Digital Information Diet: Detox in the Works

This week, I took a long, hard look at another aspect of my health: my informational diet.  It wasn't very intellectual from a professional stand point.  Yikes.  Facebook, Pinterest, and a RSS feed populated with cooking and 'foodie' blogs were my main source of information.  I use my Twitter account for professional purposes, but most of my informational diet consisted of digital 'junk food.'  It was time to consider a digital detox.

Photo by Graham Steel Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Why wasn't I as cautious about my informational diet?  That's not to say that what I was reading and filtering through was worthless.  Quite the contrary!  I have found and created many useful things and skills from these.  But in intellectual/informational diet consisting of fairly shallow topics and insights is not healthy.  From a professional growth stand point, I wasn't taking in much information that I could use to grow to become a better educator.  And I have changed that with the addition of a three new blogs to my RSS feed. 

All of these new blogs tie in with education; specifically the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the varying and often controversial views surrounding them.  The CCSS alignment has been a fact of my career since I began four years ago.  I was aware of very little outside of my own school district and I am seeking to change that now.

The first addition to my RSS feed was Homeroom, the official blog of the US Department of Education, @usedgov.  I chose this resource because while most of the impact in education that I feel directly comes from the State of Michigan, the US Department of Education and the actions of the federal government do effect my job as a teacher.  The ties between The Race for the Top and the CCSS have caused quite a controversy between educators, parents, and politicians.  I feel is is only wise as a teacher and a citizen to keep my finger on the pulse of what my government's current educational views are. 

Another new addition to my feed is Teaching the Core: A Non-Freaked Out Approach to Teaching the Common Core by Dave Stuart, Jr., @davestuartjrhttps://twitter.com/davestuartjr First off, the title of his blog not only made me laugh, but it also caught my attention.  Until recently, I didn't realize that there were so many educators who did not support the adoption of the CCSS.  Either I live in a cave (my classroom) or I have my eye so focused on learning and aligning my own curriculum to the CCSS, I wasn't paying attention.  Stuart's blog is a resource for teachers who have questions about the CCSS and its implementation.  His tips, tricks, and tidbits are authentic and engaging.

The last addition completely opposes my view of the CCSS: Us Against Common Core. This blog for parents and educators against the CCSS is a platform for their voices.   I feel it is important to consider the opinion and value the insight afforded by looking at the opposition and this is no exception.  I have some parents asking me questions about the CCSS and my thoughts on teaching them.  Having the knowledge of the opposing view helps me to understand these concerns in a more well-rounded fashion.

I am confident these new additions to my informational diet will expand my view points on the CCSS as well as becoming a more knowledgeable educator with a more worldly view of this controversial topic and others to come.