funforkids

What is Core Knowledge?  Well, if you were a student in any City of New York College you may have an idea of what Core Knowledge is and why it is beneficial to students.  Remember all of those “Core” classes you had to take in order to satisfy graduation requirements?  You know the ones–basic math, basic writing, a few of the sciences like Chemistry, and geology, a basic computer course, a politics class, perhaps speech, and of course a music and an art appreciation.  Core classes were/are given in the colleges to ensure that all students have a well-rounded knowledge of many subject areas.  We have all seen many of the same art slides, and been exposed to the many genres of music, and to the various sciences and social studies courses so that when we go on to our own elective classes and the ones that make up our major, we can better understand what is being taught and we have the background information to build on.  What I found amazing about Brooklyn College was that somehow, and in some way, even if to a small extent, every professor referenced a person or idea or fact that I had learned about in a core class.  Even when I took my teaching exams, I found questions referencing particular art works, music pieces, and philosophers that were discussed in those core classes.  THANK GOD I PAID ATTENTION!

     The NYC public school system is now using the core knowledge philosophy in classrooms from grades pre-k to 12.  Having taught in a NYC junior high school for about 10 years in the 90’s though, I can honestly say, the practice is not as new as they say.  We always had a set curriculum of what we needed to teach and in what grade it needed to be taught, but the extent to which it was upheld varied from school to school.  In my particular building we taught in teams to ensure an interdisciplinary approach to learning, we chose topics that we all would touch on such as:  the environment–how can we teach about the environment in Math, English, Science and Social Studies; then we would form an interdisciplinary lesson on the subject.  Pretty simple.  It was a great process that allowed us to track student learning much better. 

     There are some key differences to Core Knowledge though.  Core Knowledge sets up a guideline of what topics need to be taught, what books should be read, what math concepts need to be learned and in which order it should be done.  This is done to ensure that all children are learning the same things on the same grade level at the same time.  The guidelines are much more stringent, and much more exact.  Where once upon a time, I would be able to make up my own homework assignments, now I would have to be sure that my assignments are the same as the other teachers of my subject and grade level.   My son, for example is receiving the exact same homework assignments in his first grade class with Ms Quinn as his friend AJ is getting down the hall with Ms. Smith.  It is very helpful when your child is absent from school and you know that you can call up any parent you know who has a first grader and get the day’s homework.  Core Knowledge also ensures that students are not stuck reading the same books in 2nd grade (or other grades) that they have already read the year before.   The Core Knowledge schedule prevents repeating of material.  It is a great thing–I know, having read Romeo and Juliet about three times in HS that I wish we had a Core Knowlede outline in place way back then.   Core Knowledge will also ensure that all children have the neccessary skills they need to meet the State Standards and to hopefully pass all of the required State and City exams that come along the way.  All in all, I believe Core Knowledge will prove to be a great practice in the NYC public schools.  I know that it is a very successful program as implemented in my own child’s school. 

Trackback URI | Comments RSS