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Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

The first two thirds of this post constitute a pretty good discussion of the Common Core emphasis on close reading (that is, reading where sentence construction and word selection are studied closely in order to understand the author's intent). A good reader reads closely naturally, and instances of ambiguity or errors of reasoning glare red like red scars over the text. But a sole focus on close reading dismisses as irrelevant what the readers themselves bring to the work, rendering it a performance and not a dialogue. "Why should students be denied this same opportunity to 'break away' from the text as they make comparisons to personally relevant and timely issues related to a broader and more lively discussion of who and what determines an unjust law," asks Jonathan Chase? This, he suggests, is a result of the focus of Common Core on outcomes, as defined by standardized testing, rather than on process, where "students' thoughts and feelings matter a great deal."

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 16, 2024 04:20 a.m.

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