5. Commoncore State Standards for ELA and Literacy

1. Purpose college and career readyness standards?

It is used to really focus on what students should know to be successful in the future heading towards college. To make more educated and well rounded students.

2. Benefits and challenges of the ship to reading and writing non fiction text?

The information that they will be reading and learning will  be all valuable information which makes them more well rounded students. All the readings would have relevance to everyday life.

3. Benefits and challenges of having standards for science, social studies, and technical subjects?

Students are forced to work harder and are pushed a little more. Challenges would definitely be more complex and complicated readings. 

4. Common Core's Fundamental Trouble Article Review

    The author of this article expresses great concern about the Common Core Standards Act. To validate her arguement she uses the No Child Left Behind Act as an example as to why this wont work. There is definitely a tone of frustration in this article, and definitely a level of concern. Similar to the previous article the topic of extremely low passing statistics are again brought up.

     I believe this is a well written article because not only were her main arguements expressed but she also used supporting evidence very well. She explained how the NCLB (No child left behind) act looked to serve the same purpose and it failed miserably. Well now the same type of idea is being used again and this time the material is even harder for the students. It seems immpossible for everyone to except this new act but most of the states already have, because of their great fear of losing their funding. It's really sad because in the end of the day the kids are really the ones who are suffering. As an up ancoming teacher the Common Core Standards already somewhat intimidate me. I am just beginning my education core classes and the Common Core Standards have been mentioned in six out of six of my classes. I hope that all the predictions are not true, and the countries young students step up and achieve excellence, but this seems like a far fetched goal. I can almost gurantee this is just the beginning of the debate about this matter.

3. Biggest Fallacy Of the Common Core Standards Article Review

          After reading this article on common core it is apparent that this is a very controversial subject. Forty five out of America's fifty states have agreed to use the Common Core Standards. The author of this article expresses how much he disagrees with the common core, and the forty five states which agreed to pass it. The Article explains how very low percentages of blacks, english language learners, and students with disabilities pass the common core tests which are given.

        The author of this article actually seems to make a very strong arguement. The Common Core Standards really seems to be in place for the wrong reasons. It seems that the main perk of it is that it makes money for the state. Money is great and its great that the states are making more of it, but these states are at the same time sacraficing the well being of their students. Blacks, dissabled students, and english learning students all have less than a twenty percent pass rate. This is an awful statistic. It seems like the common core creates immposible standards for the students being subjected to it. I can understand that the country wants to keep up with foreign countries like Finland in the education field, but they are killing the students by doing this. To me it seems like it's more about money and not the well being of the students. I really agree with the author and believe he made some solid points. There is no evidence that the Common Core Standards bennefit students subject to it whatsoever.

2. Integrating Tech Common Core Reaction

        After reading, and reviewing How Teachers Are Integrating Tech Common Core written by Fred Sitkins I have learned a great deal about the future. He seems to believe that advancing technology in the classroom is very important, and will make learning easier. In his opening sentence he says he is positive about the future. Sitkins definitely displays confidence, and explained some of the new technology being incorporated. The use of i Pads and other handheld tablets are being used in the classroom to connect with a broader audience or body of students. He supported his information by listing perks to using this technology like being able to quickly find the definition to an unfamiliar word. He also discusses iTunes U which is a program that allows students to download and watch lectures and other educational videos online. Sitkins truly promotes these new and exciting things in the classroom, and has pledged his loyalty to them.

       Though these new and improved items in technology have their perks to me it is a little frightening. Technology is moving so fast its hard to keep up. It seems every day there is something new and improved or something even faster than before. I guess I am just kind of old school but I learned best when I was younger from just reading my textbook, doing my assigned homework, and taking notes off the old projector. It is difficult for me to chose a side because I definitely can see the perks of the advancement in technology. It's just hard to believe that elementary and middle school children will be using i Pads when it wasn't until seventh grade that I got my first flip phone, and back in those days that was a huge deal. As an education major it is highly likely that when I get into my classroom it will be expected for me to use these newly developed tools. This article definitely made it sound like in will be beneficiary but I am still unsure. I just feel that the world shouldn't rely so heavily on the usage of technology. I still remain undecided on this matter, and may have to research a little more in order to pick a side. 

1. Introduction

My name is Jonathan LaPlante, I was born May 14, 1992 in Oswego, New York. I am currently a junior at the University of Southern Mississippi. My family currently lives in Madison, Mississippi. In my free time I play sports most commonly and also enjoy exercising. Once I begin my teaching career I would like to also coach either football or baseball. After I graduated high school I volunteered as a coach for the jv baseball team, and it's just something that I really enjoyed doing. Not only would I be able to teach students in a classroom but also on the field.