Turnaround Corporate Education Reform

Dear Ms Tisch,


I heard you speaking last week on NPR and defending what's going on in NYC around the massive investments  in testing and companies like Pearson. I'm afraid to tell you, what needs to be turned around is the stupid is as stupid does education materials so Pearson and the others can make billiions more.


Perhaps some of those billions spent in testing  kids to death might be better spent on programs like Tae Kwon Do, music, dance, art, field trips, you know the kind of education the privileged get because their parents can pay for it and the type of education we had when access to the most basic  things in life were seen as investments in "the common good" of all children.  I'll send you a book by Congress Ryan of Ohio titled, A Mindful Nation which would lead to A Mindful Education and A Mindful Education policy. I hope you will read it.


That pineapple question was a huge gift because if more of the materials produced saw the light of day, even more people would be outraged to know what their children are wasting their time on in school. I now love pineapples more than ever before. Oh and btw, your quote in the New York Times article today is so incoherent you might find better and more lucrative opportunities writing test questions for Pearson. Then again, we know it's not all about the money, it's about public service.


Merryl H. Tisch, chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, said Friday that she thought the pineapple question made sense in context, but that in hindsight, the passage should not have been used because it added fuel to arguments by those who oppose using testing in teacher evaluations.


Yes, Ms. Tisch, you got something right. There is a reason people oppose using standardized tests in teacher evaluations and if you would open your mind to what teachers are saying, look at the facts and do your homework, you might learn something.


Afterall, with all this accountability for test scores, teachers, students in order for the U.S. to stay competitive in a global economy, most thinking people see that Pearson, McGraw Hill and Harcourt are actually dumbing down and undermining our future and costing taxpayers billions of dollars that could be put to better use. 


Then again, there are always the expensive, exclusive private schools, like the one in my town that are busting out at the seams and look like country clubs for those who are running from public schools because they don't want their children to be subjected to the stupid tests.  Meanwhile, the civil rights of those left behind in the test prep factories are being violated, but then again who cares Brown vs. Board of Education or Chief Justice Earl Warren, a "mindful" judge anymore when the Supreme Court has paved the way for giant mega education corporations to do as they please with our nation's children.


Good luck at your new job at Pearson, obviously you need improvement and the Board of Regents leadership needs to be turned around, quick, before more damage is inflicted.