Common Core State Standards Essay

Regardless of socio-economic background or where you live, in Finland, every child is assured the same type of education with a similar curriculum. The Ministry of Education promotes equality in education and insures a basic education for everyone. This is an initiative that has been in place since 973. A core curriculum has been established by the Finnish National Board of Education, and this education is free for Finnish citizens, including course materials and school lunches. Moving in this direction, The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers have developed U.S. Common Core State Standards Initiative for schools in the U.S., which “are the first step in providing young people with a high quality education.” To date, forty-five states and three

Teachers and students are left to their own without inspection. In this small country, a system of trust works. Individuals seem to work better when they are not told what to do. Trust prevails at all levels. The ministry trusts administrators to ensure that local systems carry out the core curriculum. Administrators trust teachers to do the same. Classroom teachers trust students and the parents trust their children and their schools. On the other hand, a compliance-based system is the norm in U.S. Teachers comply to administrative directives and students comply to guidelines for achieving a certain grade. Trust is incorporated into Finnish society; not so much in U.S. Would this type of approach work in the U.S.? The compliance system doesn’t seem to be working. The development of a consensus of what education is and must offer children was key in developing this trust in Finland. The Common Core initiative is evidence that U.S. policy makers, states, and local systems are working to define what comprises the best education for students in the 21st century…an important step