By now, you've surely heard of the Common Core State Standards and the impact the standards have had on creating more uniformity and focused, thoughtful learning for students nationwide. Similarly designed are the Next Generation Science Standards, affectionately known as the Next Gen.

These new science standards are designed with many of the key themes of the Common Core - deep thinking, defending perspectives, crosscutting ideas, and more - all of which move the instruction of science beyond memorizing data and concepts.

If you're an educator, this is a must-see for your parents and school community, if for no other reason than to frontload the exciting direction that science is heading in the United States.