Jumping Ship - Beware of the Ripple Effect

I finished reading a recent article in the Washington Post, "Common Core supporters say defections are no big deal". Here's the link.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/common-core-supporters-say-defections-are-no-big-deal/2013/07/29/36dc7e42-f881-11e2-afc1-c850c6ee5af8_story.html

While I understand the underlying theme, I am concerned. I am concerned that as some of the bigger states defect, the textbook companies will once again try to meet the needs of too many sets of standards in one textbook. This has the potential to return the U.S mathematics curriculum back to "the mile wide and inch deep" curriculum we once had.

The Common Core math standards, while not perfect, call for more focus and in-depth learning at each grade level. The Standards for Mathematical Practice require students to think about and apply math skills in different ways. These are major changes for teachers, students, and even parents, but the potential for creating students who really understand math are greater if the standards are implemented with fidelity.

So what are we to do if the defections continue? These are my thoughts:

- Recognize that textbooks are tools. Instruction should be based on student need rather than on the next lesson in the text.

- Encourage professional conversations that focus on the standards. If a student meets the standard, what would it look like in the classroom? What would it sound like? How would the student feel?

- Develop experts in the district who can critically examine textbooks to determine the levels of thinking used by students. Do the word problems match the standards? Are there real life applications of the skills and strategies? Does the textbook rely on mnemonics? Is understanding built before algorithms are introduced?

- Provide differentiated professional development in a risk-free environment for teachers to develop the mathematical thinking and skills that they are required to teach. Remember many of us were taught mathematics through memorization and tricks.

Can you add anything to the list?

Textbooks should not drive our instruction no matter what standards are in place. We need to be educated buyers and users of the tools we use in the classroom, and we need to remember that we teach children not programs.