Reply to "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]I don't understand. You know that the Common Core standards are [b]bad[/b], but you're not qualified to say why you know this?[/quote]

Here is something that we both can understand.  We both know that there was not enough data and vetting to roll these out to all the states and to create tests based on them.  We know this because neither one of us is coming up with enough "data" to satisfy the other person.  It's too simplistic to use the word "bad".  This introduction of new standards is a complicated process that some people tried to avoid, but now it is coming home to roost.  It's a big enough deal that there should have been a process that was clean and without any possibility of backlash (you obviously don't have that based on what is happening).  Changing all the tests in America (GED, SAT, ACT, and standardized tests) just added to how huge this all is.

We know there are problems because of the anecdotal information coming from schools (this thread started with a teacher quitting and there are many more who are not happy, but have not quit).  We know there are problems because of the comments coming from parents as well.  We know that change takes time and that change is often a process that requires much adjustment and input from all the people involved.  Without the buy in from key players, change is either unlikely to occur or be resented (and even sabotaged).  It would not be the first time.  So . . . effecting change has to be done carefully and correctly.  That is why so many people on here are complaining about the process (and you seem to think process does not matter).  But, life is definitely about the journey.  If you insist on holding to your Machiavellian views, you are going to be disappointed.  History is about[b] how [/b]things have happened.  We don't just say "x or y" happened.  It's like the CC math emphasis actually.  We need to know how we got an answer.  You, of all people, should understand this.  I think it's a testament to the American people that they want to think critically and analyze what is going on around them.  We should applaud those who care about how their sausage is made.  Our founding fathers cared very much about this as they knew that the sausage making in England was not good for them (even though sausage was being produced).

I think most people just want a moratorium on the testing so that they can work through the CC and make it relevant and usable for their students.  I can tell you that years of testing and being told you are deficient is quite demoralizing.  Years of being told that teachers are not doing things right has gotten very old.  We just need a break!  Standards need to be what students CAN do, not what they CANNOT do.  And if we aren't perfect, well, please forgive us.  Please know that we are trying to help students learn and improve every day.  We're trying, but when we keep getting beat down, some of us do give up (and quit like the subject of this thread).  And, make no mistake, she was a great teacher.  She cared A LOT.  She had the passion.  Those will be the first to go (and many already have).

I can't wait for Arne Duncan to be gone.  We need a champion for the teachers.  The teachers have no one (the unions died a long time ago).

This has to be done right.

I voted for Obama twice.  I think Romney would have been better now.  [/quote]

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