Dear Assemblyman Goodell & Senator Catherine Young: There is NO research to support the claims that proponents of Common Core claim it will do......NONE....!!! That’s right NONE WHAT-SO-EVER...!!! There IS however, research that clearly shows the American Educational System, and our children are NOT as broken as the government would lead you to believe. Who do you trust more to educate your children: You and the community you live in or the Federal Government....? At this juncture, I certainly would not trust the Federal government...!!! FINANCIAL ISSUES: The Common Core was essentially dictated by the federal government; it was a bribe to the states in that if they didnt adopt Common Core, then they wouldnt get Race to the Top money. The Common Core costs money and takes money away from things that make school enjoyable and exciting like art, music, hands-on science, and physical education. Worse yet, the money it removes goes into the hands of for profit test companies School taxes will rise exponentially for all after the funds revert back to the U.S. Treasury.... It is important to note that all Race to the Top funds not obligated and liquidated by September 30, 2015 will revert to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Monies from Race to the Top given to states for adopting the Common Core is a mere pittance compared to what it will cost states to implement them. It decreases investing in vocational and technical programs that we desperately need to create jobs for our young people in a fast changing economy. In other words, there are many good and well paying jobs that do not require college. We cant move in that direction with the Common Core as technical and mechanical skills are not on the tests nor are they taught. LEGAL & CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES: By calling the Common Core “voluntary” this administration and the federal government was able to BYPASS three federal laws that strictly limit and/or prohibit the federal government controlling education on a national scale. REMEMBER: If your state did not “volunteer” then they were denied Race to the Top funding...funding that rightfully belongs to the respective communities you pay taxes in! The Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Since education is not mentioned in the Constitution, it is one of those powers reserved to the states. It is possible that the Federal Governments “voluntary” program, by using funding as a coercive tactic, may have violated the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United Sates. CHILDREN (& FAMILIES): It is causing strife within the family unit per Marla Kilfoyle from her presentation and many others who have reported the same. Furthermore, it is causing strife within families as the homework assignments associated with the CORE are ones students have difficulty coping with and most parents are unfamiliar with The unfair and inappropriate demands are breaking the spirit of our students, parents, and teachers as stated by members of all three groups! The pressures imposed by rapid, forced imposition of the standards, without debate or discussion, is further demoralizing our students, their families, and teachers. Increased stress to children, parents, and teachers. Yes, tests and quizzes are part of school, but the pressure to perform is very high right now. With this hyper-focus on the core areas of learning and the constant testing to ensure that the material is being memorize it will not be unexpected to see further increase in anxiety disorders among children, a statistic that is already on the rise. Do we really want to see those statistics skyrocket? Creativity is dead: Learning has always included textbooks and spelling tests at the elementary school level. Thats part of the deal. But it used to be that kids were given the opportunity to tap into their creative brains. Forget about thinking outside the box, these kids need to memorize the core curriculum first. Its as if creativity holds no merit. Dont we want to inspire kids to be thought leaders and world changers? Inadequate time to socialize: You know whats really taken a hit in recent years? Recess: Some schools dont have it at all. Recess is when kids truly practice social skills. They take turns. They negotiate. They initiate friendships. They learn to cope with disappointment. Sometimes they work together. Sometimes they dont. Either way, they learn to work it out, but not if they dont have recess. Poor eating habits and insufficient exercise: You cant turn on the TV or open a magazine without hearing about obesity in America these days. Its a problem. And yet, a school lunch is often 15-20 minutes long, forcing kids to wolf down food before the bell rings....NOT a healthy practice. Aside from that, schools are throwing away approximately 75% of the food that they are preparing under Michelle Obamas obesity program because students will not eat the food that is being prepared for them (figures based upon interviews with contractual providers of school lunch providers) Some school districts have completely cut physical education due to budget issues and gotten rid of recess in favor of increased seat time. With little recess and no PE, kids are not getting enough exercise. This at a time when new research is showing that with increased physical activity and proper down time academic performance increases...!!! No time to decompress: Kids need downtime. There is a lot of talk about over-scheduling and the stress that results from too much going and not enough resting. But kids today are faced with a lot of homework. There are third graders with three hours of homework each night. And that doesnt account for long-term projects. Invasion of student (and family privacy) through use data collection and data warehousing to private companies like Pearson and inBloom. Private companies have more and greater access to your child’s test scores and data collected than the teachers who serve you and your children do...!!! EDUCATIONALLY UNSOUND: It promotes a one size all approach to curriculum and schools does not properly invest in vocational and technical programs that we desperately need. Many of the standards are developmentally inappropriate. As a result of developmentally inappropriate the Common Core discriminates against huge groups of children for whom the standards are developmentally inappropriate, especially ELL students, students with special needs, and children growing up in poverty. In areas of high poverty this effect could be magnified to frightening degree. Truth: Educators didnt write the Common Core; they had very little to do with it. The Common Core Standards are not truly “national” standards because not all states adopted them, and now many states are either putting the brakes on the process or starting to withdraw from them altogether. Common Core validation committee’s two major experts refused to sign off on the English/Language Arts and Math standards. Dr. Sandra Stotsky ELA) and Dr. James Milgram (Math) refused to sign off on the CC standards. They (Common Core Standards) were referred to as a “disservice” to our students, and in many instances they were not research based. One of the foremost educators and historians of our time, Diane Ravitch, denounces the Common Core and its standards for many reasons; one of the main ones being there is absolutely no research to support any of the claims being made by its proponent..............OR * The Common Core costs money and takes money away from things that make school enjoyable and exciting like art, music, hands-on science, and physical education. * Many of the standards are developmentally inappropriate. *As a result of these developmentally inappropriate standards, the core discriminates against huge groups of children. (I believe that in areas of high poverty, such as Oswego County, this effect will be magnified). * It forecloses investing in vocational and technical programs that we desperately need to create jobs for our young people in a fast changing economy. In other words, there are many good and well paying jobs that do not require college. We cant move in that direction with the Common Core as technical and mechanical skills are not on the tests nor are they taught. The core’s one size fits all philosophy discourages multiple paths into the labor market. * The Common Core was essentially dictated by the federal government; it was a bribe to the states in that if they didnt adopt Common Core, then they wouldnt get Race to the Top money. * Furthermore, said monies from Race to the Top given to states for adopting the common core is a pittance compared to what it will cost states to implement them. * Educators didnt write the Common Core; they had very little to do with it. * They are not truly “national” standards because not all states adopted them, and now many states are either putting the brakes on the process or starting to withdraw from them altogether. What much of the public is unaware of is that the Common Core validation committee’s two major experts refused to sign off on the English/Language Arts and Math standards. Dr. Sandra Stotsky has an impressive résumé that can be looked up easily on-line. She is the leading expert on English/Language Arts in the nation and served on the Common Core Validation Committee. Dr. Stotsky refused to sign off on the ELA standards. Dr. James Milgram, the only mathematician on the committee, refused to sign off on the math standards. They were referred to as a “disservice” to our students, and in many instances not research based. Lastly, one of the foremost educators of our time, Diane Ravitch, denounces the Common Core and its standards for many reasons; one of the main ones being there is absolutely no research to support any of the claims being made by its proponents. It does seem; however, that corporate America embraces these standards, but I do not believe that corporate America cares for the children of our communities as much as we do. For them, it is always a bottom line issue. Make no mistake; there is big money to be made, just ask Pearson Publishing. A company, by the way, that is not an American company and that has a questionable reputation at best in its home country of England. There are also many grass roots organizations popping up across the country in opposition to Common Core. These groups include parents, educators, principals, superintendents, boards of education, and entire communities. Here is my letter to President Obama Dear Mr. President: Neither you nor Secretary Arne Duncan nor Commissioner King in New York State, upon whom you pile such praise upon, have any experience teaching in a public school classroom...!!! NONE..!!! Secretary Duncans children go to a school in a state that has NOT adopted Common Core; Commissioner King’s children go to a Montessori school (which has teaching philosophies and practices that could be called the antithesis of Common Core), and I seriously doubt that your daughters experience the same educational experiences that the majority of children in this nation experience. Your legacy will be one of destroying one of this country’s greatest institutions: Public Education.....!!! Worse, you are doing so by harming the children and families of the entire nation. It is unacceptable; it is a misuse and abuse of power. Common Core is destroying our students, our teachers, our schools and our country. Russell Payne 34 Frew Run Road Frewsburg, NY 14738
Posted on: Sat, 30 Nov 2013 19:14:29 +0000
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