La. Federation of Teachers head speaks out

8th September 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Kari Dequine Harden
Contributing Writer

It’s rather Shakespearean, said Louisiana Federation of Teachers president Steve Monaghan, of the drama in recent months that has consumed educational politics in Louisiana.

Although he was once his hand-picked golden boy, Superintendent John White is now the adversary of Gov. Piyush Jindal.

The majority of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), however, continue to stand behind White.

For many observers it may seem that Jindal’s presidential ambitions are behind his about-face regarding the adoption of the Common Core standards, but the chaos Jindal has created in classrooms as a result of his flip-flopping bears real consequences for teachers who have been doing their best to adapt to the constant changes.

Also described as a “circus,” Monaghan notes that it’s at least a two or three-ring circus.

And the lawsuits are so numerous and convoluted, it’s hard to keep track of who is suing who and for what.

In July, BESE sued Jindal, and then Jindal counter-sued BESE. Also in July, a group of 17 state representatives sued BESE and White.

The latest lawsuit was filed Aug. 27 by Jindal against the U.S. Department of Education. In it, Jindal alleges that the federal government coerced states into adopting Common Core and the related testing procedures through the Race to the Top program.

According to the lawsuit: “Louisiana now finds itself trapped in a federal scheme to nationalize curriculum. What started as good state intentions has materialized into the federalization of education policy through federal economic incentives and duress.”

BESE president Chas Roemer called the latest lawsuit “silly.” Barry Landry, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Edu­cation, issued the following response: “The Common Core State Standards have been fundamental expectations in Louisiana for four years because our kids are just as smart and capable as any in America. The courts have ruled, and it is time to move on.”

Earlier this month, Jindal sought a court injunction to immediately stop the use of the tests tied to Common Core, claiming that the contracts were obtained illegally.

There are honest and important questions that need to be asked about the standards and the tests, Monaghan said, but that isn’t the conversation that is currently taking place.

“Supporters of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers [PARCC] say that these tests are the only way to provide an ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison of Louisiana children with those in the rest of the nation,” Monaghan said in a press release. “But given how unevenly this had been rolled out and the circus that continues, that’s one thing we’re not going to get.”

For one, Monaghan said it’s time to stop with the rhetoric. “Children aren’t apples,” he said. He also noted that all school districts within the state do not have equal access to the technology outlined in the PARCC testing plan – and the state as a whole does not have access to technology equal to the rest of the country.

“It’s time to turn the page. The lengthy chapter marked by obsessive testing has to end. The concentration and the conversation must turn to teaching the whole child. Along with the avalanche of standardized tests imposed on our children comes an over reliance on statistical gymnastics more suited for labeling and sorting students than informing instruction,” he said in the release.

Monaghan argues for the delay of the implementation of any new standards and testing. The necessary groundwork has not been done, he said.

“The failure of the Department of Education to prepare students, parents and teachers for the changes are well documented,” Monaghan said in the release. “Many school systems don’t have the basic resources they need to appropriately administer the tests, much less prepare children for the high-stakes assessments.

“Instead of preparing communities, teachers and children for these standards, our state set sail on an educational misadventure of faux reforms that disrespected our constitution, vilified teachers, siphoned funds from already underfunded public schools, and resulted in endless legal battles,” he said.

Monaghan also said that while there is an important discussion that needs to be happening, “the oxygen is sucked out of the room” by politics. Amid the allegations of a communist agenda and a grand mind-control conspiracy, “We are not having the conversation we need to have.”

Monaghan said he would like to see the conversation based on instruction, not assessment, and that any tests should inform that instruction. He wants the center of the discussion to be this: “What do our children need to know to be successful, and how can we teach them what they need to know?”

This article originally published in the September 8, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.