The PS 154 community, the parents, and worse, the students are being bamboozled by a modern day snake oil saleswoman, the 2014 equivalent of the Music Man, DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal of PS 154 in the Bronx.

Where educators statewide, are decrying and fighting back against the Common Core, not only has DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal encouraged the full implementation of Common Core at PS 154 in the Bronx, but if the excuse that she is "only following orders" can be an excuse, she remains silent among thousands of New York State educators in its implementation.

We have seen a groundswell of support against the failed ideals of Commissioner John King and Governor Andy Cuomo from such a diverse group as a kindergarten teacher in Alfred, NY to the superintendent of schools in Harrison, NY, Louis N. Wool.

Where is DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal to lead against the unconstitutional takeover of education by the Federal government? Where is DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal to lead against the one size fits all curriculum of the Common Core? Where is DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal to rail against the corporatization of education in the United States of America? Where is DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal in the fight against the dumbing down of our students?

According to the Washington Post of Monday, January 27, 2014; 

 Over the weekend, the Board of Directors of the New York State United Teachers, a union with more than 600,000 members, passed a resolution  withdrawing support for the Common Core State Standards  “as implemented and interpreted” by the state Education Department and also declaring “no confidence” in the policies of State Education Commissioner John King. Why is support for the Core sinking rapidly?

DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal is nowhere to be found other than on the side of those that wish to destruct education.

DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal can and should look to Carol Burris as a shining example high up on the hill in the fight against the corporate takeover of education.

Who is Carol Burris one might ask?

Burris has written a series of posts about the many problems with test-driven reform in New York (here, and here and here and here and here, for example). She was named New York’s 2013 High School Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and in 2010,  tapped as the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. She is the co-author of the New York Principals letter of concern regarding the evaluation of teachers by student test scores. It has been signed by thousands of New York principals teachers, parents, professors, administrators and citizens. You can read the letter by clicking here.  (in which DR Alison Coviello's; Ed.D and Principal name is strangely missing)

By Carol Burris

“Hit the delay button.”  That was the message New York’s senators sent to state Education Commissioner John King during last week’s hearing.  Education Committee Chairman John Flanagan made it clear that if King did not act, senators on his panel would.  Senator Maziarz observed that the only Common Core supporters remaining are “yourself (King) and the members of the Board of Regents.”  To make his position crystal clear, Senator Latimer emphatically smacked the table while calling for a delay, likening the rollout of the Common Core to “steaming across the Atlantic” when there are icebergs in the water.

The defiant King refused to acknowledge the icebergs, and remained insistent on full steam ahead. He let the senators know “you’re not the boss of me” by asserting that standards are controlled by the State Education Department and the Regents, not by the legislature.

Following the meeting, King told reporters that there was no need for a delay because “we have strong support for the Common Core from all the education stakeholder groups in the state.” Less than two days later, the largest stakeholder group of all, the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), not only withdrew its support of the implementation of the Common Core, it publicly called for the dismissal of the commissioner. Whoops.

Why is support for the Common Core in New York so quickly sinking into the deep? Some contend that it is because teachers do not have enough materials to teach the Common Core. They argue that if teachers had more preparation and resources, all would be fine.  I disagree. Support is disappearing, not because schools don’t have the Common Core curriculum, but because for the first time they do.  After last year’s testing debacle, teachers are frantically attempting to implement the standards using the modules provided by the state. Kids and parents are reeling from the effects of teaching the Common Core standards, at the fast pace needed to get through them in time for the tests.

Nowhere is this more evident than in mathematics. Bianca Tanis, a special education teacher, showed a group of Westchester parents and educators how elementary math topics were now pushed down a full grade level because of the Common Core.  After watching her presentation, I checked for myself.  I compared the 2005 New York State Mathematics Learning Standards K-5, with the Common Core.  Ms. Tanis is right. Not only are many topics now taught in a lower grade, what students are required to do to achieve the standard is far is more difficult as well.

For example, the 2005 New York State Learning Standards asked fourth-grade students:

to find the area of a rectangle by counting the number of squares needed to cover it (NYS Learning standard  4.G.4)

Here is the third grade Common Core standard for the same topic:

Use tiling to show in a concrete case that the area of a rectangle with whole number side lengths a and b+c is the sum of a*c and b*c. Use area models to represent the distributive property  in mathematical reasoning. (NYS Common Core 3 MD 7.C)
Recognize area as additive. Find areas of rectilinear figures by decomposing them into non-overlapping rectangles and adding the areas of the non-overlapping parts, applying this technique to solve real world problems. ((NYS  Common Core 3MD 7. D)

My assistant principal’s third-grade son cried when he tried to do his homework based on this Common Core standard MD7.D.  You can view the problem he was asked to solve here. Dad had to do it for him.  This eight year old had just learned how to find the area of a rectangle. When there are 180 module lessons for 180 school days, there is no time for the practice of less complicated examples.

Here is another example. Previously, third graders were asked to measure to the nearest standard unit using a ruler or yardstick. Now second graders must “measure the length of an object twice using length units of different lengths for the two measurements; describe how the two measurements relate to the size of the unit chosen”.  You can see other examples, cut and pasted from the original documents here.

Aside from the question of whether or not the above reflects the appropriate leveling of topics and practice, consider the practical effects of pushing nearly all math topics down a grade level. For intermediate-grade students, it means that they will have “knowledge gaps.”  Those gaps will occur during the year that the former learning standards are replaced by the Common Core. For most students, that is occurring this year. The effects will be lasting. Any student who was forced to “jump into the deep end,” as described by Chancellor Merryl Tisch, will feel the effects of that gap throughout their remaining school years.

The fact that no one in the State Education Department either realized or cared about the effects of whole scale, K-8 implementation of the Common Core Mathematics curriculum demonstrates either a disregard for the sequential nature of mathematics instruction, or a callous disregard for the mathematical competence of an entire generation of New York State students.  It is no wonder that both the New York State Alliance for Public Education (NYSAPE) and now NYSUT are calling for John King to leave.

There will be time to analyze what went wrong, and many will share the responsibility for mistakes.  But now is the time for us to undo as much of the damage as we can. For the sake of our students, we must lower the lifeboats into the water.

New York senators are right. Hit “delay” on the Common Core and the misguided policies that go along with it.  Examine the reform policies one by one and when needed, have both the honesty and courage to then hit, “delete.”

Why the silence from DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal of PS 154 in the Bronx? The community of PS 154 should know where DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal where she stands.

Goo, goo, g'joob, DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal, the community of PS 154 in the Bronx turns its eyes towards you for leadership.

Today is Martin Luther King Day. I was only 4 years old when he was assassinated and have no memory of him at all. But I do know one thing. He was a transformative figure for this country.

King is in the same echelon as Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, FDR, Jefferson, Madison. He dared to think outside the box and took on the establishment and did what was right even though it was unpopular to those is power.

So how is MLK Day celebrated? By Commissioner of Education John King being as blatantly incorrect about King's legacy and what he would have wanted as the Tea Baggers are as blatantly incorrect about the Founding Fathers and Ronald Reagan.

John King of Comedy today shared with all in today's Daily News how a just found recording of MLK giving a speech to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address is tied into today's efforts to transform public schools. I truly do not see the connection.

His comedieness blabbers; true equality of opportunity remains elusive — in no small part because we as a country have not yet found a way to provide all of our children with an education that prepares them for success in college and careers.


King of Comedy spews forth; As a teacher and principal, I was driven each day by the conviction that while we cannot ignore and indeed must address the challenges posed by economic hardship, inadequate access to healthcare, housing and the like, the single best tool we have to advance opportunity is education.

He's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!! Like your mother in law coming to visit, like that huge blackhead on the back of your neck that is in a horrible spot to squeeze and stays there for years. Or worse, like that old Saturday Night Live skit with John Belushi, "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave," Little Evan Stone just won't go away.

Imagine New York City's shock when all 25 people (Myself included, but just for the sports section) that read the New York Post opened up to the op-ed section and saw a supposedly coincidentally timed to John King being in NYC opinion piece about the Common Core written by that "independent" mind of Little Evan's.

Now for those who don't know who Evan is, he has been a comedic source on these pages for years, an average 6th grade teacher, while his babe, Princess Sydney Morris was worse, and has not taught in over 4 years. 

After I stopped laughing whilst rolling on the floor I decided to share what Evan blabbered with The Crack Team. They laughed so hard that one member of the team, Throckmorton, died. For those who are interested, the funeral is tomorrow and we will be sitting Shiva through Tuesday.

Little Evan of course had to inject himself immediately; This week’s town halls on the Common Core with State Education Commissioner John King and Regents Chancellor Merryl Tish, which I attended, did little to calm the circus-like atmosphere that has surrounded the implementation of the standards from Day One.

Circus like atmosphere? Where? In Port Chester? In Western New York? Where was the circus like atmosphere. The only two places that turned into a circus was in Poughkeepsie and the so called supporters of the Common Core that showed in Brooklyn on Tuesday night. 

By lumping these new standards in with other hot-button issues,

Like the APPR? Race to the Top? Testing? It's all intertwined. One begets the others. One can't survive without its hosts. It's all the same no matter how it is sliced.

What Little Evan is doing is worse. He is throwing up the proverbial red herring to distract the readers into believing that only the Common Core is isolated change and that it has no effect on other deforms.

The new standards are more rigorous and promote the very skills teachers and parents have been calling for — critical thinking and problem-solving — skills that colleges and jobs will require.

I'm a parent and I never called for such skills in the schools and no one ever asked me. I'm also a teacher and no one and none of the teachers (Of course only the cool ones) I know, ever asked for such skills. Don't critical thinking skills and problem solving start in the home by fostering a childs natural ability to learn? That's why I have always expected my son, and my students, to come to their skills on their own. I am just there to facilitate.

But which colleges and which jobs are suddenly now requiring such skills? Haven't these skills always been required in college and the work place? 

When I taught sixth grade, I used to have to teach 127 unique math standards or topics. Now I’d be able to focus on 27 standards, giving me the time needed to make sure all of my students understood the underlying concepts.

One hundred and twenty seven math standards?? You don't say! You mean these? This was difficult for you? Yikes! Why memorize? Heck, Massachusetts had the gold standard of standards. Is this too difficult for you?

For example, I used to teach the equation for the area of a square in a 50-minute lesson, simply memorizing the equation and applying it to problems.

You did? Then you sucked as a teacher! You didn't have them take the area of the classroom, the cafeteria, the hallway, the office, their home, Sydney's family's home in East Hampton? Then they could write about how they came about their findings. Simple, eh? 

Now I could teach real-world mathematical problems involving area over the course of a week, allowing my students to uncover multiple ways to solve for the answer and truly understand the concept.

Please see my response above. 

But parents send their children to school to prepare them for the real world, and we haven’t been doing as well as we can.

Not in Kindergarten. Or 1st grade, or elementary school. We all don't get to prep Choate.

As The Post pointed out recently, just a third of New York City public-school students graduate high school ready for college, thus denying many students the opportunity to succeed. 

Yes, the Post, the bastion of journalistic morals and integrity, with no axe to grind on either side of the education debate pointed such a fact out. But wait, what about credit recovery? Does that not prepare students by just letting them graduate and letting them out in the real world?  <----sarcasm i="">


For example, in focus groups we have conducted all around the city, Educators for Excellence is hearing positive feedback from reading and writing teachers, many of whom are praising the focus on both fiction and nonfiction reading, as well as the new emphasis on text-based evidence.

Who participates in these surveys? Can we see the surveys? Are only card carrying members of E4E allowed to participate in such surveys? Are these surveys taken at E4E youth rallies? Are these surveys done scientifically?

In a recent poll, the National Education Association found nearly 75 percent of teachers said they support the Common Core.

Sources please. 

But what is most disturbing about Little Evan's spew in the Post today is his dishonesty. You see, what Little Evan doesn't want anyone to know is that the face of technological failure, Bill Gates funds Educators4Excellence while at the same time funding Common Core. Again, Little Evan is a liar. And according to the same article, Common Core is a curriculum, though Little Evan claimed it is not. Little Evan also fails to mention that his hero and mentor Bill Gates said that we won't know for ten years if Common Core will work or not. Will this be acceptable for the offspring of Little Evan and Princess Sydney?

What Common Core is just a repackaging of what was being done already for the purpose of creating new profits for corporations. It's all about the money. It's all about who will out whore whom and Little Evan, you are in the top three.

I put it to Evan, let's you and I walk the streets of Harrison, NY together and survey the parents of this great community together.

Let's face it. Little Evan is Bill Gates little b**** boy.

In the 1980 hit comedy, "Caddyshack" (Which I have watch hundreds of times), caddy extraordinaire Danny Noonan attempts to curry favor with Judge Smails to win Bushwood's caddy scholarship. This coming on the heels of the untimely death of Carl Lipbaum, the original winner who suddenly died of a severe anxiety attack while at summer school.

While transversing the first fairway Danny, who was caddying for Judge Smails lamented that he will not be able to afford to go to law school after college but his family will be unable to afford it. Judge Smails in a bad mood due to the noise coming from Al Czervik's foursome, tells Danny that the "world needs ditch diggers too." After this comment Judge Smails niece, Lacy Underall from Manhattan, is mean and mocks him.

I bring this up for I am disturbed about a quote from His Commissionership, John King Ph.D, OEO, OC, Esq., KC, OB-GYN in a New York Times article, from this past Monday, about the forums he is hosting across the state;

“The reason that 45 states, the District of Columbia and Department of Defense schools have all come together around the Common Core is the clear need to ensure that all of our students graduate from high school ready for college and career success,” he said. 

I am confused. Danny Noonan seems to be not only college ready, but career ready as well. He works hard at the club, puts his money away, save for the odd Coke-Cola and cheeseburger, and knows he wants to be a lawyer with a practice in noise litigation. Yet with all his hard work, his father's job at the lumber yard, he might not be able to afford to go to college.

On the the other hand, Judge Smails ne'er do well nephew Spalding, is lazy, stupid, eats his own boogers, can't make up his mind what he wants for lunch, drinks alcohol with cigarettes in the glass, and mistakes a Baby Ruth bar for doody, apparently will be able to go to college, probably any college he wants to. What is wrong with this picture?

Because even though this film took place in 1980 and is fictional, it still emanates today.

College is becoming more and more unaffordable by the day. An Ivy League school could cost up to $60K a year. Private colleges almost as much. Public schools, while far cheaper, are getting more and more expensive, compared to when I went.

So if we get all our children "college ready," what then happens when they or their families can't afford college and/or go into massive debt to afford it? Or does His Commissionership, John King Ph.D, OEO, OC, Esq., KC, OB-GYN and his ilk mean to send all our students, other than the top tier (be that academically or their social strata) to community college?

Career ready? What does that mean? When my son was 5 he wanted to be an ice cream man when he grew up. Now at 12 he wants to play Major League Baseball. Does he need school (I am being sarcastic)?

But what about the lack of jobs that we see here in the United States today? Their either extremely low paying or extremely high paying, no in between. Is His Commissionership, John King Ph.D, OEO, OC, Esq., KC, OB-GYN and his ilk training our children to be greeters at Wal-Mart?

A very bright educator and I were having a conversation about the Common Core last week. She told me that we need the Common Core so we can compete with India. She bought into the propaganda.

In India 68.7% live on less than $2 a day. So I guess to compete against India, we need 70% in the United States to make less than that?

India has 1.2 billion people, 74% literacy rate. Just because so many call centers are opening up in India doesn't mean they are kicking our butts.

Must we compete against China and it's 1.3 billion people? Most of the people there are making less than $10 a day. My wife has been to China many times for business. The factories there house, feed, and employ the workers who make those $600 handbags for $2.99.

The jobs are going overseas because it is cheaper and their is less, much less government oversight. What must change in this country is the greed from the top. Just look at what is happening to Boeing in Washington State.

I'm going to sum up how much of a farce this career and college readiness mantra is.

Growing up I had a friend that was at the top of our high school graduating class and went to the University of Chicago. Me, I was way at the bottom of class and went to WCC out of high school. He was very, very book smart. Once when he was trying to show off how smart he believed he was I told him something.

"Hank, let's try an experiment. Let's have someone drop us off in the middle of the woods separately, no supplies, no nothing. Within 24 hours you will be dead and I will be lounging about in front of a TV."

That can't be  taught in school. That transforms so much through life. That I learned at a YMCA sleep away camp in Connecticut, not in school.

I get home from Port Chester on Monday night and go on the Journal News website and what do I see? A video with two men who were at the forum in Port Chester to hear The King spew forth. One gentleman, is a a teacher, a union president, and a teacher from Ossining, and the other is of someone named Vincent Marrone, a self proclaimed "parent" from Larchmont named Vincent Marrone.

Now in the video Vince claims that he has a five year old daughter (presumably in Kindergarten?) and in a nutshell, says he has no problem with the Common Core standards, supports testing, believes the tests will help them get into college, and says, "I don't know why people are objecting to that," and goes on why teachers don't like testing is that, "...a big part of the scores is tied to their jobs, and it is a big deal that it is tied to their jobs." 

So why all the hub bub about some parent sharing his opinion? I guess one is that the parent from Ossining shared exactly what his background is. Simple, "Bob Rosenbaum, a high school English teacher, a union president and a parent." I think if he came out and shared that he believes that The King is a deity no one would have a problem, (except for thinking The King is a deity) with that for he fully disclosed who he is.

On the other hand, Vinny lied. Yes, he is a parent. But is so much more. Vince is founder and president of Public Strategies, LLC, "full-service government relations firm that specializes in representing clients on regulatory, statutory and budgetary concerns." He's a lobbyist!!!! Oh, oh! Vince, for shame. Why not share this with the Journal News? Are you ashamed of what you do?

As was reported today in New York BATS Facebook page, and on the Hall Monitor blog by Journal News education reporter, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, one of Vince's clients is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Yes, that very same Bill Gates who failed to innovate at Microsoft and is attempting to do to education what he has done to Microsoft. Yes, the very same Bill Gates who has shoved Common Core down our throats and who said that we won't know if Common Core will succeed for another ten years.

But let's not stop there. Another client of Vinny's is the New York City Charter School Center. Yeah, charter schools, Common Core, testing, hmm, I see a connection for Vince's sycophancy. Oh snap, I almost forgot. NYC Charter School Center is supported by Billy and Melinda. I am starting to think that Vince was a plant on Monday night and wasn't speaking from the heart but rather from the wallet. And speaking of wallet's, click here and see how much all his clients (some worthy ones I will admit) paid him, in particular Billy and NYC Charter School Center.

But enough of outing Vince, maybe it's time we educate Vince. Maybe Vince should know about the teacher, Rigoberto Ruelas, in Los Angeles who after years of being a beloved teacher was rated ineffective (and outed by Jason Felch of the Los Angeles Times) by some inane algorithm tied to his students test scores. How did Rigoberto deal with this? He committed suicide.

As far as the tests, no one has a problem with testing as long as it is done for assessment, but to make testing part and parcel of a student's whole reason for being in school and to judge teachers is just wrong. How can we determine in 3rd grade, or even Kindergarten (which the powers that be wish) are college or career ready? How can we judge whether or not a teacher is effective by testing? Teacher's have no control over what happens at home.

Vince, worse, and as I said to The King on Monday night, there is no crisis in education. It was creates by the billionaire boys club and the people you represent. All that matters to these people is they see that there is a buck to be made from education and from children.

That is all that seems to matter today in education. Dollars.

My stream of consciousness about last night:

What many people do not know, is that Port Chester Middle School is actually in the Village of Rye
Brook. Rye Brook is one of the tonier areas of Westchester County. It even has a D'agastino's. But
more on Rye Brook later.

So there I was last night in Port Chester, #47 in line to speak. On one side of the dais, the so-called "educators"; The King, Meryl Tisch, and Regent Phillips. On the other side of the dais, the so-called "champions of the people," Assemblyman Steven Otis, State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assemblyman David Buchwald, Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow, and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti.

Senator Cousins addressed the audience. She shared how she represented such a diverse population. Her district goes from Yonkers to Scarsdale. And she then said something quite interesting.

"We need to know why there is such a big difference of achievement between the students in Yonkers and Scarsdale."

Really? I hope this was a rhetorical question, though I doubt it. It's obvious Senator Cousins. Email me and I will give you a hint.

But this is what I noticed.

Assemblyman Otis was taking copious notes at a furious pace.

Assemblyman Pretlow, though not taking notes truly looked interested and concerned.

Senator Cousins, eh.

Abinanti? Yeah, he looked interested.

The moderator from the Westchester County League of Women Voters was a big meanie. 

Regent Phillips, a friend who is a real mensch said he is a stand up guy.

The King looked like he was on a Blackberry most of the night, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I saw a pen moving in his hand.

Chancellor Tisch looked as if she was wondering how fast she can get herself to Saks over the state line in Greenwich once the forum ended.

Yvonne Gasperino is a great speaker and a force to be reckoned with.

As far as myself, I was a little too histrionic when I spoke, though the mean moderator was a meanie to me. I accused the three "educators" of never teaching. Oh, Regent Phillips, I apologize for lumping you with the two lunkheads you were sitting next to, but you still never taught.

I claimed that The King and Tisch are part of the billionaires club, though honorary members.

I shared with them how my son got 2's last year, yet still made honor roll, and had 4's and high 3's until last year.

I asked them how they can sleep with themselves and look in the mirror.

I really wanted to say, "The Revolution has begun," and raise my fist like they did in Mexico City.

But one thing kept gnawing at me.

While I saw a lot of educators; teachers, superintendents, board members, PTA members, principals, assistant principals, teacher's aides, paraprofessionals, one thing was truly missing.

Parents. Regular parents. I mean not parents like me who are in education, who wear two hats (educator and parent), but regular rank and file moms and dads. Not that there weren't any, but I don;t believe that made up even 10% of the speakers last night and probably less of the audience. Hey, I could be wrong, and if I am I apologize, but I am going just by my perception.

But here we were in Rye Brook actually, with Rye, and Purchase, and Harrison, and Larchmont right nearby and I was expecting more. More parents.

Yeah, I know the time was difficult, 4 PM, and the forum was kind of last minute (is it cynical of me to think that it was done this was on purpose?), but there should have been more, should have had much more local, true grass roots involvement there yesterday.

I hope the outrage is building in these communities. I hope the frustration is building. I hope people have had enough of a decisions that should be a local matter, such as their child's education being decided in Albany and Washington, will make them say enough is enough.

But from what I saw last night is The King is fully entrenched in what he believes in and won't budge unless Governor Andy tell him to. The King is butt naked of credibility right now and doesn't know how small he looks.

And as I said last night, there is, and never was, a education crisis. It was all manufactured by those that pull The King's strings.

I just came across this blog;  Oneonta Area For Public Education today. I think I saw it on the New York Bats Facebook page, or somewhere. Anyway, I fully haven't given it a good read through, but I'm adding it to the SBSB blog roll. Oh, and one other thing caught my eye on that blog. I found out today that NYSED Commissioner John King enjoys fine dining.

One of the authors of OA4PE (Got it right?), Betsy Bloom, shared about a conference she went to in Saratoga in which The King was the keynote speaker. The King yada-yada-yada'd about all the stuff he yada-yada-yada's about. But as Betsy shared, The King showed just how out of touch he is by using an analogy comparing dining with his wife and how shocked he is receiving letters from parents complaining about their child's math homework.

Some highlights;

The King blabbered, “When I’m in a restaurant, and the waiter opens the bottle of wine for me to taste, I never say no, send it back, even if it’s horrible. The same with my meal, if I don’t like it I’ll eat it anyway."

OK. First off, The King just shows how out of touch he is because most of us don't have the class that King claims he does, nor the wherewithal to eat at anywhere other than Applebee's. Besides, couldn't The King have said he orders a Genny when out to dinner with his wife? Heck, I would have even accepted him saying he orders an imported beer (as long as it were Labatt's Blue!).

But John, you lie. You showed in Poughkeepsie what you do when you don't get your way. You run away. You lie. You have others lie for you. You take your ball and run away.

But I call bullocks that you don't send your wine or your food back. If the food is undercooked, or burned, you eat it? If the the wine you ordered tastes like Aqua-Velva you drink it? My mother always, always sent her bluefish back. There was always something wrong with it. There was not one single restaurant in the the United States that could cook her bluefish correctly.

But I have digressed.

I must disagree with Betsy a wee bit on this one. Now bear with me, my point will soon be made.

In fact there is some logic to The King analogy about being in a chain restaurant, like Applebee's. Think about it.

In education, the teachers, the educators, are the waiters. We serve it. We place knowledge on the table of learning. We take the orders of what our students want. We can know what is good or what to stay away from.

The principals are the restaurant managers, the greeters, with the IQ's (at least in NYC) of the hat check girl. They think they know what is happening in the education restaurant, but they don't (in NYC).  But they run things.

The chefs? Well the chefs are the one's that put the curriculum together with the monies they are given and serve it up to the teachers. But the chefs must get direction from somewhere, no?

Yes, the chefs get their orders, their directions from the restaurant home office. In this case the home office is on Washington Ave in Albany. And who runs the restaurant? The King. He puts together the menus, he put together the ingredients, he doles out the monies, and he is the decider.

But because of what he is serving up, all the food at the restaurants taste like cardboard. There is also no fun allowed at the restaurants. No kids menu, no crayons, no coloring. The kids that come to The King's restaurants must have an appetite and attitude that is adult ready.

But the restaurant's The King runs are perfect. Few staff, and fewer customers. As long as the hedge fund investors and restaurant suppliers (Pearson has no branched off into food service) are happy, that is all that matters.

The customers? The King doesn't care. But the customer's care. The customer's aren't looking for anything fancy. They just want value.

Even though this is addressed to the parents of Harrison, NY and NYC, it is for all the parents of New York State and the USA.

Lexington and Concord. The first battle in the American Revolution in 1775, almost 240 years ago.

The Journal News. Saturday, September 28, 2013, the first battle in the Revolution to Take Control
Back of Our Children's Education. All led by a humble reporter, Gary Stern.

I predicted this revolution back in June of last year.

I walked into Vassi's Deli on Underhill Ave in West Harrison this morning to get my breakfast and coffee. My son just had a hitting lesson and we were looking forward to spending some time together. I grabbed my copy of the Journal News and on the front page saw the headline. "Critics: Test Scores Failing, Not Students," by Gary Stern.

What a joy it was to read an honest and thought provoking education article by a reporter that has not been tainted by the poison of Uncle Mike Bloomberg;

Is it possible that 56 percent of sixth-graders in Bedford are not proficient in math? How about 70 percent of eighth-graders in Dobbs Ferry? Or 75 percent of seventh-graders in Nyack? 

Could 50 percent of seventh-graders in Irvington not be meeting expectations in English/language arts? What about 58 percent of eighth-graders in Ramapo Central? Or 80 percent of sixth-graders in Port Chester?

 
This, parents of Harrison is our reality. Not just yours, but mine, your neighbor's, your friend's, and your enemy's. Wake up, this is what has become of education in New York State thanks to the millions our elected officials in Albany have collected from such organizations as DFER and Students (oops!) MichelleRheeFirst.

My son got 2's on both ELA and Math. This after receiving 3's in ELA and 4's in Math from grades 3-5. Some putz who decides what goes on the tests, how to score it, how to take it is telling me my son is not proficient in Math or ELA?

At this past Thursday's parent-teacher meetings I handed out hundreds of fliers sharing with parents of Harrison the dangers and evils of the Common Core Standards from a fantastic organization, Stop Common Core in New York State. I could not believe how, UNINFORMED the parents of Harrison NY are. One parent actually believed that Bill Gates is a great person!

But then again, Governor Andy, Uncle Mike, NYSED, and John King (No link to who John King is. You have a child in school, then you should know. GOOGLE HIM!) all want you uninformed. They want ignorance, they want compliance, they want servitude. This is what is happening in NYC right now and across all urban school districts nation wide. You probably heard about it in passing, saying to yourself, "Well, why should I care, it doesn't effect me or my children."

But guess what? NOW IT DOES!!! It's time to wake up and see the corporate and Federal takeover of education is now in your backyard.

Bill Gates, the Lord and Savior who blessed us with the Common Core, let's see what he said the other day; 

“It would be great if our education stuff worked, but that we won’t know for probably a decade.”

What you talking about, Willis, I mean Bill?

He does not know if it will work? Bill Gates feels it is OK to experiment on THE CHILDREN OF HARRISON? Why didn't Bill test it out on his kids?

Know that teacher you love at your child's school? Well, thanks to Bill Gates and Governor Andy, 40% of their evaluation is based on assessment (TESTS)! Two years without growth, that teacher is rated ineffective and you can say goodbye.  Opt your child out of the NYS tests! You can and it is time!

Parents of Harrison, did you know that EngageNY (No link to EngageNY. You have a child in school, then you should know. GOOGLE IT!), a subsidiary of NYSED is not only in control of your child's school data, but personal information as well and plans on selling it to InBloom (No link to EngageNY. You have a child in school, then you should know. GOOGLE IT!)? What you don't know this? Well, you need to now.

Fight back. You are your child's best advocate for his or her education. Not a politician, not someone who works on Wall Street, not a hedge fund hack, YOU ARE.

And while you are at it, by Diane Ravitch's new book, "Reign of Error," and see how education is being taken over in this country by those who only wish to enrich their wallets.

And please sign this petition  to Assemblyman Al Graf.

I leave you with a clip of George Carlin's take on education today.

I guess this is where and how Cuomo and King make decisions to ruin education in New York State.

Governor Andy and Boy Toy King