Another Look Needs to Be Taken

It was in passing interest that I followed on Twitter, and read the stories in the media about the appearance of state Education Commish John King at a local Albany middle school. Then I realized, that although I don’t have any children subject to the Common Core standards, I do have a granddaughter who is. I vaguely remember my days of having to take the standardized Regents exams back in high school — which even though I was proficient in math I spent one summer going to summer school taking Trig over again — I certainly don’t remember taking any standardized tests in middle school. Though times were different, I firmly believe we got an excellent education without the standardized tests. Some kids, regardless of the ability to understand the subject matter have a hard time taking tests, while an average student who might have a difficult time in grasping the material will definitely wind up behind the eight ball. Judging from the comments of most of the speakers (mostly teachers) the state needs to back off from the Common Core standardization. King stressed that it was not about the testing, but rather it was about adopting new standards. They want kids to explain answers to problems instead of memorizing math. The last time I checked geometry is all about memorizing theorems. Math is all about memorizing; but that doesn’t mean that the student is unable to come up with the reasoning to the answer. This new rollout is being shoved down the throats of teachers way too fast for even them to adjust. Commissioner King needs to listen to the needs of these teachers and parents.……….I was out of town on the day the story appeared in the Times Union about County Executive Dan McCoy’s speeding ticket on I-787, and it wasn’t until I saw the editorial in today’s paper that I realized once again how biased the paper really is. The last time I looked everyone is entitled to an attorney to represent them in all civil matters, and it is a good thing if you have a friend who is a lawyer. The friend happened to be Tom Marcelle, the County Attorney. You see, Times Union, if you get stopped by a state trooper for speeding, or any other traffic violation for that matter, the case goes to the jurisdiction where the violation was committed. If you plead guilty to the violation, the state receives the funds that the violation produces. If you obtain an attorney, and he pleads the case to a different violation, the funds go to the jurisdiction where the violation occurred , in this case, the Village of Menands. You, me, or any Joe Blow get the same treatment. Only you, me, or Joe Blow’s name doesn’t appear in a lengthy newspaper article, and the village is better off with the money than the state of New York. Slow news day, eh?……….Of all the people that they could have picked, local TV station CBS 6 Albany chose to interview Marlon Anderson after the meeting last night at Myers Middle School about the Common Core. Anderson all decked out in red, mumbled something incoherent, which I guess was a good thing. That, my friends, is just the worst judgement that the station possible could have displayed. And Marlon is a candidate for mayor in the city of Albany.