CCSS

     Wow.  The articles on the CCSS were very enlightening.  The district for which I work has not really delved very deeply into these new standards, so I have done nothing but simply peruse them to know the layout.  We have no real plans to do so either, except to know the broad topics.  I am wondering how much that will really change after giving the Smarter Balanced Assessment next spring.  Judging from a few of the articles I read, some feel the standards are way too high and that most students will fail.  I'm wondering at this point (when admin experiences such high failure rates) if they will chalk it up to, "oh well, the standards are set way too high", or if major reforms will soon follow (like where I work).
     Either way, it is always good to know why something came along.  Too often we are left with the question of why.  The articles I read certainly answered that question.  It was very disappointing to read that educators did not really have any input with the creation of the CCSS and that they were created due to the great cloud of negativity surrounding public schools.  It is also unfortunate that we will not know the effects of the CCSS for another 12 years.  The problem with that is the current rate in which technology changes, our way of life could be completely different by then and the standards may be obsolete.  Like one author pointed out, there is no one currently slated to fix any problems when they arise.