With all the talk about Common Core, please understand that these standards, problematic as they are, are only one of five pillars of the Race to the Top (RTTT) debacle. In order to qualify for RTTT grant money and receive a No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver, states had to agree to: 1. Accept common core standards (which were not drafted until after Tennessee submitted its applications); 2. Establish a state longitudinal database to collect academic but also behavioral, medical, demographic, and other information on every child enrolled in public school, and their families. The gutting of FERPA (Federal Educational Right to Privacy Act) in 2011 makes that data available to ANY federal or state agency that asks, without parental permission or even knowledge; 3. Implement an evaluation system for teachers to tie their performance evaluation to standardized test results; 4. Adopt a national, online assessment (e.g., PARCC) 5. Increase the number of Charter Schools to replace “failing” public schools. This push to “privatize” public education puts unelected corporate boards in charge of our schools, but using tax payer dollars – which amounts to taxation without representation. Unless the entire package is repealed at the state level, the hands of teachers will continue to be tied. I find Common Core troubling because I do not believe the standards are age appropriate for grades K-2 and I am concerned that they are not nearly high enough for grades 8-12. Some have suggested modifying the standards to address these concerns. However, local school boards, and even state legislatures do not have the ability to change one word of the Common Core standards, because the copyright is held by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Most good teachers can teach to whatever standards they are given, as long as they have the freedom and autonomy to teach according to established methods and their professional experience. The RTTT requirements remove that freedom and autonomy. If the requirements for the database, flawed teacher evaluation system, national online assessments (as yet untested and unproven), and push to privatize public education are left in place, teachers and students alike will continue to be harmed.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:04:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015