It definitely seems like kids aren’t being taught the same materials in school anymore. Sure, over time our perspectives change on history and history itself is constantly being made. I don’t mean that. I’m talking about stuff like this new way of doing multiplication tables where there is a grid full of numbers. That’s it. All I can see is a grid full of numbers. As a college educated, reasonably intelligent human, I cannot see my way clear to assist the kids in afterschool with this new math. Maybe it was fractions and not multiplication? Also, I never did master the art of sentence graphing. No one taught me what passive voice is. I have very real memories of my 11th grade literature teacher marking that phrase in red on all of my work and me asking her for help understanding what that means so I can stop making her use up so many red pens. She pointed to it and said, “that.”

All I know is, I now feel mildly alarmed by how teaching styles have changed and that I might not be able to assist with homework help effectively.

Thankfully, we now have the gift of the Internet. (How will I explain to my son that this magical Resource Land wasn’t around when I was in school?) We can google what we need or find a tutorial on Pinterest that will walk us through the “new ways,” which is where I found a list of Common Core Standards in Math and English/ Literature for parents. Their list is currently Kindergarten through 5th grades and there is also a link to the information in Spanish.

Having sat in on numerous Common Core training sessions with staff from Georgia Department of Education, I know first-hand that the standards have changed. It is not the same. To keep up with the goals that your child’s teacher are aiming for this year, visit the list of standards. At the very least, it will help you know what to google in order to help with homework.

This same website, TeacherHelpForParents.com, also has a set of sample assessment questions that you can use to quiz your kids or help them prepare for tests.

For a full list of the standards, visit GeorgiaStandards.org. Fair warning, it’s in teacher language, so if it’s been a while since you’ve done 8th grade math, you may want to ask a teacher friend to decode it for you.