At her lecture at the Mission Inn in Riverside this evening Carol Jago acknowledged the elephant in the room - Common Core. Having written Appendix A for the new educational standards, Jago is well-aware of what Common Core entails. She is also aware of the controversy the standards have caused.
"But it's purely political," Jago said of those who oppose the new standards.
Jago confirmed my own sentiments; Common Core is attempting to enhance our educational system by asking students to partake in evidence-based learning, which is above and beyond the state standards that California has now left behind. Even the states, such as Florida and Indiana, that are against the new standards, have created their own standards that echo that of Common Core, hypocritically opposing the educational paradigm shift that they too are moving toward.
The philosophy behind Common Core is a philosophy that I support.
"It's not just English teachers that should be assigning writing. It's not just the English teachers that should be assigning reading," Jago said. "We need literacy in all subjects."
This is center of Common Core. I know. What a terrible concept.
So terrible that thousands of people are against, well, literacy. (It really isn't as simplistic as that. It's also about money, and fear of change. There is much more to this discussion, but I would like to use the post to focus on the brilliance of Jago)
After briefly explaining the honest vision of Common Core and educational shift it is creating (a student-centered pedagogy rather than a multiple-choice test-centered pedagogy), Jago went on to explain the importance and potential of teaching nonfiction texts in a Language Arts classroom.
"We have turned off our readers who actually want to read about real things," Jago said with regards to the focus on fiction in Language Arts classes.
I am one of those readers. A former journalist and current AP Language and Composition teacher, I LOVE using texts from real-live situations, I relish in the opportunity to explore a text that literally effected lives. (Note: I understand that fiction effects lives. But I think fiction is generally allegorical, which implies that the audience must have more evolved reading comprehension skills in order to fully comprehend the plot, sub plots, and historical/political/cultural/sociological implications to fully understand the author's message.)
Jago, humorous as ever, at one point asked the audience to look around the room. The audience was primarily female, with a few males scattered about. Jago addressed the stereotype, that females are more often readers of fiction, and then offered an anecdote.
"But it's true - next to my bed you will see piles on fiction novels," Jago said. "But on my husband's side are piles of nonfiction."
Jago suggested that teaching nonfiction was also an opportunity to reach our male students.
"You can find just as much to teach in nonfiction as you can in fiction," she said.
Jago then went on to profile several recent nonfiction novels that she found profound, rigorous, engaging, and relevant. (I made notes and will be adding each selection to my ever-growing reading list)
Jago next illuminated the importance of visual literacy, showing magazine covers, propaganda, and wild west advertisements that caused amusement and intrigue. During this time, my AP Lang teacher/friend and I kept looking at each other. We knew what this all boiled down to - rhetoric!
Yes. Rhetoric.
Politicians bathe in it, advertisers live by it, good readers and writers know it and take advantage of it.
This is where Common Core is taking Language Arts.
Jago said, "argument is entering into a larger conversation."
Jago and I both want our students to enter into that conversation.
