In Ed Sullivan's commentary ("New York's about to fail the ultimate test," May 25), he writes of New York's adoption of the Common Core Curriculum too quickly, rushing into testing before the curriculum has been adequately implemented. He states students have been required to take tests before being properly prepared.
As a teacher, I can agree with everything he writes, except for one important question he poses: "And why indeed did their teachers, and the school district superintendents, and the Board of Regents set the students up, set many of them up for certain failure?"
Superintendents and teachers did not ask for this untested national curriculum to be forced upon students. Educators across New York have protested the Common Core and the state's over-reliance on high-stakes testing. The Common Core and related testing were forced upon educators and students by the state Department of Education, led by Commissioner John King. He is the one who has pushed the Common Core, the exponential increase in testing that steals time away from meaningful learning and the sabotage of public education.
While he dismisses the concerns of teachers and administrators, King addressed an audience of "corporate decision-makers," asking them to push his misguided agenda ("Corporate help sought for testing," May 24).
To learn what educators, parents and students find truly important about public education, stop by the Empire State Plaza at noon Saturday for the One Voice United Rally.
Educators don't want to set students up for failure. We want them to learn, to think, to grow and to succeed.
Larry Tuxbury
Albany