Letter: Common Core should be restarted
Eighth-grade students take the New York State 2015 Common Core English Language Arts test at Pierson Middle School in Sag Harbor, April 16, 2015. Credit: Gordon M. Grant
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is finally putting his ego aside to take a second look at the Common Core disaster that he's stamped his name all over ["NY's education firestorm," Editorial, Sept. 13].
Parents need to understand that while the Common Core goal may be fine, the implementation is all wrong. You can't just drop this in the laps of students and teachers and expect success immediately. This program should have been introduced gradually to give each student a fighting chance.
Students in the upper grades are being tested as if they have been taught this curriculum for years. They haven't. Kids perform poorly; as might be expected, schools look inadequate; teachers get evaluated unfairly; students get frustrated; and parents get angry. Throw it out, and reintroduce it properly.
Perhaps we should really be looking at the need for it anyhow. Are we falling behind in technology? Apple, Dell, Google and Hewlett-Packard may argue that. As far as the creativity of America is concerned, we should note that the Oscars, Grammys and Tonys are broadcast globally. If the entire planet is your audience, you're doing something right. The folks at NASA have always done well with our engineers, and people from all over the planet recognize our medical community as the gold standard.
John Higgins, Nesconset
Editor's note: The writer's partner is a teacher.
