"The laws that keep us safe, these are the same laws that condemn us to boredom."
-Chuck Palahniuk
"Standards". Never has another word I've encountered in my education career carried such stigma and negative connotation. The presence of State Education Standards (High School Content Area Expectations, Common Core State Standards, etc...) in the public school classroom is an unavoidable reality, but I for one welcome them. I cannot begin to imagine the chaos that would ensue if every single classroom in every school district across the country had an entirely unique and original curriculum. Without standards, students in a class with a teacher who hated poetry would never be introduced to the lyrical texts of Whitman, Shakespeare, or Poe. Instead, the presence of standards helps to ensure some sense of a shared learning experience that is comparable to schools across the country.
Another way to view Standards is to look at them like stepping stones as opposed to concrete barriers. The standards are written in such a way that they allow teachers to still be creative in the design of their lessons. In fact, the only direct requirement of an author or a text in regards to its being taught in high school is Shakespeare, but aside from that, it's up to the teachers and the school board to sculpt their curriculum around the standards. By looking at them as a sort of framework, the standards become less imposing and begin to look more appealing.
Another way to view Standards is to look at them like stepping stones as opposed to concrete barriers. The standards are written in such a way that they allow teachers to still be creative in the design of their lessons. In fact, the only direct requirement of an author or a text in regards to its being taught in high school is Shakespeare, but aside from that, it's up to the teachers and the school board to sculpt their curriculum around the standards. By looking at them as a sort of framework, the standards become less imposing and begin to look more appealing.