Common Core critics speak out at forum in Ridgewood
MAY 29, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014, 3:50 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
Christopher Tienken, an assistant professor of education administration at Seton Hall University, questions why some local control in education is being taken away.
This is why he studies standardized school reform, and why he came to Ridgewood High School (RHS) to speak on Tuesday.
“What I see is a whole lot of ‘one size fits all,’ trying to make everyone the same at the end of the day,” Tienken said. “These standards might be great for some. They might propel some schools forward. But that issue should be a local decision.”
Invited by Ridgewood resident and mother Terry Anzano to speak, Tienken gave a presentation titled “Standardized Schooling: Is It Necessary? Is It Effective?” to about 40 parents on Tuesday in the RHS library. Principal Tom Gorman, Assistant Principals Jeff Nyhuis and Basil Pizzuto, Board of Education (BOE) trustee Christina Krauss, Ridgewood Education Association president and RHS social studies teacher Michael Yannone, and a few other teachers also attended.
The presentation was about myths surrounding the national education standardization movement, including controversial mandates known as the Common Core State Standards, which will replace testing standards in New Jersey and 43 other states.
The debate over these standards, which were created by a group of individuals representing both the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, has become a well-known – but still confusing – subject.
New Jersey adopted the standards, which Gov. Chris Christie supports, in 2010. Ridgewood educators, who still design their own curriculums, completed any needed alterations to align lessons to the benchmarks. The district has also implemented a new, more involved teacher evaluation system that replaced Ridgewood’s old system, which administrators supported.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/common-core-critics-speak-out-at-forum-in-ridgewood-1.1025976#sthash.lhaVWXTo.dpuf
