One of the previous issues of Knowledge Quest focuses on the Common Core Standards, about which I have heard both wonderful and horrible things. This particular article, Common Core from the Outside Looking In, by BJ McCracken, school librarian at Great Falls High School, focuses on the importance of being "up with the times" and embracing the changes. I am simply going to list quotes that I think are important to remember from this author.
[The Common Core] sets goals and lets each state, district, and building determine the best path [for its students].
As school librarians, we can choose to be reactive or proactive, but we should never choose "not active."
We slay the dragons of ignorance and lack of imagination...
For so many years education has been focused largely on the lowest form of Bloom's taxonomy, and rigor has been defined by how much information a student could process and retain.
The democracy on which our country is founded presumes that all citizens not only understand the vital need for information, critical thinking, and civil discourse, but also understand and act on the need to have those skills embedded in future generations.