dianeravitch posted: "Jill Berardi is the parent of a child in kindergarten in New York. She is also the assistant principal of a middle school in Red Hook, New York, in the Hudson Valley. Here she appeals directly to Michelle Obama to take action to help children like her own"
Jill
Berardi is the parent of a child in kindergarten in New York. She is
also the assistant principal of a middle school in Red Hook, New York,
in the Hudson Valley. Here she appeals directly to Michelle Obama to
take action to help children like her own. Please feel free to share
this letter on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. Maybe
The First Lady will read it.
Mrs. Obama: Save our Children!
Dear Mrs. Obama,
Your
husband, our president, is surrounded by policymakers who are not
listening. It is high time that mothers evaluate what is best for our
children! I am writing you an open letter because you receive much mail
and my letter could be tossed aside by one of your aides. I am also
interested in consensus and feel that this is a time when the more
voices that are heard, the better our correction course may be!
My
son started kindergarten this year and one of the first letters home
was about the Common Core Curriculum and how there would be homework
every night. And so it began, it is mid-year and I have hundreds of
worksheets at home. This is because I only allowed him to do what could
be done in a half an hour. He started the school year at four years old
and needs time to play, eat and talk with his parents.
Had
I allowed him to do all of the nonsensical worksheets that were stamped
Engage NY from the New York State Education Department, his parents
would have spent more than an hour every evening with a child, who
according to good education theory should not be holding a pencil yet.
Those
who can afford prestigious private schools are buffered from the impact
of U.S. education policy gone very wrong. For the rest of us, our
children are being oppressed by developmentally inappropriate curricular
materials designed by non-educators. Some of the worksheets are not
understandable to me and I find myself wondering how much stress this
must cause to mothers who have several children and do not have a Master
Degree in Education, as I do.
You
see, I am writing to you as a parent, but I am also an assistant
principal in a high-performing middle school. In response to this
outrage, I am writing a curriculum that will address the “whole child.”
Like teachers, children cannot be reduced to a numeric score! The
fragmentation that some cavalier policy entrepreneurs think will help
kids excel is in danger of producing stress, breakdown and the first
generation of American conformists as everyone competes for the correct
answers. This unfortunate situation is motivating the design of my
social curriculum, which is based on brain-based theories of development
related to the main principles of healthy communication, working with
others, working independently, empathy and evolution of personal
strengths. Personal resilience and wellbeing are the educational
foundation that all children deserve so they can learn, thrive and grow.
There
are so many things wrong with politically driven education reform that
it is difficult to figure out where to start to make sense of a high
jacked domain! As a parent of a kindergarten student and an assistant
principal in a high-performing middle school, I am asking you to stop
the test score harvesting debacle known as RTTT. By removing the number
score on teacher evaluations that is related to student performance,
much of the unhealthy tension and nonsensical tests and formulas will be
lifted off U.S. public schools.
If
you would like to meet or speak with me, I would be very happy to come
and help you understand how as First Lady you can save a generation of
students from the fall-out of a failed education policy.
Jill Berardi
dianeravitch | January 3, 2014
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I have no words.. THIS IS AMAZING!! Congrats!! Nice posting for"Teaching "
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