I received the following comment this morning. I don’t have the answer to everything, and I am not sure what I would do in her place, but this is my advice. Organize the other parents of kindergarten children. Go as a group to the superintendent and tell him this is wrong. Get parents of children in first grade and second grade to join you. Others may as well. Speak on behalf of your child and other children at the school board meetings. Ask to meet your local legislators: the mayor, the member of the Assembly, the State Senate. Do not be afraid or intimidated. You are parents. You vote. Build a strong and united parent group and don’t let the powers that be shut you up. If you don’t advocate for your child, no one else will. Moving won’t solve your problem. You will encounter the same things in other states. Organize, inform yourself. Defend your child’s precious childhood.
She writes:
Dear Diane,
Until September of this year, I only had a fleeting knowledge of what the Common Core was all about because I didn’t have a school aged child. This year we eagerly put our oldest son in kindergarten in our upstate, rural New York district. The uneasy feeling in my stomach started on the first day when the parents were ushered into the auditorium and the principal started preparing us that we would find stressed out teachers. Parents with older children began asking questions about why the kindergartners needed to participate in the dreaded testing. Upon returning to my son’s classroom, I did indeed find a stressed out teacher, saying things like, “we are all going to have to work together if we are going to get through this curriculum.” This is when I first encountered the word “module” as well, as I looked at my five year old’s schedule and noticed that he would be doing ELA from 10:45-12:25 every day. He is in full day kindergarten, and the day is packed with Fundations, Writing, ELA, ELA modules, and Math modules. To say alarm bells went off would be an understatement, but we continued thinking, “how bad can kindergarten get?”
Back to school night was a presentation by all five kindergarten teachers, which quickly turned into, “we know this sounds awful, but we promise are going to remember that your children are little.” Within a month of school starting, we were told that they needed to do away with the children’s rest period because there simply wasn’t enough time for it with the curriculum. The more I heard these comments from school, the deeper I dug into the EngageNY modules and started following your blog.
I’m sure you get letters like this every day. I listened to your Town Hall phone call the other night (thank you for not interrupting the questions like Commissioner King in Poughkeepsie) and heard lots of sound advice about what parents and teachers can do to fight back against these ridiculous standards. My question is more basic: Do I send my son to this school tomorrow?
I read educated assessments of the EngageNY curriculum that find it “developmentally inappropriate.” Why should I subject my 5 year old to this when kindergarten isn’t even mandatory? I have the unique situation of living in New York state on the Massachusetts and Connecticut border. As renters, we have options, and I have already decided that my son will not attend 1st grade in the state of New York. But what do I do about today and tomorrow? I fear that he will fall behind in this intense academic environment, but I also fear sticking with it. What do parents do right now?
Sincerely,
Rosemary XXXX
Copake, NY
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Unfortunately, what feeds the CCS dysfunctional system is the fear that you refer to. Do not think that you are alone in your fears. This has been a movement that began long before you were even thinking about having children (many agree that it actually began with a document called a Nation at Risk and that it is all part of the movement to continue pointing to the failure of public schools to successfully “educate” their students). I too am a parent. I too have fears for my children’s future. You do have options, however, You can consider temporarily home schooling your child until you can leave NY (although this is a contagion that is rapidly spreading throughout the nation). You can try to find a like minded group of parents who share the home schooling responsibilities. If you have the financial resources, you can look into a parochial school or another private school. But mostly, and I concur with Diane’s suggestion, you should band together with other parents to help stop this madness. Those who are behind these reforms are counting on the compliance of parents because of all the fear that they have engendered, and this climbs all the way to the top of our educational system: the federal government. President Obama and Arne Duncan pander to parents fears by insisting that we test all children and close unsuccessful schools. Bloomberg contributes to this fear by co-locating charters in public school spaces and not charging them rent thus contributing to the starvation approach of the NY city public schools. I can go on and on (or read Diane’s book). Either way, until parents who vote put an end to this nightmare, no one will wake up sane.
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I do believe in strength as numbers as well. I am a strong advocate of children being children. If you have not read the book All I Really Need to Know I Leaned in Kindergarten, read it. Because just like whole language produced a whole group of students who could not read this generation will not have any social skills. I also would look into the curriculums of Massachusetts and Connecticut and speak to other parents to see if their teachers are as stressed as New York. I am devastated as I have been teaching 17 years and was asked for the first time the other day if I enjoyed teaching by one of my 9th graders…I used to love it. I guess my demeanor is letting the children know I am not happy with the “new” Common Core Standards…
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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Is there a reason why you’re jumping around here like an interrupting child derailing an adult conversation? Your point – which I don’t disagree with – was understood the first time. Repeating it is only undermining it. Please stop.
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Dienne,
With all do respect, it seems like when people try to make actionable suggestions to begin solving these problems, you ask us to please stop repeating ourselves. You did that to me. While I agree repetition can be annoying, this blog site in general are people repeating the problems. I am tired of stating the problems. I appreciate when people repeat solutions on several threads in case I skip one.
We need to start taking action.
Mark, thanks for this very doable first step!
Everyone else, switch to the green party today. Some say they do not have enough business experience, but I myself of these experienced good old boys. Vote them out for the party that cares about humanity.
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Green Party Teacher and Mark,
Do you realize that not only are people seeing this same message here (and on other pages of this blog) posted multiple times, but folks who’ve signed up for email notices are getting email after email with the same exact message as well?
While, like Dienne, I also happen to agree with the message itself and actually stopped doing business with those companies YEARS ago (and voted Green Party last November), I have to agree with Dienned. Annoying people is really not the best way to get them to see the message in a positive light.
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CT
Thanks for the polite explanation
Point taken
Apology given
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Parents don’t realize how much power they have. I would begin by contacting other parents and get the concerns written down. Go on Facebook and get as many parents and teachers involved.
I would begin with the teacher, then principal, superintendent and school board. Numbers are important and perhaps if someone in the group is an attorney, this certainly will be helpful.
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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Sticking with it is dangerous. Rest period edged out by curriculum? Fundations? Modules here and modules there. Stressed teachers and students? This is Kindergarten or it was until The Know Nothing Party got its hands on the state’s school system. The queasy feeling in this mother’s stomach is her trusty compass. She knows the direction she must follow. She stands up vertical, she walks into the classroom first and tells teacher, “No more of this for my child.” She says the same to the principal and then she makes sure she shares her decision with other, sympathetic parents in the hopes that they will summon the courage to do the same. The very same backbone will be required at school board meetings and any related public forums. It feels real good to take action in behalf of your child and all the others. Welcome to the struggle!
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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As a retired educator who just last year spent time volunteering in a local Kindergarten class, I would suggest home-schooling your child if at all possible. If you are unable to do that, perhaps a small group of parents could get together to help with home-schooling. This will buy you time until you can see if this whole mess will clear up, with Common Core eventually being eliminated — or if it continues to get worse. Corporate money is behind the whole movement, and parents need to help us who are fighting this travesty with letters to your state government, visits to the state school board, etc.
Blessings to you and your family —
Sandi Wickham
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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When faced with a similar decision a number of years ago, I enrolled my kids in the local Montessori school for K-1. It’s developmentally appropriate and give the kids so much confidence in themselves and their abilities that it was more than worth the tuition.
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Rosemary,
My family and I moved from TX to “Green Acres” Raleigh, NC in pursuit of a better education for both of my children, we have one that is Autistic. We did what I thought was research about NC and based on advice we received from a national autism group, we decided that “Green Acres” (Raleigh, NC) was the place to be. It took less than a week here in Green Acres to realize our mistake, BIG HUGE mistake. If you move you won’t necessarily find better, you will find different, but not necessarily better. You may end up just like us and look back at your initial horrible experience and realize that it was a day in the park compared to what you have found. Fight, just as Dr. Ravitch says, fight them – do not be discouraged when they treat you like a crazy parent, do not stop until someone listens and do not stop because someone acted as if they listened. Opt your child out of the tests, send an email to the principal and teacher. Demand that your child be allowed a rest time, play time … it’s kindergarten, it should be fun your child should be excited the majority of days. You have more say over your child’s education than they do, period. Whether they act like it or not, the teachers will be behind you in your fight to stop this nonsense for your child.
What I have found here in Green Acres is that you have to keep going over heads, there are unfortunately many principals and many superintendents that just do not care or understand that this is about what is best for children period. School yourself on Federal and state law, about best practices for kindergarten and fight!
Michelle
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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Diane your advice was right on target. Parents need to speak up and out! I would insist on meetings with all the powers that be. Get your local representation involved. Hold a rally and invite community leaders and the press. Get organized. Un fortunately this is happenning in every school and state therefore you can not run from it. You have to run OVER it!
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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Right on. Honestly, organizing is the only tactic that could possibly work. What parent would be on board with this kind of child abuse? If the teachers have to offer caveats like “we know your kids are litte?”
Parents, these are your babies. Demand your schools respect their developmental needs! They should not become cogs in the machine.
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Parents have the power to stop this madness. I would advise this parent to consider all her options and try to find a developmentally appropriate kindergarten. If she is able to, she should move. If there are other parents who feel the same way, perhaps they can demand a developmentally appropriate kindergarten at her present school. If she is at home, she might band together with other parents and form a home school.
Schools WILL respond to parents when enough of them speak up. In the meantime, this parent needs to do what is best for her child. Kindergarten sets the tone for what school will be like for a young child, so for that reason it should be a joyful place.
Good luck, Michelle. I have a strong feeling that you will make the right decision for your child.
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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I’m waiting for Bernie to show up and tell this mother that it has nothing to do with Common Core.
On a non-sarcastic note, your advice is about as good as it gets, Diane. This is all done intentionally so that every parent who is possibly able to will pull their kid out of public schools – private school, charter, homeschooling, they don’t care because they can profit directly off all of those. If you’re stubborn enough to stay in public schools where it’s harder (albeit not impossible) for the robber barons to profit, then they’ll make you pay for it by making you watch your child suffer. We used to call that torture and we used to be opposed to it.
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“I’m waiting for Bernie to show up and tell this mother that it has nothing to do with Common Core.”
😉
As to the serious part of Dienne’s comment, I agree.
Rosemary,
Organize!
Write to everyone you can think of.
Look into opting your child out of any and all testing.
And above all, do communicate with other parents.
Look into the supposed reasons for CC and endless testing, etc. that comes with it. Come to understand the hoax being perpetuated upon us. Spread the word.
These standards are not in existence to help your child.
As a veteran teacher, I am so sorry for you and your child.
Good Luck.
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I’m not following how the “robber barons” profit when a parent chooses to homeschool and continues to pay state/local/property taxes to fund the local school district. Can you explain? I mean, I don’t understand how they profit when the kid goes to a parochial school or non-profit charter/private, either, but I’m really missing the point with respect to home-schooling.
It’ll be interesting to compare and contrast the advice given to this parent with the default advice given to a poor minority living in an urban center whose choices are charter schools or their street address school.
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Homeschooling curricula is big business, especially among the “Religious [sic] Right [sic]”. And as an extra bonus (or perhaps the main intent), such curricula prepare a whole new “Joshua Generation” to “take back” the country by fighting for their right to be poor and ignorant.
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As for your second paragraph, the advice would be the same – organize and speak out.
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A lot of parents who homeschool these days have also been enrolling their kids in online programs, including K12 Inc. and Connections Academy.
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Good point, Cosmic Tinkerer.
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Thanks for the responses–I hadn’t considered online curriculum providers. Where I live, most homeschoolers choose more of an “unschooling”/”city as a school” model, or make use of primary sources and free resources (the entire Core Knowledge K-8 curriculum is available for free online, e.g.). I’m skeptical about the insinuation that Common Core is partially a conspiracy to drive people to these providers, though.
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They save the money fo educating the child. NYC spends about 9,000$ a year for each student registered. My child goes to provate school so they city saves that money.
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I don’t think of it as a conspiracy. I think of it as collusion and, as Diane says, a “business plan.” The aim is not just to drive revenues to private businesses and entrepreneurs, but also to reduce public expenditures, because the rich don’t want to have to pay taxes for a system of public education that they don’t value or use.
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In my city, a new airport runway was just completed at the cost of $1.28 BILLION dollars and the only controversy being reported in the news is regarding the expected increased airplane noise. There’s nothing in the press about paying over a billion in tax payer dollars to private enterprises to pour concrete for ONE runway.
There are, however, constant complaints reported about taxpayer dollars going to education and public workers. Our society has conflicting priorities, and there is an apparent bias towards putting public funds in private hands. And don’t think for a minute that huge cost can be justified because the runway is a one time expense. Concrete does not hold up for very long in my city….
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My middle son took a K-12 course through a neighboring public school district. He thought it was not far better or worse than taking a traditional course at the high school. It might well be a better program of study than purely home schooled curriculum.
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“I’m waiting for Bernie…”
Love it, Dienne!
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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I’m a neighbor of yours, in Copake–on weekends! For the rest of the time, I live in Manhattan, where, you’ll be happy to know, a small group of parents is taking their concerns to policymakers. Check out my blog post, Five-Year-Olds Filling in Bubbles: A School Opts Out: http://www.ecepolicymatters.com/archives/1762 for some details. And feel free to be in touch with me if you want to talk further.
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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One thing I would tell the teacher (and the principal) is simple reality: my child does not function well when s/he’s tired (I’m guessing this is true for at least 99.9% of children). I am happy to support and reinforce your classroom discipline as long as I feel it is reasonable. But if you expect my five-year-old to behave well after being expected to work like a machine all day with no rest and no play, I refuse to be responsible for his/her behavior. I give my child permission to be him/herself, even when (especially when) that self is understandably cranky.
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Oh, and I would add that my child will absolutely not be doing any homework, especially after a ridiculous daytime schedule like that – our home time will be for recovery, thank you very much.
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Unfortunately until more parents start getting this outraged by what is and has been happening in the public schools things won’t change. This parent needs to organize and try to get parents from other near by schools involved too if possible. The principal needs to hear they are outraged, but unfortunately like the teachers their hands are tied and they don’t have much choice but to implement common core if they want to keep their job. Superintendent, school board would be good, but it will probably take a lot of time, energy, and voices to really get the message heard. Anyone with children that will potentially be going into or already are in public schools and are outraged by how things are going all need to make our voices heard if we want change to happen.
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Hi, Rosemary,
We feel your pain. Do not despair. You are not alone. Here are my suggestions, in no particular order of importance. First, if you are on Facebook, there is a FABULOUS Facebook group called Long Island Opt Out Info. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Longislandoptout/. Living on Long Island is NOT a prerequisite to joining; in fact, there are members who don’t even live in NY State, but who have come to the group for support and information. The group is, however, New York centric in terms of law and procedures discussed. If you decide to join, introduce yourself and provide your school district; you just might find someone from your neck of the woods who would be happy to join forces with you. If nothing else, other members in the group, who have been living this now for months and months and months, are at the ready to help.
Second, if I understand correctly where you live, you are currently in District 43, and your NYS Senator should be Kathleen Marchione. Here is her webpage: http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/kathleen-a-marchione. I do not know where she stands on the issues, i.e., friend or foe. If you are not in that District, her office should be able to tell you so and point you in the right direction. Here is the webpage for the NYS Assembly: http://assembly.state.ny.us/.
Third, NYSUT, the powerful NYS teacher’s union, is planning several common core fora (forums!), which I can assure you will be friendly to concerned teachers and parents. The dates and locations are not yet set, so keep an eye out; one may be coming to your neighborhood. http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/197210/nysut-aqe-plan-their-own-common-core-forums/.
Fourth, although generally not sympathetic to the high-stakes standardized testing issue, NYSPTA (the NY State umbrella organization for the PTA) has explicitly called for a ban on standardized testing for grades K-2. Take a look at page 15 on this link: http://www.nyspta.org/pdf/Advocacy/WHERE_WE_STAND_2013_FINAL.pdf. Maybe they can help you.
This is just a start. Remember… you are not alone. And before you go state shopping, just remember… save for some (not all) private schools and homeschooling, these issues will be just about everywhere.
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Diane: hope my comment for Rosemary is OK….
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Rosemary,
Your concern for your son is completely legitimate. As a third grade teacher, I struggle with some parts of the Common Core – like the concerns you are having – but I also like some aspects of it. I do appreciate the thought that all across the country each grade level will be learning basically the same core concepts, but that we are also allowed some autonomy on a state level to adapt the standards to what our students need. On a more personal level, my district has adopted a new plan of Priority Standards, where each school, and each grade level collaborates to analyze data and decide which of the Core concepts need to be focused on the most. It’s a good idea in theory. Unfortunately, the demographics of my school includes an extremely high percentage of low SES, non-English speaking students and adults that includes immigrants and refugees; we are not a neighborhood school so more than 2/3 of our students have to travel by school bus, half an hour each way; we have the highest rate of mobility and absenteeism compared to our district and state; and we have mandates put on us from legislation that are completely inappropriate and designed to make teachers look like source of the problem, and have not a single consideration for what’s best for the students. Teachers have been dealing with this for a few years now, including the school grading system, and it is all coming to a breaking point. We are most definitely losing great teachers, not attracting new ones, and like my Title 1 ‘failing’ school, teachers will look for jobs in more affluent neighborhoods. Our livelihood is at stake, as well as what is developmentally appropriate for students, and doesn’t over-kill them with assessment after assessment.
I attended a panel discussion yesterday where these very issues were discussed and how are teachers rising up against it? It’s hard, very hard, but there are so many wonderfully dedicated teachers. One of the panelists who is a technology specialist for elementary schools, made the comment that because of all the computer assessment that we are required to do, we are destroying the value of what technology can do for learning! Web-quests, research, news, virtual field trips, interactive learning sights, all of which can open up a world of knowledge and experience, but students are not getting that any more. It’s sad and disheartening.
As a dedicated and outspoken teacher I am very much involved with my local teacher association, my state association, and NEA. I will take any opportunity to be involved in this process of change, because I represent a group of expert professionals. Unfortunately, our voices are sometimes not heard by district or state administration, and legislation as we all know. But now, I am seeing more and more of parents and members of our communities, starting to make their voices heard. So much so, that after the school grades came out, the amount of criticism that came from the public, has forced legislation to change the system. These law makers who have no knowledge of what education should be, who degrade teachers with blame as their patsy, and have taken away millions of dollars in funding, are now having to answer to their constituents in the community – which includes parents.
Basically what I am trying to express is that your voice needs to be heard! Get vocal with the right people! Enlist other parents who feel the same as you, collaborate with PTA or any other group that feels the same as you, and let your voices be heard by district and state administration, school boards, and become active politically. We need to vote for candidates who are education friendly. If enough parents can complain to their district about how many days of spring break we should have, and when it should happen, and the district complies, that should tell you something! Aside from the fact that in this actual case, parents were more focused on the break coinciding with travel plans, than with what’s happening in our class rooms because of politics.
I’ve always believed that change begins with ourselves, and that being an agent of change or an advocate, is so incredibly important to get the job done effectively and appropriately. You already know that something is not right with what your son is experiencing! You are aware of the pressure it is putting on teachers. You’ve made the first step towards making a difference! I encourage you to get involved on a higher level. Right now, parent voices are taken more seriously, because for the last few years, it’s been teachers and legislation is tired of hearing us, because we are ‘complaining’ and have been set up to be the failure of education. Of course, that is just my opinion, but still we need parents like you to speak up.
Good luck in your endeavors and collaboration with teachers!
Heidi xxxxxx
Salt Lake City, Utah
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“One of the panelists who is a technology specialist for elementary schools, made the comment that because of all the computer assessment that we are required to do, we are destroying the value of what technology can do for learning! Web-quests, research, news, virtual field trips, interactive learning sights, all of which can open up a world of knowledge and experience, but students are not getting that any more.”
Good point.
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This is a national issue. The policies have been rolling out at different times in various states, but by next year, parents are likely to face the same problem virtually everywhere. Therefore, I strongly suggest that parents follow Diane’s recommendations.
Wherever you are, prepare to actively work in cooperation with other parents to fight this. It won’t be going away until parents make sure their opposition to it is very apparent and their voices are heard by the elected officials who put this mess in place.
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Parents of Castle Bridge school in NYC, decided to “opt out”, of the k/1 tests. If you want this evaluation/testing nonsense to stop, I advice you to make a ruckus and just say no. You’re kids only get 1 childhood and clearly reasoning with policy makers is not working here.
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My daughter is a junior at Manhattan College, a pretty respectable college. When she went to full day kindergarten she fell asleep in the car every day on the way home. Children need rest! It is a long day for them. We are forgetting they are children, and playtime teaches very valuable lessons.
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My kids all went to half day kindergarten. I used to pray for the morning session because they all needed afternoon naps. I subbed in a kindergarten not too long ago as a Special ed TA. I didn’t recognize it. There was no “play.” It was all academic. I kept hoping I would wake up. It’s no wonder that I was shadowing a squirrelly, little boy.
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I would take your cue from your child. If he is stressed, and you can manage it, I’d pull him out. If he functions and maybe doesn’t need a rest period as much as some kids, then you can leave him. In your shoes, I would certainly look at Massachusetts as an option – I’ve heard good things. But as to the rest, I agree with everyone else. Organize. Fight. Research. Get informed. There are a lot of us in NY, a lot in LI but all over the state, and the country as well. Don’t feel alone. I assure you, you are not. Good luck.
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DR’s advice is spot-on. Remember that there is power in numbers. Organize, protest and demonstrate. Your child’s future and sanity is at stake. Don’t let them (NYS education officials and teachers) take that away. Remember that they work for YOU- not the other way around. Your child will thank you if you follow these steps as well as hundred of thousands of teachers.
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I’d like to see a moratorium on all K thru 2nd standardized testing. Like that one guy said, “kinder gentler nation”.
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Wasn’t “that one guy” the first Bush –also the first president to call an Education Summit and invite no educators?
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Ask to see how the school budget is spent. This IS PUBLIC INFORMATION. Then look and analyze closely with other parents. This is a BOONDOGGLE for the RICH who send their kids to ritzy school devoid of repressive standards and onerous testing, testing, testing. ASK: CUI BONO? and follow the money.
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Here’s the district’s budget. It mostly goes to teacher salaries and benefits, but feel free to identify any boondoggles that you spot: http://goo.gl/HzKmdZ
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Where’s the line item for standardized testing? $10 per hour per student. After awhile it starts to add up, not to mention it is b o r i n g.
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It’s $35,000, or 0.1% of the ~$35 million budget.
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How many students in the district? Is that just the cost of the tests, or does that include time?
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There are about 1500 kids in this district. I have no idea whether the $35,000 includes prep materials, overtime to grade/proctor the tests, or anything else. Even if the total real cost of testing wound up at $100,000 or $200,000, it’d be difficult for me to consider that a boondoggle in a $35 million, $23,000 per student system.
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Looks like they have 1500 students for a 35 million budget, so that is what, 23K per year student spending, that’s like private school, right?
But that is laudable that good funding exists. Of course the cost of operation is $25 per hour per student.
Say they take 15 hours of standardized test per year. That is 15 x 25 x 1500, or roughly $500,000 to operate for those tests. I’ll give them test prep for free since maybe they are learning something.
So I would say 15 hours of standardized tests consume 1.5% of the year’s budget. To me, that is too high a cost. Not to mention that I am philosophically opposed to this type of testing for young children.
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That’s a given. On average, the cost of the workforce is 70% of operating expenses.
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Following your intincts! You are your child’s BEST advocate. Do what you feel is best for you and your child. If I had that strong instinctive gut reaction, like I am hearing you did…I would not send him back. Love him, teach him, wait for him to grow a little and then reassess.
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Dear Rosemary,
As a parent and former educator who is currently in ed tech (yeah – I know, the big bad wolf, but please read on – this may or may not match your assumptions) I would like to offer a few suggestions.
First though, let’s talk about the Common Core. The Common Core is a set of standards that are untried and unproven, just as our state standards were a decade ago. There is nothing inherently good or bad about these standards – they are just standards. Just as nuclear power can be used to light a city or snuff one out, it is how we apply these standards that determines whether they are developmentally appropriate or not. As a 3rd grade teacher I was able to successfully align my lessons and projects to the Common Core. These projects were developmentally appropriate and fun – my students loved creating magazine articles, digital stories, narratives about their own created monsters and more – all completely aligned to the Common Core.
The problem with the standards does not completely lie within the standards themselves – they are not so different than the state standards that came before them. In fact, they include less content than most state standards and can therefore be more flexible in many instances (especially in ELA). The problem lies with the lack of understanding and creativity in applying these standards in terms of assessment, accountability and curriculum. The creation of “high stakes” tests by those far outside the circle of your child’s learning is a bad application of the Common Core standards. Tying student performance on these tests to teacher evaluations is a bad application of the Common Core standards that devalues both your student as an individual and your child’s teacher as a professional. Assuming that students must be able to show learning through multiple choice and written tests is a bad application of the Common Core standards (and one that does not reflect the true nature of these standards in the first place). Creating curriculum that supports these bad applications is a bad application of the Common Core standards.
Now to the suggestions.
1) Understand what the Common Core is and what it isn’t. Support your teachers’ efforts to create and implement developmentally appropriate lessons aligned to these standards. If a standard is truly developmentally inappropriate be able to say why and show how it could be amended to reflect students’ natural development. The Common Core is customizable up to 15% by the states. New York State has the ability to revise developmentally inappropriate standards.
2) Support your teachers in their efforts to speak up not only about what is developmentally inappropriate application of the standards, but what is developmentally appropriate as well. When I was teaching 6th grade, I would be given our “CFAs” (Common Formative Assessments) in advance and told to review the concepts with my students (a.k.a. teach to the test). This infuriated me – so I aligned its questions to the common core and sent it back to my instructional coach – letting her know that if I was to be held accountable to these standards – the test better be as well. (It did not align, by the way.)
3) Support your teachers’ local union in their efforts to give teachers a voice. Many teachers are afraid to speak out out of fear of retribution. Unions can help ensure that teachers have a voice and can use them without fear.
4) At all levels provide solutions – not just complaints. It is not enough to say the standards or tests or curriculum are developmentally inappropriate. Those in power have already shown that they lack a certain creativity and ability to “think out of the box” with regards on how to implement these standards. If providing solutions gives even one person in power (and I mean money as well as politics) a good idea – then your voice will have been heard and perhaps we can begin to revolutionize education in a way that benefits those most affected by it – our children.
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This will probably not help but:
Kindergarten is a German word: Kinder [children] garten [garden]. This is what it was supposed to be, a “garden” where children could grow as children. Why are we taking away the rights of children to be children? Are corporate CEOs so desperate that even these young children must be prepared to be “slaves” to their corporate masters? That may sound overstated but look carefully at what these people are promoting; child welfare or corporate welfare?
ONLY if parents rise up in arms and fight back will our children AND our nation be freed from the onslaught of further corporate take over of our nation.
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck. P
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Wow…I would organize but at the same time I think I would pull him out of public kindergarten and put him in something more child friendly. I would never fall for the “your child will be left behind” nonsense. If you recognize the danger of your child being in this kind of kindergarten, then you can certainly supply the reading and math skills that these bozos feel your kid will be missing. My son dropped out of high school at 17, got his GED and graduated from University with not only a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies, but a Phi Beta Kappa key as well. He would be the first to tell you much of that was due to his pre-k and Kindergarten(Montessori) experiences. From what I’ve seen in 30 plus years of parenting being the wife of a middle school teacher too much, too early leaves kids with no curiosity. They burn out. Good luck and fight the good fight for ALL our kids.
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Parents must organize and research Hirsch’s NY contracts and connections. EngageNY is another name for Hirsch’s Core Knowledge Curriculum that NY bought without financial disclosure for the purpose of replacing effective instructional practices with Hirsch’s scripted nonsense. Read the EngageNY/Core Knowledge copyright/trademark information on pg. 4 of 180. Then read the kindergarten “modules” that TELL what to teach, how to teach it, when and for how long without regard to individual differences or child development.
Click to access ckla_gk_u8_tg.pdf
http://www.coreknowledge.org/ed-hirsch-jr
King tells numerous lies to parents. He said over and over that Common Core is not mandated curriculum, however the website states “Common Core Curriculum.”
http://www.engageny.org/common-core-curriculum
Culture Warrior, Gaining Ground E. D. Hirsch Sees His Education Theories Taking Hold
How did Hirsch’s “educational theories” take hold in NY?
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You have been given some good advice here; whichever you choose to do I would do immediately!! Start at the top – go to the principal, the superintendent, etc. DON’T BACK DOWN. Don’t let the politicians make you think you are crazy. And if you keep your child in school, become an ally with the teacher and ask what she thinks you can do to help – often parents have more power than the teachers.
Your child also needs creative outlets: time to sing, play dressup and pretend, run around, etc.
Protect your child. All the best ~ an Art teacher, parent and grandmother.
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Rosemary,
The theory of “exit, voice or loyalty” comes to mind here. I chose to exit to a private school that is committed to a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Others choose home schooling. If either are an option for you, and your child is in distress, then that is what I would do tomorrow. The difficulty with the exit option, however, is how this option will pull you farther and farther away from addressing the problem. On a personal level, you’ll have to negotiate how your finances can support homeschooling or how you will pay the tuition bills. Once you find a way to overcome this difficulty, you will be pulled into your new realm. Unless the private school has a huge endowment, it will probably rely on parent volunteers for fundraising and programs. It may be a pleasure to be involved in your child’s school in this way but this will increasingly draw you away from the experience of public school families. In addition, there is also a stigma where public school parents, politicians and others will exclude you in public school issues because you are a private school parent. As if public school issues don’t affect you! So, you’ll find yourself on the outside circle looking in unless you actively combat this, which will be hard given 1) your new responsibilities and 2) your isolation. No one will reach out to you to join in, you will have to do it…on top of the private school bake sale, or your homeschooling responsibilities, or the new job you took in order to afford private school… You get the idea.
I made my choice so I feel as if my children are ok (actually better than ok!) but I am still frustrated and despondent over what is happening. And other than trying to figure out how to help where I can, I don’t know what to do either.
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Well said – that has been my experience too. What a quandary.
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Emmy and Dienne,
This public school teacher thinks you are both doing a lot to help save public education.
And especially thanks you for participating here!
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Thank you, Ang. But I need to do more. I truly feel that the health and wellbeing of future generations is at stake. The good news is that there is probably a reserve army of people like me who can help even if we are probably not going to be the ones on the front line. It is a matter of mobilization.
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Emmy,
Agree, mobilization and education.
I think many of our potential allies are either uninformed about what is going on (what I truly believe to be an assault in public ed), or misinformed (the manufactured crisis/myth of “our failing public schools” and our “drop out factories”).
Keep talking and writing!
Again, I sincerely thank you!
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What kind of curriculums do they have in other countries? Are we getting soft and doing what feels good instead of instructing our students in K-8? Coleman talked about how the students respond in Israel. Is he right? Are we dumbing down our instruction about what we expect our children to do? Someone answer me please.
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I thought this all started with TIMMS and comparing how we are doing with
Finland, Singapore, or Germany? Do any of you know how many tests are given to students in countries like Finland or Germany? I talked with some students and teachers from those countries and found out. Finish students do not take a single standardized test. I wonder how they evaluate their teachers? Germany limits the number of tests each semester to three for high school students. These tests include classroom tests and any type of “standardized” test, so if a teacher gives three unit tests a semester, the maximum has been reached and no “standardized” test could be given. The students and teachers said most of their work is judged by their class participation, both oral and written. They also indicated they get graphing calculators issued with their math textbooks and are expected to use them when needed including during a Test. When are we going to start to do what these successful countries do for our students?
Do you honestly think our educational problem is the curriculum and standards are not rigorous enough for our current students?Please go to your local school and talk with the teachers or read some of the students comments on facebook. If you live in an area of higher socioeconomic means, then your school is performing above average due to many factors such as parent support for learning and checking to see that their children are completing their homework or immediatley getting the help they need. Parents of students who attend “good” schools do not want endless tests that are meaningless to their childrens future and a huge waist of resources that should be used to improve the school learning environment by purchasing needed technology and up to date instructional materials. Maybe the new standards could be helpful, but teachers have a shorter, more limited amount of time to cover more curriculum than before due to earlier testing periods and more testing. Futhermore, how are students held accountable for doing their best on these tests? Is the test result used to help calculate the students grade or do they need a proficient score to earn a diploma or get accepted for college or … If the test has no student accountability component why would they even care about doing well. I would focus on preparing for my immediate class grade to improve my GPA and SAT exams or preparing for a big game or musical performance. I could use this test as a way of getting back at a teacher who is asking me to do more than I want to do because I have other interests. Are only math, science, and English teachers being judged by these tests or is there a test to judge a PE teacher or Art/Music teacher or Elective teachers? I wonder how long it will be before we find no one willing to interview for a math teaching position at a low performing school. I do not see how spending ALL this money on testing is changing anything except creating a National Curriculum and telling low performing schools that they continue to be low performing schools and they need to replace their teachers with better ones. It seems like I have been hearing this same argument for the past 50 years. Yes, I am a senior citizen who cares about real changes that will improve educational opportunities for the students who need an environment that is conducive to learning. Why are we spending money we do not have on schools that are already achieving and trying to have a one size fits all system because this is not why Americans create so many new things and come up with so many new ideas. If we are trying compete with Finland and Singapore, then we need to make serious structural systemic changes to our schools and do what they do or do not do in their schools. NO more football programs or other sports in our high schools and most electives would also have to be eliminated. I am a Finlander, but we live in a much different country in America and we have very different values. When the well-educated parents of public school children start to understand that a large part of schooling has changed from learning and developing critical thinking to preparing students to do well on a test that most people never have time to analyze and use as a resource to improve the educational experience for children, then they will either place their children in a school where real learning is the priority or they will get involved in changing our new system of schooling. I cannot call this system a system for learning because time and testing are not and should never be factors in a learning environment that promotes creativity and critical thinking (testing without student accountability is meaningless). These two goals are what made America great and created jobs, and they do not happen in a specific amount of time because each of us is unique and we do things at different rates. And futhermore, testing has never been shown to improve either of these factors unless the tests are used to diagnose student deficiencies in their prerequisite knowledge needed to expand their understanding using this knowledge. Even then, most school systems do not give teachers adequate time to analyze the testing data so it an exercise in wasting valuable learning time. Critical thinking and creativity are factors that need to be encouraged and nurtured from Pre-K on. To flourish, they need a stress free environment so students can open up their thoughts and dream up new ideas. It seems ironic that many of the people who were allowed to be raised in this type of environment, open, creative, and stress free, are the same people who are now paying for and pushing for a more controlled and structured environment, but not for their own children? What about Bill Gates and Mark Zutterburg? Are these the experts on College Readiness? Really! So we want college students who drop out after a year or two? Really!!!
Thank you for reading and pray for your grandchildren’skk future. I know We have been praying for ours way before our friends in Utah asked us to pray and if praying is not your thing, then get actively involved in some other way. Maybe we should all start by READING the new common core standards and MORE IMPORTANTLY LOOK AT THE NEW TESTING QUESTIONS starting in grade 3 and see how many of the 11th grade questions you can answer. This may be an eye opener? REMEMBER, the tests will drive the curriculum and what is and is not taught and how it is taught. The tests will determine the level of difficulty and the amount of time available to teach and learn all concepts and not the students rate for understanding of the curriculum. This means if the student is a “late starter or late bloomer”, then you would be better to place them in a Private School that does not expect ALL students to learn at the exact same pace. God Bless America now more than ever or whatever your belief system, someone better be looking out for our children and grandchildren’s future.
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Say that again and again! 🙂 Amen
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Stop doing business with Exxon and Wallmart and tell other parents to do the same. Spread the word. A Nation-wide boycott will get their stockholders attention! Start today. It is the only answer! I stopped two months ago and I am telling everyone to do the same. We need to hurt them in the place they understand.
Good Luck.
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Every time you post this, somewhere a tiny kitten slowly has the life snuffed out of it. You monster.
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This may be the first time I’ve ever agreed with you, Tim.
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He can’t say it often enough.
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There is vast research that shows what is and what isn’t developmentally appropriate. Stuffing kids full of direct instruction is NOT developmentally appropriate. It’s not a matter of “dumbing down”, it’s a matter of how kids learn. Kids, especially young kids, learn best through direct experience and play. Trying to force them to swallow whole reams of worksheeted “information” does not make for a more “rigorous” curriculum. It actually interferes with real learning, not to mention makes kids hate school.
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Read Pasi Salhberg’s book about comparing educational systems and what is the real solution for America’s educational system. He is now teaching at Harvard and is a real Expert on comparing international systems of Education.
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Do exactly what Diane suggests–talk to & organize other parents. Host a meeting at your home.
In numbers there is strength. It is the best & most effective way to fight back & to take back your public school & your child’s (& every other child’s) education. Small comfort, but all across America, everyone is sailing the same boat. Also–don’t reinvent the wheel–find out if you have a local chapter of Parents Across America, get your K (& other parents in the school) together, & form a local chapter & join up w/PAA.
If they are testing Ks, OPT your child OUT (go to United Opt Out for instructions pertinent to NYS)–this is the most important for your child’s well-being.
Good luck, & you can do it! Yes, WE can…& we WILL.
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First of all, opt him out of those tests. And consult with other parents who are writing here who have done similar things in the past.
And, find sympathetic journalists—they’re out there, believe me!—and spread your story. (You can keep your child’s identity out of it, given his age. They’ll understand that.)
And fight like hell—getting other parents to join you.
Two Facts Every Parent Needs To Know:
1. Parents are the ONLY people feared by the Education Privatizers and their hired lackeys. They truly are scared to death of us, particularly if we’re articulate and can attract other parents through the media.
2. There is strength in numbers. Enlist as many parents as possible and they CAN’T single you out, make you feel or look “weird”, or convince you that you’re “all alone” in your “troublemaking”.
Stay with it. Good luck!
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I agree. Opting out and mobilizing your fellow parents to do the same is probably the most time efficient way of throwing a monkey wrench into things.
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Excellent suggestions, PSP! And I completely agree, the parents are the only hope!
(and perhaps truly informed voters)
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Thank you Diane for posting my letter and thank you to everyone that commented.
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Dear Mom,
I am sorry for your stress. The worst thing about this is that your son is in danger of hating school, but more importantly hating reading and writing and math. The way I see it you can do one of two things:
1. move to Norway…see this short clip of kindergarten there
2 teach your son to love reading writing and math as naturally as you can and in the meantime, if you can, volunteer in that classroom, get other parents to volunteer, get on that schoolboard (while and if there still is one)
3 write your legislator (all of this is coming from the legislators local, state and federal)
The alternatives are
1 keep him there, say nothing, and make yourself and him sick with stress
2 move to another state (and run in to the same thing since it is national)
3 private school (and subject him to TFA or other cruel and abusive fraudulent education enterprise)
4 homeschool (give up you job and rely on online stuff that is “empty calories for the brain.”
Since you have to be fluent in Norwegian to get in there and then it is hard you are left with #’2 and #3 above.
What are we allowing to be done to our children?
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Well, we know registering to comment at the Superintendent’s next public forum won’t be much help…
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Follow E.D.Hirsch’s theories, his scripts and his Core Knowledge Foundation. Don’t stop until you have all the answers.
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Here’s another idea: Find like minded parents and chip in and buy every school board member a copy of Diane’s new book. We must educate the boards of education so they can educate their community. John King, the so called commissioner of education, only taught three years in charter schools. Three years???? That’s when public school teachers get their tenure (IF they meet the qualifications)—and are just beginning the long journey to become a seasoned teacher. John King didn’t get tenure, and like the old game of chutes and ladders, landed on the square that made it permissible for him to institute developmentally inappropriate education. Parents must unite and fight this—it seems to be the only way. Teachers aren’t listened to.
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I believe the national Common Core Standards, national assessments, national data centralization, a national requirement for the increase in technology in schools and national APPR are not the “end game” for reformers. Nationwide personalized learning is. Cheaper education is. For-profit is. The foundation is built for this “next wave” of education reform. Read about it! It’s already here in some places. It is only a matter of time….unless, of course, the above reforms do not take hold.
The national decisions for the direction of national education have already been made. Unfortunately, the decision making process left out the “We” in “We, the people….”
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Hi, Rosemary,
We feel your pain. Do not despair. You are not alone. Here are my suggestions, in no particular order of importance. First, if you are on Facebook, there is a FABULOUS Facebook group called Long Island Opt Out Info. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Longislandoptout/. Living on Long Island is NOT a prerequisite to joining; in fact, there are members who don’t even live in NY State, but who have come to the group for support and information. The group is, however, New York centric in terms of law and procedures discussed. If you decide to join, introduce yourself and provide your school district; you just might find someone from your neck of the woods who would be happy to join forces with you. If nothing else, other members in the group, who have been living this now for months and months and months, are at the ready to help.
Second, if I understand correctly where you live, you are currently in District 43, and your NYS Senator should be Kathleen Marchione. Here is her webpage: http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/kathleen-a-marchione. I do not know where she stands on the issues, i.e., friend or foe. If you are not in that District, her office should be able to tell you so and point you in the right direction. Here is the webpage for the NYS Assembly: http://assembly.state.ny.us/. WRITE TO THEM.
Third, NYSUT, the powerful NYS teacher’s union, is planning several common core fora (forums!), which I can assure you will be friendly to concerned teachers and parents. The dates and locations are not yet set, so keep an eye out; one may be coming to your neighborhood. http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/197210/nysut-aqe-plan-their-own-common-core-forums/.
Fourth, although generally not sympathetic to the high-stakes standardized testing issue, NYSPTA (the NY State umbrella organization for the PTA) has explicitly called for a ban on standardized testing for grades K-2. Take a look at page 15 on this link: http://www.nyspta.org/pdf/Advocacy/WHERE_WE_STAND_2013_FINAL.pdf. Maybe they can help you.
This is just a start. Remember… you are not alone. And before you go state shopping, just remember… save for some (not all) private schools and homeschooling, these issues will be just about everywhere.
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Here’s what one parent can do for one child: if your child isn’t ready for that level of work, hold him back a year. Find a pre-school which will meet his needs this year, then start kindergarten next year.
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We teachers need parents to speak up and advocate for their children. When we try, we are dismissed as whiners or slackers. Things will change if enough parents voice their concerns.
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