NYSUT Withdraws Support for Common Core
January 27, 2014
By Sara Noble
At a Saturday meeting in Albany, NYSUT’s board unanimously approved a resolution of “No Confidence” in the policies of State Education Commissioner John King Jr. They also withdrew support for Common Core as written and implemented. They want a three-year moratorium on the “high-stakes consequences from standardized testing.”
“Educators understand that introducing new standards, appropriate curriculum and meaningful assessments are ongoing aspects of a robust educational system. These are complex tasks made even more complex when attempted during a time of devastating budget cuts. SED’s implementation plan in New York state has failed. The commissioner has pursued policies that repeatedly ignore the voices of parents and educators who have identified problems and called on him to move more thoughtfully,” said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. “Instead of listening to and trusting parents and teachers to know and do what’s right for students, the commissioner has offered meaningless rhetoric and token change. Instead of making the major course corrections that are clearly needed, including backing a three-year moratorium on high-stakes consequences for students and teachers from state testing, he has labeled everyone and every meaningful recommendation as distractions.”
The resolution states that the board declares “no confidence in the policies of the Commissioner of Education and calls for the New York State Commissioner of Education’s removal by the New York State Board of Regents.”
NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira said NYSUT has been sounding the alarm since 2011. “The clock is ticking and time is running out,” she added.
She wrote that the following must take place (paraphrased): lessons must be reviewed by educators for age-appropriateness; parents must be listened to; more professional development and resources are needed; transparency in testing needs to take place; Common Core regents as a graduation requirement needs to be postponed; they want more funding for districts to implement the Common Core; a testing moratorium is necessary.
Their points about the testing are most critical. Students will be sitting for these tests in only a few months.
The problem with the resolution is there is no one opposing the propaganda component; most pretend there is no propaganda problem. It is far-left New York after all.
NYSUT has lesson plans on their website that are rife with propaganda. The UN Declaration of Human Rights replaces the US Bill of Rights in their lesson plans for example.
The truth is that the propaganda will take place no matter what happens to the Common Core.
That being said, NYSUT has in excess of 600,000 members and it is one of the most powerful unions in the country. They undoubtedly have everyone’s attention.
The Common Core needs to be terminated, but for now, a moratorium is imperative.
http://www.independentsentinel.com/nysut-withdraws-support-for-common-core-as-implemented/
