused.  If you can shed some light on this for me then have at it! I know there are a few pacing guides that others have done available from random counties and states.  I also realize there are a few books that have a few curriculum maps written.  I just feel like right next to the standards should be a neon blinking sign that says 'click here for the national pacing guide' or 'click here for basic curriculum maps'.  

With all of that being said, I do realize that it's supposed to be standards of what to teach not how to teach.  I get that part.  However, leaving certain things up for interpretation seems like a slippery slope...I think it would be kind of nice to have a little more guidance with the option of creating your own pacing guides and curriculum maps...

Please, if you have more information on anything I've said I would love to hear it.  Normally, I wouldn't wave my flag of confusion out there for everyone to read. However, I feel at this point, I've talked to enough teachers, administrators and fellow bloggers to realize, I'm not the only one who is a little confused.  

alright....I think I'm done with my rant....

     My little rant leads me to the point of this post (finally right?). I teach in North Carolina.  The sate has not given us a state pacing guide.  Apparently our county has been left to develop these.  So, regardless of how crazy this seems to me, I am proud to say I was asked to be a part of it.  I was asked to be on the team for our district to help write the 1st grade math pacing guides that align with Common Core.

  

Myself and 3 other talented teachers sat down and created a math pacing guide for our district aligned with Common Core!  Going into it, I knew it was a huge task to take on.  I was excited and a little nervous. It turns out I shouldn't have been, it was so exciting! There were 4 teachers selected for each grade and we all met in a room.  We discussed our thoughts, looked at state policies, dissected the standards and then created a pacing guide for each grade.  My team of first grade teachers were so insightful and so knowledgeable about teaching first grade that it was exciting to just be a part of this group. I loved being able to learn from other experienced teachers who clearly love teaching as much as I do.  It was inspiring and it was clear that we wanted to come up with something that would truly work.  Not just for us, but for our entire county.  It was the single most productive and exciting meeting that I've had in my teaching career.  To me, it was clearly a meeting of the minds...

What's your state or district doing? I would love to hear what's going on around the world!