My son is in the 8th grade and because he is in advanced classes takes math and science at a 9th grade level. His math class, at least, is part of this recently implemented Common Core of Standards. Now, the CC (Common Core) looks good on paper and has some admirable goals, but at the heart of it, it is horribly flawed. It removes individuality, it teaches to a test, it was created by the wrong people, pushed through without the proper scrutiny and without enough input, it was untested and untried and yet it was applied nationally. Students are struggling, teachers hate it, parents are in an uproar. And lobbyists are having a field day with this nice, juicy issue to sink their teeth into.
I was invited to a group on Facebook with the goal of protesting the CC by keeping children home from school on November the 18th. This page is run very efficiently and looks to be highly organized by some very energetic movers and shakers. I've shown the page to my son and talked about the protest with him, about it's goals and about my reservations. My reservations are: Will skipping school around the nation really send the message that we're trying to send? Or will we only hurt the schools by way of funding troubles, and our children by missing school when now, more than ever, missing a day snowballs badly?
I've asked around looking for the opinions of teachers, but teachers are (understandably) elusive on Facebook. The creators of the protest assure their readers that this protest supports teachers, and is in line with what the teachers want, but until I hear from some real live teachers I'm just not willing to take that as gospel.
While looking through the group earlier today I see one of the organizers demonstrating protest signs to help fellow protesters see how they could be made. Her signs professed support for the Tea Party, Hatred for President Obama, and my favorite Common Core = Communism. My heart definitely dropped. Reading through the posts I did see another member post feelings similar to mine, which is that the Tea Party is NOT an admirable group to be aligned with, that this protest is not about politics for us parents, but about education, and that it should stay that way. I chimed in with my agreement. I was then informed that the Tea Party supports this protest publicly. I left the group immediately. I did comment, though I'm sure it was removed (I would have if I were her) that the Tea Party would like to see her barefoot and pregnant and making sandwiches. She did remark that she has Freedom of Speech and her signs can say whatever she chooses. She is correct -- and I support her right to do so. I also exercised my right, removed myself from the event, left the reason why in the box where it asked, and left the page. The enemy of my enemy is not always my friend. How lovely to find political support for the protest in Washington DC, how unfortunate that it's the Tea Party. Oh, and "Common Core = Communism"??? Now we're lowering ourselves to some very low levels of ignorance and sensationalism.
My son's school is having the Parent Teacher conferences the week prior to the protest, when the first report cards come out. I will have the opportunity, then, to discuss my son's work with his teachers. I will take that opportunity to ask his math teacher, who is being forced to teach using CC, what his opinion is about this upcoming protest. Though now I fully intend to send my son to school on the 18th, I am still a little bit on the fence about it. But the most important thing, in all of this for me, is my son's education. If nothing else, this protest allows me to show my son a real life example of critical decision making, peaceful protest, and how politics seep into everything.
I am not saying to other parents to participate or to not participate. I can only say, for myself, that I do not wish to be aligned with the politics being demonstrated by the organizers of this protest. Every parent should do what is right for their own family and what they feel is the best thing to do. I do sincerely hope that the protest is successful in it's goal of calling serious attention to the CC and hopefully get some real change happening.
No comments:
Post a Comment