My name is Jeff Hinton, I am a National Board
Certified Teacher, 2014 Nevada Teacher of the Year, and 13-year veteran teacher
in the Clark County School District, I currently teach U.S. History and
Government at the Advanced Technologies Academy. I support the Common Core because I know that
higher education standards are needed if we want our students to be competitive
in the 21st century knowledge economy.
Earlier this year, in his state of the state
address, Governor Sandoval outlined an ambitious plan to move Nevada forward,
he spoke optimistically of a “New Nevada” a Nevada that would diversify and
modernize its economy by attracting high tech businesses to the Silver State,
businesses such as the Tesla Gigafactory. This is exactly what we need to do to
make Nevada a better place to live for our families and students, however
recently the Brookings Institute published a report indicating that despite the
fact that Nevada is quickly growing jobs in the STEM fields of Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math we are unfortunately not producing enough
workers with the necessary skills to fill those jobs. In a recent article Tom
Skancke of the Las Vegas Global Economic
Alliance pointed out “This last year, of
the 251 opportunities of new businesses to locate here, 35 percent of those
businesses chose not to come here because of workforce availability and
education,”
As a veteran teacher I have taught both the
old Nevada Content Standards and the Common Core Standards and I would like to
take a few minutes to tell you why I believe, in my professional opinion, the
Common Core Standards will help student acquire the skill set necessary for the
New Nevada economy. Due to the unprecedented changes brought about by the
digital revolution, teacher’s have the
incredible task of preparing students for jobs many of which don’t currently
exist. The old Nevada Content Standards were appropriate for the time and
purpose for which they were created but today seem anachronistic and outdated. Due
to the proliferation of internet connected devices, memorization and
regurgitation of information no longer can
be considered the pinnacle of a high quality education. Instead, students need
to be able to think critically and analytically. Because data is so ubiquitous,
they must be able to evaluate sources for validity, content and meaning, they
must be able to ask probing questions and more importantly find answers to those
questions. Students must be able to evaluate multiple sources of primary and
secondary evidence and draw conclusions based upon their interpretation and
evaluation of the evidence. Our students must be effective communicators both
orally and in written language across a variety of platforms. They must learn
to be expert collaborators, because the innovations that will move the New
Nevada forward will not happen in isolation. This is what the Common Core
does.
I know there are some fantastic educators
present who don’t share my enthusiasm for the Common Core, and certainly the
standards are not perfect, and I believe we should have a conversation about
the number of standardized tests students take, but let’s not confuse the
issues. The Common Core and the number of required tests are two different
conversations. In the market place of ideas the Common Core has already prevailed,
we have decided that these standards are indeed the best we can do for our
students that repealing them will have a detrimental effect not only on our
students but on our teachers as well. The
truth is teachers are suffering from reform fatigue, repeal of the standards
will only reinforce what many teachers already believe, “give it enough time
and the Common Core will just go away just like every other reform before it.”
This state needs to prove to teachers, students, parents, and stakeholders once
and for all that she is serious about improving our schools, that a New Nevada
is possible but only with a commitment to higher more rigorous Common Core standards.
