As my first day of NCTE 2011 in Chicago is upon me, it’s incredible to reflect upon the professional amazing-ness attending this conference has brought to me as an English Language Arts lifer.
Flat out, my skills set has been forever elevated for making the effort to be here.

As an educator, I’ve literally had a chance to hear some of the most cutting edge ideas in the world of ELA from some of the top thinkers in our profession. In no particular order, I’ve had the good fortune to meet and hear the brainiacical manifestations of Carol Jago, Kylene Beers, Kelly Gallagher, Janet Allen, Bob Marzano, Jim Burke, Jeff Anderson, Carol Booth Olson, Jeff Wilhelm, Bob Probst, Alfred Tatum… the list is too long for me to even bother to continue to type. (Easily, I could triple the name dropping.) I’ve paid homage to their concepts, I’ve referenced their research and I’ve shamelessly stolen their lesson plans and gone straight back to my own classroom to use their ideas, tools and strategies.

Without a doubt, if I know anything at all about working in the world of literacy, my knowledge base has been enhanced – if not greatly shaped – by the influence of having met, chatted up and been able to sit in the audience of the great PD sessions these folks – and many, many more – have had to offer.

We’re all standing on the shoulders of those who came before us in a way. NCTE simply hoists me higher.

One question that has longed bothered me about all of the conversation regarding having one set of national standards for all American schoolchildren is, “If we are going to have standards at all, why should these standards be different from state to state?”

Forget the merit of the standards chosen and the text exemplars cited in the latest information released about the Common Core Standards Initiative. (I know, hard to do.) But can anyone explain the benefit to me of Michigan have one set of English Language Arts standards, Georgia having another and then Texas having yet a third?

And this goes on across all fifty states.

Do any two states at all even share the exact same set of standards? Not any two neighboring states like Mississippi and Arizona? Okay, my geography is off — but that’s because I went to school before there were national standards! (Okay, I am straying here…) I think national standards are the solution for this problem. What is the benefit, especially when American families are more transient than ever moving from state to state, of having different content standards in the same content area across the entire country?

Now before I get pounded with criticism of why national standards are bad, I feel the need to say I hear and find some merit in the arguments against them… and am not even going to try and weigh in on those right now. It’s a different question I am asking.

(And yes, I get the nationalizing education is bad for America argument. And yes, I do hear the complaints about how this is a blatant power grab for centralized control of all our classrooms by politicians. And yes, I do see the link as to how this might actually prove to be a chance for monopolistic corporate behemoths to swoop on in and milk every last dollar from the taxpayer kitty with unprecedented efficiency and accuracy — though I think textbook companies are sweating right now much more so than they are jubilant… more on that at another time. All reasonable, solid points to debate and consider for sure.)

But can someone please make a case for why it is better for individual states to have their own individual sets of standards when the gaping holes between the degree of rigor between some states is so wide, and the language used to describe the same basic ideas from state to state is so varied, that to look at all of them on a kitchen table with a bird’s eye perspective would simply leaving you scratching you head?

Forgetting the political implications of it all (and I know, if education is anything, it’s political… though silly me thought it was supposed to be about the kids) why is a state to state to state standards system better than a national standards system?

In essence, am I missing something or doesn’t this put us all on the same page so that Florida doesn’t value metaphors more than Illinois values relationships between main and subordinate characters in a text while Nevada finds value in etymology?

If you agree with standards-based education, the Common Core Standards Initiative seems kinda logical. If you do not agree with standards-based education then certainly, you are in no way going to be a fan of this. But if you agreed with standards-based education yet think that the content standards for math, English, science and so on should vary depending on which side of the state border you happen to be standing on, I’d love to hear your reasoning.

Basically, I have little idea what to do in the classroom. The more guidance I am provided, the less clearly I understand what I ought to do. And I have a feeling I am not alone.

Am I supposed to teach my kids how to properly punctuate an appositive phrase? Yep. And how do I know that? Because it says so right there in the English Language Arts standards.

So, am I supposed to teach a kid that they should live their life with a sense of passion and purpose? I’d say yes, but how do I know that being that this is not listed anywhere in the English Language Arts standards?

Maybe I shouldn’t mention it to them.

I am supposed to teach imagery in literature? Uh-huh. Why? Because it says so right there in the English Language Arts standards.

But am I supposed to teach a kid to persevere when times get tough? I’d say yes, but again… it’s not anywhere in the standards.

The standards ask me to teach symbolism, capitalization and the organization of ideas in an essay. Does that mean I ought not to teach loyalty, fairness, and compassion?

See this is where I get lost. If I only teach what the standards tell me to teach, then that means I am going to have taught my kids how to properly punctuate an appositive phrase, identify imagery and symbolism in literature, apply proper capitalization to appropriate words in a sentence and how to organize ideas for an essay.

However, if I only teach what the standards tell me to teach, that means I will not have taught my kids to live their life with a sense of passion and purpose, to persevere when times get tough, and to be loyal, fair, and compassionate.

Now I am not sure about the parents of your students, but I have a feeling that if I could offer my parents a choice whereby I could teach their kids to live their life with a sense of passion and purpose, to persevere when times get tough, and to be loyal, fair, and compassionate or teach their kids how to properly punctuate an appositive phrase, identify imagery and symbolism in literature, apply proper capitalization to appropriate words in a sentence and how to organize ideas for an essay, they are going to OVERWHELMINGLY choose the former. (I know I would.)

So if I blindly follow the standards, I am a dummkopt. And if I toss out the standards and teach things I feel are tremendously important to know — yet are nowhere in the listed content standards of the state — I am a rebel deserving scorn who is operating outside the confines of the curriculum.

And so, despite all this guidance, I really have no idea what to do… other than follow my own best professional instincts and play the hand I am dealt as best as I can as each individual situation arises.

Hey… isn’t that why they hired me in the first place?