Explain in detail your understanding of Common Core.
1.What is it’s purpose? What methods does it incorporate? What is it designed to do? Why was it created?
The common core was created to ensure that students are prepared for today’s entry-level careers, freshman-level college courses, and workforce training programs, by using the same standardized tests throughout all the states. The goal of using common core is to shift from “mindless” learning to having kids actually comprehend the information they are given. The founders of common core believe that by testing students on the concepts behind the material they are learning that students will be better prepared for the future. Not only do students have to learn curriculum in a new way, teachers also have to learn to teach this curriculum in a new way. I will make sure that the ways of teaching our future does not involve the common core.
2. Do you oppose the implementation of common core? Why?
I oppose the implementation of common core because the methods that they use make learning much more complicated and time consuming for the children. Common core is meant to equalize the education system nationwide but for a state like new york with one of the best education systems in the country do we really want to be brought towards the mean of education when we are multiple standard deviations above it? The only thing common core is equalizing is the way students think, it is stripping the individuation of every child’s unique mind. The idea behind common core is that we must understand the concepts behind the material we are learning. That is all well and good but do you think it is fair for a kid whose best subject is math but lacks english skills should to get to the math test and see pages upon pages of math concepts written out when he doesn’t excel in English? Common core is attempting to create well rounded students while neglecting the fact that everyone has rough edges. Not only this but if the children are getting frustrated while doing their classwork and homework then they are more likely to dislike learning which will cause an increase in dropout rates. The common core can even make it difficult for parents to help their children with their homework. Parents were brought up in a time where an addition problem was done much more simpler than the complex way they are teaching students today. These problems should not be existing in our education system.
3. Our media consistently claims there is an education crisis in the United States. What information can you provide to refuse this statement?
Our education system is flawed but it is not as bad as the media makes it seem. Even if the media is claiming that there is an education crisis my campaign team and I will make the success rate as high as possible.
4. How does your administration plan to increase the nation’s high school completion rate, which is currently 74.7%?
We plan to have students take classes that are directed towards the student’s desired future careers, if these students are undecided on what the future holds for them then they can take a variety of different classes to find what career choice may interest them. We will be able to do this by taking away gym classes for people that are already on a sports team so that way students can have more time to take the classes they want to take. By doing this students will feel as if what they are doing currently in school is connected to their future. We also will create a program called S.A.I.L. which will have schools detect which students are showing signs of dropping out of school, such as being absent often and failing classes. These students will be put in a mentor program where they will have someone to talk to about their problem. This will make the student have an adult that cares about them and have a connection with them, which will make the student want to attend school and also creates more jobs for teachers.
5. What is your stance on standardized testing? Do you believe standardized testing serves a purpose?
Yes, standardized testing is unbiased in showing how much a student has learned, by having computers and teachers who don’t know the students grade the tests, but it shouldn’t be the only way students and teachers are evaluated. There should be methods to evaluate the teachers and students in a better way.
6. What are the positive and negative effects of standardized testing for both students and teachers?
Standardized testing does not evaluate a student’s knowledge and a teacher’s ability to teach very well. These teachers are being evaluated on their career by students who may not perform well on tests due to not studying or in general just not caring how they perform on the test, which does not accurately evaluate a teacher. Many teachers lose their jobs due to these lazy students and that should not be the case. For the students that do care about these standardized tests, they are developing anxiety at a very young age because the tests are so stressful to them. There is even a test, which is called the Stanford -9 exam which has instructions on what to do if a student vomits on the test booklet. If students are feeling this way during a test, why would they ever enjoy learning? The answer to that is they won’t, this will just cause an increase in dropout rates. Of course these standardized tests do help by showing teachers what they should be teaching their students, but it also makes them teach for the tests. Many teachers spend countless amount of weeks preparing their students for these tests while students could be learning more material. Instead they are just relearning the material they have already learned at least once before. I feel that in general, there are many more negative effects of standardized testing than positive effects.
7. What other methods can be used to assess our students and teachers? Provide specific examples to support.
To solve the problems that come along with standardized testing there should be unannounced observations. By doing this the teachers will be observed on what they normally do in the classroom opposed to what they planned to teach in order to impress the observer. If teachers are doing what they are supposed to be doing during class then they should have nothing to worry about with unexpected observations. To assess our students, we will still use testing but it won’t count heavily on their overall averages or G.P.A. it will just be used to see where they are at.
8. How do you plan to ensure that students around the United States are college and career ready when they graduate from High School? Explain with specific examples.
I plan to ensure that students around the United States are college and career ready when they graduate from High School by having all high schools allow seniors to take internships during the school day and also by opening up more schools that have many different programs for high school students who know what career path they want to take so that way they can learn more information about that career. I will also have the material learned in high school gradually become a little bit like college level courses. The difference between high school level courses and college level courses is a huge gap, which many students can’t get used to when they attend college. By doing this students will be responsible and knowledgeable when they graduate from high school.
9. How do you plan to make college more affordable for America’s high school graduates? Explain your plan and how this will benefit the United States.
It’s a shame that many hard working students are not able to go to the college they desire or even go to college in general, as a cause of college being too expensive. I plan to solve this problem and make college more affordable by continuing Obama’s plan to strengthen community colleges. We plan to do this by giving community colleges money to design education and training programs that prepare workers for jobs that are in demand in their regional economies. Also, we will make the first two years of community college free for responsible students. The community colleges will determine who is responsible by the use of placement tests and also letters of recommendations. This will benefit the United States by making it easier for college students to pay for tuition and also direct them in the right direction in their major while at the community college. We will also make it easier to pay off loans by letting the students get settled in a job with a steady income until they have to start gradually paying it off. By using these plans more students will be obtaining a college degree after high school.
10. Education has been called the great equalizer. Do you believe this statement rings true today in the United States?
Explain why or why not.
Education should not be called the great equalizer. Students who attend school in a high income area compared to a student who attends school in a low income area obtain two completely school experiences. Of course the material that the students are learning do not change since formulas and concepts don’t change based on what school a student attends but the materials that the students are learning with are less advanced in an area of low income compared to an area of high income. Also, studies show that parents are less likely to encourage their children to do well in school if they live in a low income area. These two school experiences are so different that there is no way that education can be called the great equalizer.
11. Why are your plans for American education better than the plans of your opponents? Explain.
I feel as if our plans for American education are better than the plans of our opponents because we are focusing on the students for America, which are our future leaders. Through our plans the future will be prosperous.
12. Why should America trust you to improve American education? Explain with specific examples.
America should trust me to improve American education because my main focus is to secure a positive future for all students, where they will obtain the education they deserve for a lower expense.