Without looking at the common core definition of college and career readiness, I am going to go ahead and assume that they are talking about specific academic knowledge and skills, just for fun. I am going to assume that they are talking about communicating effectively through writing, particularly essay writing, as well as having solid reading comprehension. Outside of English I'll assume this definition also includes basic understandings of mathematical principles and scientific facts. I guess I have this idea of CCR resembling a kind of General Education requirement for high school students.
I listened to the podcast Angela posted on her blog regarding 'non-cognitive' skills, researched by economist James Heckman. Heckman argues that there are skills important to education aside from traditional academic skills. These include resilience, the ability to cope with stress, and impulse control, among others. I can probably stretch and try to apply these to literacy somehow, but definitely, if I am thinking about college and career readiness, these are attributes I consider to be important. I don't think my high school education really prepared me for college, and I don't really feel like my first college education prepared me for my career. But, I don't think this is education's fault. I just don't think I had the character for either yet. Can we as educators nurture our students' character to prepare them for the rigors ahead? I really think this answer is yes, but ultimately it is a measurement that is only important at the individual. Everyone is at a different level before and after high school and college, and there is only so much teachers can affect. But these are attributed I would try to work on with students, especially those who come from particularly stressful home environments.
We have talked in this class about exposure contributing to ones' literacy. I don't think I was truly career ready until my first job after college in which I was responsible for a lot and given very little assistance and guidance. Finally understanding the importance of my actions and what all depended on them was a big wake-up call for me and a big reason I feel prepared for the responsibilities of being a teacher.
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