Standards

As a parent, I have taught my children to hold themselves to high standards just like my parents taught me. High standards are a great goal to have whether it's grades, health, integrity, or lifestyle. Standards push us to continually improve. So why did they come as a shock when introduced to education... it is mind-blowing to think back to when education standards first became a "thing". The Standards were not welcomed with open arms. "Change is bad" and "why fix it if it's not broke?" were the concerns at the time. I really appreciate that my children are learning the same things or standards as their cousins who attend different schools in different states.

As a future teacher, I really appreciate the content learning standards because I feel it makes lesson planning easier. It guides and even inspires my planning. I can look at the list of standards and plan an entire unit with the end goal in mind. It is essential to plan with the end in mind and the content learning standards provides me with a list of goals to move towards.

Deconstructing standards makes learning tangible. The standards list is great but the lessons still need to be planned and learning targets need to be set. Right now some of the standards can overwhelm me but I think if I start my lesson planning with what gets me excited, I'll get better at this and be able to deconstruct all of them. After all, how can my students learn if I don't know what I'm teaching.