[LisaArbo]

I'm doing a paper for a class and I would love to know what you think about STANDARDS and teaching??? Do you feel they are working?

[NJMom]

I think that standards force teachers to 'teach to the test' which can really stifle creativity, both for teachers and students. They can also make students feel like what they are learning is only important to pass a test, not that it's important for life. I understand having a list of things that students should know and should be able to do, that makes sense, but making them so strict that there is no leeway in teaching is hard to deal with, especially for someone like me who really loves coming up with fun, new ways to teach content.

[LisaArbo]

Thanks NJMom!! ......c'mon y'all......give me some more opinions!

[babymac]

I'm a teacher and I think standards are important. They don't (in my opinion) make you teach to the test. Standardized testing makes you teach to the test. Standards are important to make sure that all students are being taught the same information state wide so that all students are being held to high expectations. Just my thought...

[tootsie roll]

Standards are important so that all students are learning what is supposed to be taught. That said, in TX, there is such a huge push for the core subjects (math, ss, science, and English), that the electives (like Spanish, what I have taught for the past 7 yrs) get brushed aside. We have standards for Foreign Language education, but there has been such a push to incorporate the core subject standards in our elective classes that the ones specifically for FL don't seem as important. I don't know if that makes sense.

[LisaArbo]

Thanks for the input. I like to know what everyone else thinks.....especially from a teaching point of view.

Tootsie roll ....love the name "Liliana"...have never heard that before!

[tootsie roll]

Lisa - thanks! I had a student with that name a few years ago, and it sounded so pretty whenever I said it. We call her Lily for short

[NJMom]

Students can either ruin names for you forever or give you good ideas for you own kids!

[tootsie roll]

NJMom - exactly!! If we have a son, my dh wants to name him Henry, after his grandfather. The name would be a great tribute to him, but I did have a student named Henry a few years back and he was one tough cookie!

[Jayden'sMommy]

While each state's standards are different, I can comment on PA's! I love that my state puts out these standards and more recently "anchors" (a little more specific) for teachers to follow. I feel more organized as a teacher when I follow them...and I know that my students are getting the "next step" (6th grade standards/anchors build on 5th grade's). It also helps me to understand what areas my students need to be skilled in so they can be successful in 7th grade.

I type up the standards (one per page) for each subject and put them into a binder. Behind each standard goes materials I have used to help teach that standard to my students. Below each standard on the typed up page I write the date it was introduced, taught, retaught, reviewed, etc. that way I have an easy way to check to make sure every standard/anchor was covered throughout the year. HTH

[stephwill33]

I believe that standards are a good guide for us as teachers. I truly believe that if we teach the standards the testing should take care of itself. I do wish that we had more consistency throughout our nation though. In today's world so many kids move to other states that it is tough to help them catch up.

I agree in Tx that the core testing is crowding out the electives. In some schools they even pull kids from their elective classes to have more time to practice things like math skills.

[LisaArbo]

Thanks for the wonderful replies. Since I don't teach yet, it is good to know what YOU think!