Common Core State Standards

Common Core State Standards:

The use of the Common Core State Standards basically ensures that teachers all over the United States are on the same page as to where our students should be in education in certain classes.  While this is an excellent goal to have and honestly a worthwhile effort, there are some questions that need to be addressed for these to function more properly.  For instance, many of these standards are up for interpretation as far as how these skills are taught.  This is a positive for teachers as we are able to have a little wiggle room for what texts we want our students to be subjected to.  On the other hand, how are we supposed to really know as teachers that our students are actually able to perform such tasks?  We can test, grade, and hand out assignments, but it seems that these state standards build on one another, which means if the students aren’t understanding the concepts then what?  If they have a passing grade, but do not fully grasp the concepts to the degree of the state standards do we fail them?  And how are we sure that these standards are all possibly met within the time that we are given to teach them?  I approve of the idea and the follow through thus far with concern to the CCSS, but they still need to improve.  I know that as a teacher I am required to use these to prove that I am instructing correctly and to the best of my abilities, but is there a class that teaches how to teach the CCSS?  I feel like we are thrown these rules to follow in such a constraining way, that as a new teacher I am completely overwhelmed.  The CCSS set up a beautiful outline of what our students need to succeed and they are extremely helpful in providing evidence of successful teaching, but who decided that these are the standards that our children and students need to succeed?  Do we not have any say on what we, as teachers, want our students to know?