Common Core and the Many Problems It's Caused in Education

The Common Core State Standards Initiative has been implemented into public schools across the U.S., but many individuals believe it is doing more harm than good. Teachers, parents, and children are becoming more and frustrated with Common Core; the workload, constant testing, and above-grade-level standards have many people asking for reform.

The Common Core has enacted several new tests that are meant to measure how the curriculum is working and how well children are progressing. However, many children end up getting stressed from the amount of testing being pushed on them. Two weeks are taken out of the school year to administer these tests, which takes away time that could be used to further educate. Kids end up feeling pressured to do well because public schools tend to stress the importance of doing well more than the importance of doing their best. This approach to education has made children unmotivated and apathetic in regards to their own learning abilities, and many children in public schools lack enthusiasm for learning new things.

Along with the pressure of excessive test-taking, the workload that goes along with Common Core is unreasonable and takes too much time out of the day. After roughly 7 hours of school, children as young as 6 or 7 are expected to do 2 - 3 hours of homework every weeknight. Math problem after math problem is taken home for kids to work on, leaving both children and parents upset. With the time that it takes to finish the outrageous amount of homework, children do not have time to play or be active, which is essential for a child's development. In addition, play time such as recess and physical education are first to be cut from a public school's budget, meaning children have no outlet for all of the energy they have.

In addition to the heavy workload, Common Core is mainly focused on mathematics and English, leaving history and science on the backburner. Many parents are becoming concerned with their child's curriculum because they are noticing more and more that their kids aren't getting a solid science or history background. All of their time is focused on math, which leaves very little time to learn about the human body, weather patterns, or the Civil Rights movement. It is vital that future generations have a grasp on all educational fields; science and history simply cannot be left behind.

Beyond on the workload and new tests, the standards themselves are unclear, confusing, and, worst of all, way above grade level. Kindergartners are expected to read full sentences by the end of the year, and algebra is being taught to fourth graders. Before Common Core (and No Child Left Behind), children were not pushed far past their comfort level just to get ahead. Children read full sentences by second of third grade. Now that 5-year-old children are put under these ridiculous standards, they are pressured at a very young age to achieve these goals, even if they aren't developmentally ready for it.

On top of this, countless parents and teachers are often very confused by the teaching methods accompanied by the Common Core, most especially when it comes to learning math. The textbooks published in partnership with Common Core have teaching methods that are a lot more complicated than need be. For example, this video shows a teacher taking one minute just to solve 9 + 6; the method is nonsensical and confusing. Similarly, parents are reluctant to help their children with their homework because they simply cannot figure out how to solve math problems in such senseless and complicated ways. While Common Core argues that these methods help children to understand the reasoning behind simple mathematics, the result has shown the opposite. Children don't end u understanding why math is necessary and instead feel frustrated with themselves because they can't figure out how to add 34 and 18. Older methods like memorizing times tables was more effective and didn't leave children feeling inadequate or unfit for school.

Common Core Standards have left children, parents, and even school faculty upset and in want of reform. Outlandish standards for children so young have caused them to already feel deficient in their educational environment, meaning they are likely to apathetic about their education in the future. Education affects people from all demographics; all races and all genders need a good education in order to be successful later on in life. If education continues to put children in an environment that discourages them from learning, the entire country will suffer. Overall, the Common Core State Standards Initiative must be re-evaluated to make sure that we don't lose children in the enormous mountain of math worksheets that are inevitably placed in their backpacks.