Common Core Aims to Teach Kids Information They'll Use
By: KARK 4 News, Little Rock, AR
Updated: August 8, 2012
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Some kids have already started the new school year, but most go back in two weeks.
There are some big changes in store for children in younger grades as the state expands the Common Core, as the United States has fallen behind the world in education.
These changes are designed to get the US back up there.
Last year the Common Core was introduced in kindergarten through second grade, and now it's being expanded from third grade to eighth.
Xaliyah Robinson, 7, has been staying cool in Jacksonville's Nixon Library this summer.
"I'm learning about the body," Robinson says. "What's inside of us people."
The soon-to-be second-grader wants to be a Doctor someday so she can, "learn to do surgery and help people."
So her education is very important, and that's the whole point of the Common Core.
A major difference in the Common Core is giving kids information they'll actually use, which means less Spiderwick Chronicles and more human body.
"We're having children read far more textural books instead of storybooks, and fantasies and fairytales," says Linda Remele with the Pulaski County Special School District.
Remele is working with a handful of administrators to get 300 boxes of supplemental math books out to the schools.
"We've got lots of books right now, we hope to have a lot of students who need those books," she says.
Remele says the Common Core is basically a nationwide standardized curriculum that puts greater emphasis on math, reading and writing in an attempt to get students college and career ready.
"Math and reading are going to be different, and they're going to see more of the social studies and history taught through the reading curriculum... And not as such a separate subject," Remele says.
It's education that doesn't cram kids with facts, but teaches them how to solve problems, giving kids like Xaniyah the opportunity to design their own destiny.
Until now, education has typically been a mile wide and an inch deep, so kids have been learning a little about everything, but not a lot about anything.
But the Common Core is really big on mastery, so kids won't be covering as many topics, but will be really good at the ones they do.
There are some big changes in store for children in younger grades as the state expands the Common Core, as the United States has fallen behind the world in education.
These changes are designed to get the US back up there.
Last year the Common Core was introduced in kindergarten through second grade, and now it's being expanded from third grade to eighth.
Xaliyah Robinson, 7, has been staying cool in Jacksonville's Nixon Library this summer.
"I'm learning about the body," Robinson says. "What's inside of us people."
The soon-to-be second-grader wants to be a Doctor someday so she can, "learn to do surgery and help people."
So her education is very important, and that's the whole point of the Common Core.
A major difference in the Common Core is giving kids information they'll actually use, which means less Spiderwick Chronicles and more human body.
"We're having children read far more textural books instead of storybooks, and fantasies and fairytales," says Linda Remele with the Pulaski County Special School District.
Remele is working with a handful of administrators to get 300 boxes of supplemental math books out to the schools.
"We've got lots of books right now, we hope to have a lot of students who need those books," she says.
Remele says the Common Core is basically a nationwide standardized curriculum that puts greater emphasis on math, reading and writing in an attempt to get students college and career ready.
"Math and reading are going to be different, and they're going to see more of the social studies and history taught through the reading curriculum... And not as such a separate subject," Remele says.
It's education that doesn't cram kids with facts, but teaches them how to solve problems, giving kids like Xaniyah the opportunity to design their own destiny.
Until now, education has typically been a mile wide and an inch deep, so kids have been learning a little about everything, but not a lot about anything.
But the Common Core is really big on mastery, so kids won't be covering as many topics, but will be really good at the ones they do.
