1. Ellen Carillo’s worries of creating students that don’t know or care for what they’re reading is certainly a justifiable fear.  She constantly echoes the flaws of the current education system (primarily the CCSS) throughout her entire writing, and I most definitely agree with her opinions. One of her prevalent beliefs and criticisms is that the Common Core State Standards, (CCSS) teach students to “revere text” rather than having the student use their own knowledge and beliefs to criticize.  Ellen agrees that a significant portion of understanding a text is having the ability to carefully read it, and provide an analysis and interpretation based on your own life experiences, and knowledge, in addition to what is given to you. However the common core is essentially teaching us that our own opinions are of no importance, and therefore we should read whatever is given to us almost in a mathematical sense. What I mean by this is that the common core gives us articles with specific questions, with specific intext answers. With this method of learning one could never have a deeper understanding of any piece of writing, because a deep understanding of something requires one’s own knowledge and experiences, whereas the CCSS teaches the ability to process something like a machine. Being a student who has just left the grasps of common core I can provide my firsthand experiences with them. It is absolutely true that when it came to learning  and test preparation, we were often forced to read for a few lines of context in an article that could answer the question that was given to us. There was never any of your own critical thinking, but merely a search for the bare minimum of context needed to finish a task.
  2.  “Google knowledge” vs “understanding” are basically two different levels of knowledge when it comes to a topic. Google knowledge would be defined as having a ” less comprehensive and more superficial grasp of independent facts” whereas understanding would be defined as a “a kind of knowing that involves grasping relationships, the network, or parts and whole.” Carillo then goes on to talk about the SAILS, (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) which is a project that gives data that shows the lack of higher understanding level in students. This study shows that most students when researching tend to only grasp a vague and lesser understanding of whatever it is they’re learning about. You can say this study shows that most students do the bare minimum in their research and understanding of it. I agree that this is not good because if students wish to have  a successful life, they must be able to really dig deep into their research, and truly long for a better understanding of what it is they are learning.
  3.  Two recommended tools of learning given to us by Carillo is the use of a writing journal and advanced annotation. The reading journal is supposed to give students an opportunity to formulate their thoughts on why it is they’re learning what they’re being taught rather than simply just learning it. Annotation practically does the same thing. It allows students to take a step back to compose and write their own thoughts about each paragraph they’re reading. I have had good experiences with both of these learning tactics. I find that taking some time to think and write in between your reading really gives you a better understanding of it, and makes it easier to compose your thoughts at the end of the reading, when you may have to answer text based questions or write an essay. However I also do believe that this may not be for everyone, since everyone has their own unique learning process. This may be a waste of time for some people or very helpful to others.