A parent in New Jersey heard the news that Governor Chris Christie had decided to abandon Common Core. Apparently that is good politics today. Governor Christie is against the Common Core. But he favors keeping the Common Core-aligned PARCC tests. Is that good politics? Does it even make sense? This parent doesn’t think so.
He wrote the following letter to legislators:
Dear Senate Education Committee:
Last night I attended a friend’s absurd annual party where we sit around drinking, laughing, and betting on the National Spelling Bee (which this year came to an incredible draw). I ended up down about $10. In this age of spellcheck, I (somewhat facetiously) can’t think of any more useless talent than knowing how to spell, but that did not stop me from lovingly asking my 12-year-old daughter this morning why she can’t be as smart as those kids (she is, even though her spelling is atrocious).
Last weekend in Livingston during the Youth Appreciation Week activities, the student members of the Livingston High School Robotics Club presented ingenious working 3D Printers that they designed and built.
I don’t know whether those kids are ready for college or career. I pray that they never find out until they get there.
The prior Monday, at the Senate Education Committee hearing, we finally heard from some people (all parents of children at North Star Academy [a charter school]) who felt that they had benefited from PARCC. There was a heavier-set gentleman who worked in the community, a father and son, two women who were unable to read aloud the words that were prepared on their behalf on the papers before them, and one lively woman who spoke of being $100,000 in school debt and of the pride and sense of accomplishment that her son felt when he prepared for, focused on, and took the PARCC Exam.
The problem is that the suburban parents of the students who set the standards on standardized tests… they largely do not believe that pursuit of those standards is a worthy goal. I cannot imagine what it is like to live in a community that has been wracked by socio-economic malaise for generations. If the PARCC Exam served that community by demonstrating the rewards that come with focus and goals, then PARCC may have had a sliver of value as one tool in the infinite quiver. However, that sense of focus and accomplishment… that can be learned in music, in arts, in the scientific method of exploration, in language, in mathematics, in athletics, in making history come alive, in studying the dictionary, or in designing and building your own 3D printer. The Pursuit of Happiness and The Pursuit of Excellence are intertwined as both individual and team pursuits. To force anyone year over year over year to reach for the subjective levels of “excellence” set by others seems as silly as it is inhumane (especially when the students of Newark have as of late so boldly set new standards of excellence for public advocacy).
We should thank the Governor for his strong leadership in abandoning the Common Core. It is silly to impose a common set of standards on students across the board because to do so distracts us from actually addressing the needs of each community and each child as an individual. A common set of standards subverts the tried and true simple method of Observation. Profit motives probably got in the way. If we are going to impose standards, they should be actionable standards… standards for facilities… standards for staffing… standards for programming (how about every fourth grader in the South visits the Liberty Bell and every fifth grader in the North visits the Statue of Liberty?). The standard is, “Nothing worse than we would want for our own children.” Every school should be teaching coding and have a robotics club. Every school should have a school library brimming with new books (and yes, even dictionaries). Every school should serve the needs of the Community. These are actionable standards. They are investments that we can ill-afford NOT to make.
The Purpose of Education is to create active and engaged citizens… citizens who may pull from their vast experiences across the liberal arts to address and solve today’s problems while being prepared for tomorrow’s concerns. There is no reason why The People of The Garden State cannot lead the country in those efforts. It will take months of hard work to overcome years of misfeasance and malfeasance. We should all be thankful that we get to start together on Monday. We have unlimited potential for Growth.
Thank you to the Senate Education Committee for its leadership.
Have a great weekend.
Justin Escher Alpert
Livingston, New Jersey
P.S. Perhaps we ought to welcome each of those North Star parents back in front of the Senate Education Committee to testify in the safe space… in their own words… about their real struggles and needs. Perhaps PARCC had only scratched the surface. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of The People, and they have the right at all times to alter or reform the same, whenever the Public Good may require it. Let us commit to each other that that time is NOW.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This man actually “thanks” Christie for getting rid of common core… OUCH because he is getting sucked into the Christie chicanery and forgetting all about the continuance of the PARCC test!
But.. I do love these words he states when referring to the standards, “To force anyone year over year over year to reach for the subjective levels of “excellence” set by others seems as silly as it is inhumane…”
LikeLike
1. If you’ve read Mr Alpert’s Twitter comments, you’ll notice he is very polite–I think that’s why he says we should thank CC re abandoning CCSS. If CCSS are gone, the use of tests based on them is questionable.
2. Mr Alpert has worked actively against PARCC testing. He’s quoted in March 2 WSJ article re PARCC. A family member testified at NJ State BoEd meeting in Jan ’15, per Save Our Schools NJ.
LikeLike
“We should thank the Governor for his strong leadership in abandoning the Common Core.”
Not so fast. Authoritarians fear populist revolts.
There’s an odd similarity to Christie’s strategy & the FL strategy to remake & rebrand Common Core. Republican governors are facing a backlash from their conservative voters who, like progressives, reject the Common Core standards (both groups have different reasons but share in the effort to stop implementing them).
BuzzFeed connects the dots by showing Jeb Bush’s concern about FL Republican Gov Rick Scott’s rejection of CC. Bush’s e-mails to Duncan suggest a coordinated effort from Arne’s DoEd is underway to re-brand Common Core to create an illusion that each state is adopting new standards.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ilanbenmeir/jeb-bush-emailed-with-education-secretary-about-rick-scotts?utm_term=.gh5DDB9e7#.vw7pRGEqa
How can we build a creative and innovative education system when political powerbrokers & private foundations are determined to dictate a standardized national curriculum? Do we want clones or critical thinkers in our next generation?
Not change we can believe in.
LikeLike
As the other commenters have noted, Mr. Alpert said, “We should thank the Governor for his strong leadership in abandoning the Common Core.” I was hoping he was being sarcastic but sadly it was a sincere statement. Christie was not leading, he was pandering to the GOP base who hate the CC. This is not an example of strong leadership, this is an example of a shameless flip-flopper who is sucking up to the GOP right wing. That statement soured me on the whole article. I am a NJ retired teacher who has had his pension cut (COLA eliminated) by the fake phony fraud, Chris Christie. Christie should not be thanked for anything, he should be condemned and especially for his educational policies.
Another annoying statement: “In this age of spellcheck, I (somewhat facetiously) can’t think of any more useless talent than knowing how to spell,…” Spelling is a very important skill that should be cultivated and encouraged. He said that he and his friends were betting on the National Spelling Bee. That’s weird. Those kids at the National Spelling Bee should be praised not mocked.
LikeLike
Close reading–“absurd annual party” suggests light-hearted time; betting on Natl Spelling Bee participants can mean predicting an individual’s success, not mockery.
“Somewhat facetiously” is a qualifier.
LikeLike
I’m sorry, but I respectfully disagree.
The standards are nothing but goals set for each grade. In and of themselves, they are not the issue.
The problem is working backwards from PARRC or what ever ridiculous test a state adopts. Schools want their students to be successful on these tests, so they adopt curricula that speaks to the kind of “thinking” to which the students will be exposed.
What we have as a result are teachers forced to deliver curricula that is several years above the developmental ages of the students sitting before them, in hopes that they will do well on a developmentally inappropriate test, so a bunch of people who know nothing about education will get off their backs, while companies producing said tests and curricula get wealthy in the process.
Getting rid of the CCSS, while not addressing the other concerns, will do NOTHING to help teachers and students.
LikeLike
“The problem is that the suburban parents of the students who set the standards on standardized tests… they largely do not believe that pursuit of those standards is a worthy goal.”
Can someone please explain to me what that sentence means????
The ” suburban parents of the students who set the standards on standardized tests” are the problem???
To whom does the “they” refer in “they largely. . . “?
Who believes and does what in that sentence???
LikeLike
We need some more suburban failures to get the rest of the parents up in arms. They know the education their children have been receiving has prepared them to succeed in the past. Up until recently, CCSS has been an annoyance for many suburban communities. If it continues to draw resources from activities that these parents know have benefited their children, more will be in open revolt. They are not paying high property taxes for a school system that focuses on math and ELA at the expense of social studies, science, languages, and the arts. I am waiting for the local reaction in my own community when the scores are returned. Parents were provided with the opportunity to take the practice tests before their children were to take the PARCC. As a result, 30% of the 3-8 students opted out. Even so, our teachers have been involved in a major efforts to align district curricula with CCSS while preserving the district’s more progressive history that has taken a real hit in the last several years. We still have a lot of work to do.
LikeLike
DS, I think–
The suburban parents whose kids score very high on standardized tests (because of their socioeconomic status) generally do not believe that pursuit of these standards is a worthy goal.
The standard is, “Nothing worse than we would want for our own children.”
LikeLike