Reply #49: First off, I thank you MF for all of your posts and research [View All]

[Lifelong Protester]

that goes into your thoughtful writings. I am not yet retired, but close. I fear for my younger colleagues, many of which are smart enough to see what is happening and are fighting mad.

Here's what I put up with today. I was at a meeting at the state cooperative service agency (in our state there are several of these that are coops for pooling resources and specialty services and trainings that most schools could not do on their own, etc.).

Anyway, it was about the "Common Core State Standards" which are now in the 'exploratory' phase of being rolled out. Have you heard of these? Well, 23 states are now signed on, including my state. This is of course what we must now do in order to possibly, and I mean possibly, be eligible for whatever bucks our state might get for kowtowing to the party line on 'rigor' and '21st. Century skills' or whatever the flavor of the month is.

I was there at the meeting with my boss. I asked him if he really wanted to sit next to me because I usually make snarky comments (not loud enough to be disruptive, but out loud) about whatever is being presented, if of course, I find it troubling or vexing.

Well get this. Now a bunch of folks have decided there will be NATIONAL standards, because of course, we have to guarantee that all states are teaching the SAME material. And we are going to be making lists of 'best practices' so we can all teach the SAME (the latter is my synthesis of what happens when we make lists of 'best practices' for everyone to adhere to). Evidently, teachers now have to be Stepford Teachers.

We will be moving to an "achievement based", not "time based" education model. That means if you have a student who does not meet the set goal in the 180 day school year, your school, with no extra funds will be required to keep working with that student until he or she meets the goal. Now I ask you, do you think that sounds like something we will get the unions on board with? Heck no, me neither. But of course, this is just another nail in the union coffin. No one is saying just yet what the punitive measures will be if we don't comply, but you can bet they are being thought of as we speak.

So my Dear Husband, when asked how my meeting went (and he is not a teacher) said, "You mean that underfunded for decades schools in Mississippi and Louisiana will have to have their kids up to Wisconsin standards?" "Yep" I said. Now no offense to my fellow educators in those two states, I know you have been up against it for decades, maybe even centuries of underfunding and no support. How in the hell, in FOUR YEARS (oh yeah, the 2014 deadline for implementation has not shifted from the NCLB 'magic year')will schools in these states be able to reach these standards?

We of course know the answer, they can't. Not without a massive influx of dollars, and that ain't happening. So now there will be an even bigger club over the schools and teachers in struggling states, and more 'evidence' that public schools 'don't work'.

The deck continues to be stacked folks.