New bill in the Assembly in New York!

The push is on all over the country. New York State has a new bill. It’s a start for sure. How will it play out this time? Crossing fingers!!!

http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld&bn=A03656&term=2015&Summary=Y&Text=

(Our only concern is that this allows individual districts to make their own decision to reject or keep common core. Will the poorer districts choose to keep the funding that’s associated with common core and continue with this abusive curriculum? Of course this bill is a start and step in the right direction. However, this is a huge concern for those districts with little cash, especially those with superintendents who are influenced heavily by Albany’s unhealthy policies. Again, we still support this bill. But parents and teachers must get ready to hold school districts accountable to profile an appropriate education, if they’re now to be allowed to do so. If superintendents are given the key to these handcuffs, tax payers must insist they use them.)

Mitchell Rubenstein, Former Admin of Stop Common Core in NYS group says he understands the concern, but feels there is no other wording choice. He writes in the following;

“I have heard some spirited debate over the fact that this new bill is troublesome because it does not BAN Common Core outright. I understand this sentiment, but I disagree. Allowing school districts to choose their own curricula is a major part of this fight. I feel the language in the bill is appropriate the way it is. “Banning” common core is the wrong approach, for the same reason that FORCING districts to use it is wrong. A ban removes the district’s voice, just like a requirement to USE Common Core. This bill BANS the REQUIREMENT that districts use Common Core. Once the districts have their freedom, then it is up to US to get them to adopt APPROPRIATE curricula…. because they won’t be able to say “hey…we’re being FORCED to use Common Core”. If districts have the freedom to choose their path, choose their curriculum, and they STILL choose Common Core… then it is a local problem, for individual parents and school boards to decide.”

This is still a huge net gain for the movement to end this nightmare. But teachers and parents must get ready to fight. No more complacency if the districts are allowed out, but can stay. The boards of education must represent us NOW.

And consider this:

http://educationalchemy.com/2015/01/30/why-is-this-so-hard/

“Yet, I can’t help but ask myself: Why is this so hard? Why is it so hard to grow this movement? This should have been a done deal by now. The fight to protect children against harmful policies should be a no brainer. It’s like a campaign to “not kick puppies”—I mean, who would want to promote policies on kicking puppies? No one.
Why is this so hard? It’s hard because our political, schooling and media institutions continue to attack parents and educators who have the courage to defend children from harm. Parents refusing these harmful policies are painted as “disgrnuntled White soccer mommies” while resistance from and within communities of color go ignored. Teachers refusing to comply with harmful policies are “agitators” and “out of compliance.” Our collective obsession that standardized tests are anything but junk science goes unchallenged by the media despite real research that has resoundly disproved it’s so called merits.

Ending corporate reform should be a “gimme” like in golf. So why is it, when we get to fighting to protect children (and their teachers and their communities), we often hear the response, “It’s complicated.” No. it’s really not. Strife in the Middle East is complicated. Quantum physics is complicated. Defending children is not complicated. We know the problem. And we know the solutions.

Problem: We have decades and volumes of research (both qualitative and quantitative) showing the detriment that high stakes standardized testing has on children, schools, teacher efficacy, and community building.

Solution: We have the answers. We have decades and volumes of research (both qualitative and quantitative) showing us what enables children to become successful learners (hint: Common Core and more tests are not on the list). Remediating the effects of poverty, creating quality rich curricula, small class sizes, learning with purpose and value, caring for children, and providing schools the resources to provide all of the above are on the list. We have the ability and the resources as the wealthiest nation on the planet to provide what all children deserve ….if we actually wanted to make that happen.”

Common core loves to ask about what is reasonable. Where is the reasonableness? Common core and obsessive inappropriate testing are unreasonable. How has this been allowed to continue? The answer is simple: money and politics have taken over and come before the American family. How sad. Is it too late to turn back to basic morals and values?