'End Common Core!' echoes from Chicago... Chicago Teachers Union unanimously approves resolution opposing Common Core. American Federation of Teachers Local 1 to bring opposition before the AFT convention in July in Los Angeles
The Chicago Teachers Union at its May 7, 2014 House of Delegates meeting unanimously approved a resolution in complete opposition to the so-called Common Core. The lengthy motion, which will be brought before the American Federation of Teachers convention in Los Angeles in July, was passed by the 800-member House of Delegates without a dissenting vote. The motion came before the HOD after a lengthy debate among the members and on the union's executive board. Three speakers spoke in favor of the resolution and none against before debate was ended. When a speaker rose to close debate, CTU President Karen Lewis asked whether anyone wanted to speak in opposition to the resolution, and after a half minute ruled that there were no speakers rising to speak in favor of the Common Core, and the motion was approved. [Disclosure: This reporter spoke on the resolution as a member of the HOD, moving to close debate].
Rank and file opposition to corporate "school reform" has moved a long way since American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten (above left) invited billionaire Bill Gates (above right) to be a featured speaker at the AFT's 2010 convention in Seattle. At the time, Weingarten ignored the history of the labor movement in the Northwest and insulted the union organizers who had been thwarted by Gates' union busting at Microsoft. In the fact of protests from some union delegates, Weingarten ordered the Baltimore local to cheer the billionaire to drown out opponents. The prize for the Gates invitation included million dollar corporate "reform" grants for Tampa, Pittsburgh, and Denver, along with Weingarten's support for merit pay that was forced into a large number of union contracts, especially those in major cities where teachers and students are largely minority. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.The official text of the resolution was in the packets of each of the delegates as the meeting began at 4:45 on May 7, 2014 at the Operating Engineers Union Hall in Chicago. It reads as follows:
Resolution to Oppose the Common Core State Standards
WHEREAS, the purpose of education is to educate a populace of critical thinkers who are capable of shaping a just and equitable society in order to lead good and purpose-filled lives, not solely preparation for college and career; and
WHEREAS, instructional and curricular decisions should be in the hands of classroom professionals who understand the context and interests of their students; and
WHEREAS, the education of children should be grounded in developmentally appropriate practice; and
WHEREAS, high quality education requires adequate resources to provide a rich and varied course of instruction, individual and small group attention, and wrap-around services for students; and
WHEREAS, the Common Core State Standards were developed by non-practitioners, such as test and curriculum publishers, as well as education reform foundations, such as the Gates and Broad Foundations, and as a result the CCSS better reflect the interests and priorities of corporate education reformers than the best interests and priorities of teachers and students; and
WHEREAS, the Common Core State Standards were piloted incorrectly, have been implemented too quickly, and as a result have produced numerous developmentally inappropriate expectations that do not reflect the learning needs of many students; and
WHEREAS, imposition of the Common Core State Standards adversely impacts students of highest need, including students of color, impoverished students, English language learners, and students with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the Common Core State Standards emphasize pedagogical techniques, such as close reading, out of proportion to the actual value of these methods � and as a result distort instruction and remove instructional materials from their social context; and
WHEREAS, despite the efforts of our union to provide support to teachers, the significant time, effort, and expense associated with modifying curricula to the Common Core State Standards interferes and takes resources away from work developing appropriate and engaging courses of study; and
WHEREAS, the assessments that accompany the Common Core State Standards (PARCC and Smarter Balance) are not transparent in that �teachers and parents are not allowed to view the tests and item analysis will likely not be made available given the nature of computer adaptive tests; and
WHEREAS, Common Core assessments disrupt student learning, consuming tremendous amounts of time and resources for test preparation and administration; and
WHEREAS, the assessment practices that accompany Common Core State Standards � including the political manipulation of test scores � are used as justification to label and close schools, fail students, and evaluate educators; therefore be it
RESOLVED that the Chicago Teachers Union opposes the Common Core State Standards (and the aligned tests) as a framework for teaching and learning; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Chicago Teachers Union advocates for an engaged and socially relevant curriculum that is student-based and supported by research, as well as for supports such as those described in the Chicago Teachers Union report, The Schools Chicago�s Students Deserve; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Chicago Teachers Union will embark on internal discussions to educate and seek feedback from members regarding the Common Core and its impact on our students; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Chicago Teachers Union will lobby the Illinois Board of Education to eliminate the use of the Common Core State Standards for teaching and assessment; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Chicago Teachers Union will organize other members and affiliates to increase opposition to the Common Core State Standards; and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Illinois State Board of Education, the Chicago Board of Education, the Governor of Illinois, and all members of the Illinois legislative branch; and be it finally
RESOLVED, that should this resolution be passed by the CTU House of Delegates, an appropriate version will be submitted to the American Federation of Teachers for consideration at the 2014 Convention.
The resolution has also been reported on the union's website, www.CTUnet.com
Private millions and federal billions combined between 2009 and 2013 to force the so-called "Comon Core" on most of the nation's states and school districts. Then, rank and file and mass opposition to the Common Core broke out across the nation, and by late 2013 some states were trying to "rebrand" the flawed product, while others were simply rejecting it. Trying to steer a compromise course in the face of massive and national teacher opposition to the Common Core, Randi Weingarten supported a "moratorium" to retool the tests that are central to Common Core, but by then the train had left the station and retooling was left behind. The dollars behind the entire Common Core fiasco came from private corporate foundations, most notably the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education. Above, Melinda Gates with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan during their attempts to salvage the remains of Common Core.The passage of the resolution joins on of the most powerful voices in teacher unionism into the growing national movement against Common Core. During the debate within the union -- and within the union's leadership caucus, CORE -- teachers repeatedly rejected warnings that opposition by the CTU to Common Core would bring the union into an alliance with anti-union state leaders in Indiana, Louisiana and other states. Ultimately, the teachers' answer to that argument was, "So what?" The national movement against Common Core has been caricatured by the Obama administration as being a right wing "Tea Party" movement, when in fact it is much more broadly based.
According to the resolution, the CTU will lobby the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois General Assembly to eliminate the use of the Common Core for teaching and assessment.
The original impetus to Common Core�s began following the financial crisis of 2008 and the Stimulus Bill presented by the first term of the Obama administration in 2009. The Stimulus Bill gave $4.35 billion to the federal Department of Education to createthe �Race to the Top� competition between states for scarce dollars. In order to qualify for funding, the states needed to adopt Common Core and agree to massive expansion of charter schools. Both Common Core and charter school explosion have been signature policies of the Obama administration since Barack Obama appointed the controversial former "Chief Executive Officer" of Chicago's public schools, Arne Duncan, as the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Although supporters have claimed that Common Core was developed by teachers as approved by states, opponents have long noted that the millions of dollars to produce Common Core in most of the states came from the anti-union Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other leaders of corporate "school reform."
�I agree with educators and parents from across the country, the Common Core mandate represents an overreach of federal power into personal privacy as well as into state educational autonomy,� said CTU President Karen Lewis after the vote. Lewis, a Nationally Certified Board Teacher and former high school chemistry teacher, now leads the national opposition to Common Core among unionists. Previously, union leaders have refused to demand an end to Common Core, instead proposing delays, as was done in New York. �Common Core eliminates creativity in the classroom and impedes collaboration," Lewis said in a statement on the CTU website (www.ctunet.com). We also know that high-stakes standardized testing is designed to rank and sort our children and it contributes significantly to racial discrimination and the achievement gap among students in America�s schools.�
The Illinois Federation of Teachers, of which the CTU is the largest member, has not taken a position on Common Core. As to the Illinois Education Association (IEA), a similar resolution was not permitted to be voted on at the recent Illinois Education Association state convention. The proposal in opposition to Common Core was ruled out of order by IEA President Cinda Klickna. The NBI had been introduced by veteran Park Ridge fifth grade teacher and delegate, Jerry Mulvihill. The National Education Association convention will be held at the beginning of July and will face the question of the union's position on Common Core despite the failure of the Illinois NEA section to discuss the issue.
The American Federation of Teachers will debate the resolution from Chicago at its national convention in Los Angeles in mid-July. [Disclosure: this reporter and several other Substance staff members are delegates to the AFT convention].
CTU PRESS RELEASE MAY 7, 2014 BELOW HERE:
Chicago Teachers Union joins growing national opposition to deeply flawed Common Core Standards. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. CONTACT: Stephanie Gadlin. May 7, 2014 312-329-6250
CHICAGO - Today, members of the House of Delegates (HOD) of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) passed the following resolution that enjoins the city's educators to growing national opposition to the Common Core State Standards, saying the assessments disrupt student learning and consume tremendous amounts of time and resources for test preparation and administration.
Now that the resolution has passed, the CTU will lobby the Illinois Board of Education to eliminate the use of the Common Core for teaching and assessment; and be it further will work to organize other members and affiliates to increase opposition to the law that increases the expansion of nationwide controls over educational issues.
Common Core's origins can be traced to the 2009 Stimulus Bill which gave $4.35 billion to the federal Department of Education which created the "Race to the Top" competition between states. In order to qualify for funding, the states needed to adopt Common Core with the added incentive that participating states would be exempted from many of the more onerous provisions of George Bush's "No child left behind" program.
"I agree with educators and parents from across the country, the Common Core mandate represents an overreach of federal power into personal privacy as well as into state educational autonomy," said CTU President Karen Lewis, a nationally board certified teacher. "Common Core eliminates creativity in the classroom and impedes collaboration. We also know that high-stakes standardized testing is designed to rank and sort our children and it contributes significantly to racial discrimination and the achievement gap among students in America's schools."
The official text of the resolution follows:
Resolution to Oppose the Common Core State Standards
WHEREAS, the purpose of education is to educate a populace of critical thinkers who are capable of shaping a just and equitable society in order to lead good and purpose-filled lives, not solely preparation for college and career; and
WHEREAS, instructional and curricular decisions should be in the hands of classroom professionals who understand the context and interests of their students; and
WHEREAS, the education of children should be grounded in developmentally appropriate practice; and
WHEREAS, high quality education requires adequate resources to provide a rich and varied course of instruction, individual and small group attention, and wrap-around services for students; and
WHEREAS, the Common Core State Standards were developed by non-practitioners, such as test and curriculum publishers, as well as education reform foundations, such as the Gates and Broad Foundations, and as a result the CCSS better reflect the interests and priorities of corporate education reformers than the best interests and priorities of teachers and students; and
WHEREAS, the Common Core State Standards were piloted incorrectly, have been implemented too quickly, and as a result have produced numerous developmentally inappropriate expectations that do not reflect the learning needs of many students; and
WHEREAS, imposition of the Common Core State Standards adversely impacts students of highest need, including students of color, impoverished students, English language learners, and students with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the Common Core State Standards emphasize pedagogical techniques, such as close reading, out of proportion to the actual value of these methods - and as a result distort instruction and remove instructional materials from their social context; and
WHEREAS, despite the efforts of our union to provide support to teachers, the significant time, effort, and expense associated with modifying curricula to the Common Core State Standards interferes and takes resources away from work developing appropriate and engaging courses of study; and
WHEREAS, the assessments that accompany the Common Core State Standards (PARCC and Smarter Balance) are not transparent in that --teachers and parents are not allowed to view the tests and item analysis will likely not be made available given the nature of computer adaptive tests; and
WHEREAS, Common Core assessments disrupt student learning, consuming tremendous amounts of time and resources for test preparation and administration; and
WHEREAS, the assessment practices that accompany Common Core State Standards - including the political manipulation of test scores - are used as justification to label and close schools, fail students, and evaluate educators; therefore be it
RESOLVED that the Chicago Teachers Union opposes the Common Core State Standards (and the aligned tests) as a framework for teaching and learning; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Chicago Teachers Union advocates for an engaged and socially relevant curriculum that is student-based and supported by research, as well as for supports such as those described in the Chicago Teachers Union report, The Schools Chicago's Students Deserve; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Chicago Teachers Union will embark on internal discussions to educate and seek feedback from members regarding the Common Core and its impact on our students; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Chicago Teachers Union will lobby the Illinois Board of Education to eliminate the use of the Common Core State Standards for teaching and assessment; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Chicago Teachers Union will organize other members and affiliates to increase opposition to the Common Core State Standards; and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Illinois State Board of Education, the Chicago Board of Education, the Governor of Illinois, and all members of the Illinois legislative branch; and be it finally
RESOLVED, that should this resolution be passed by the CTU House of Delegates, an appropriate version will be submitted to the American Federation of Teachers for consideration at the 2014 Convention.
The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the more than 400,000 students and families they serve. The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third largest teachers local in the United States and the largest local union in Illinois. For more information please visit CTU's website at www.ctunet.com.
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SUN TIMES ARTICLE BELOW HERE:
The Chicago Teachers Union has voted to oppose the Common Core Standards, a rigorous set of educational benchmarks implemented by Illinois law and in many other states.
The union announced its House of Delegates voted Wednesday to urge the city�s teachers to join the �growing national opposition to the Common Core State Standards, saying the assessments disrupt student learning and consume tremendous amounts of time and resources for test preparation and administration,� according to a new release.
The union said it will lobby the Illinois State Board of Education to �eliminate the use of the Common Core for teaching and assessment� and it will �work to organize other members and affiliates to increase opposition to the law that increases the expansion of nationwide controls over educational issues.�
�I agree with educators and parents from across the country, the Common Core mandate represents an overreach of federal power into personal privacy as well as into state educational autonomy,� CTU President Karen Lewis said in a statement. �Common Core eliminates creativity in the classroom and impedes collaboration. We also know that high-stakes standardized testing is designed to rank and sort our children and it contributes significantly to racial discrimination and the achievement gap among students in America�s schools.�
State Board of Education spokeswoman Mary Fergus said the Common Core Standards better prepare students.
�These are really standards that not only ensure that students understand the concepts but can apply them to everyday life and to their careers and in the workforce,� she said.
The standards were adopted by Illinois in 2010 and school districts have spent the past few years implementing them, Fergus said. Forty-four states have adopted them, according to the Common Core Standards website.
�Illinois teachers, including those from Chicago, have been instrumental in the development and implementation of the Common Core standards,� Fergus said. These teachers understand the vast improvement these standards are compared to our prior standards and understand the importance of these standards to the well being of students. The State Board remains committed to the implementation of these standards in Illinois.�
�Anyone who reads the standards knows they really raise the bar for student learning,� she said.
Email: bschlikerman@suntimes.com
WBEZ STORY BELOW HERE:
In a vote that seemed to take education observers, school district officials, and even many teachers by surprise, delegates to the Chicago Teachers Union passed a resolution Wednesday evening saying the union formally opposes the Common Core State Standards, which are being implemented in schools across Chicago, Illinois and some 44 other states.
In a statement released to the media, the union said the resolution �enjoins the city�s educators to growing national opposition to the Common Core State Standards, saying the assessments disrupt student learning and consume tremendous amounts of time and resources for test preparation and administration.�
Teacher Michelle Gunderson, who heads the union's education committee, says the CTU has "philosophical" issues with the Common Core.
"Those who wrote the Common Core standards believe the purpose of education is to prepare children to be college and career ready. Now that in and of itself is not a bad thing. We want people to have jobs, we want people to be productive in their lives. But we don't believe that's the sole purpose of education. We want our students to become critical thinkers and people who can lead good and purpose-filled lives," Gunderson said. "We believe our students are more than just cogs in the wheel of the machinery of our workforce."
Gunderson also said the standards involve "a misuse and over-abuse of testing."
The resolution says the union will lobby the Illinois State Board of Education to abandon the Common Core, and �will organize other (union) members and affiliates to increase opposition to the Common Core State Standards.�
The union�s House of Delegates is made up of teacher representatives from every district school in the city.
The CTU resolution also declares that:
� �instructional and curricular decisions should be in the hands of classroom professionals who understand the context and interests of their students� and �the education of children should be grounded in developmentally appropriate practice.�
� Common Core standards were developed by �non-practitioners� including �test and curriculum publishers� and �education reform foundations, such as the Gates and Broad Foundations.� It says that �as a result the [standards] better reflect the interests and priorities of corporate education reformers than the best interests and priorities of teachers and students.�
� �the assessment practices that accompany Common Core State Standards � including the political manipulation of test scores � are used as justification to label and close schools, fail students, and evaluate educators.�
Illinois quietly adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010, with little opposition. But the standards have become a political football in the last year, and have faced opposition from both the left and the right. Indiana dumped the Common Core standards last month.
The Chicago Teachers Union vote represents a blow to the standards, which are just getting off the ground in many schools, and raises questions about their viability.
President Barack Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan have argued that the new standards raise the bar on what American students need to know, and create uniform standards across states. Duncan has called the standards �a sea-change in education. Not only do they set the bar high, they give teachers the space and opportunity to go deep, emphasizing problem-solving, analysis, and critical thinking, as well as creativity and teamwork. They give teachers room to innovate.�
The standards themselves are simply a list of what students should know and be able to do in reading and math, grade by grade. They replace the Illinois Learning Standards, which guided teaching and curriculum in the state from 1997 to 2010. The new standards are being billed as more rigorous. They push students to read more complex texts and expand their academic vocabulary. In math, the goal is to move away from a �mile-wide, inch-deep� approach�in which students cover many topics in little depth�in favor of deeper understanding of key math concepts.
The union's vote came the same day that the "nation's report card," or the National Association of Educational Progress, released new results showing test scores for American 12th graders have stagnated in math and reading over the past four years. On that test, just 26 percent of high school seniors are considered proficient in math; 37 percent scored "proficient" in reading.
The resolution was not on the House of Delegates� monthly agenda. Reporters are typically not allowed inside House of Delegates meetings.
The union�s vote may prove unpopular with rank-and-file teachers. Polls have shown that teachers generally like the Common Core standards. Chicago Public Schools officials gave WBEZ the results of a survey it conducted in February (attached below). It emailed 18,000 teachers; just over 40 percent responded. Of those, 82 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the Common Core standards are more rigorous that previous standards; 69 percent said they believed the new standards would lead to improved learning for the majority of their students.
Even the Chicago Teachers Union�s parent union, the American Federation of Teachers, has been supportive of the Common Core standards.
"Absolutely our parent union pushed the Common Core. I don't believe when that push happened we realized the harm that it was going to do. I also don't think we realized how difficult and unfair the testing was going to be," Gunderson said.
In other states, teachers and their unions have complained about the implementation of the standards, and their timing. Many states are adopting the new standards just as test scores are being used to evaluate teachers. Scores have dropped precipitously in states, including Illinois, where some or all of the state standardized test questions are aligned to the Common Core standards.
Chicago Public Schools has spent millions shifting to the new standards; last year the district issued bonds to buy $40 million in textbooks it said were aligned to the Common Core. The state piloted new tests this spring, and will roll out entirely new Common Core exam next spring, replacing the ISAT.
The Chicago teachers� vote puts the union, controlled by political progressives, in strange company. Take conservative radio host Glenn Beck for instance. �Besides being dumber, our kids are going to be indoctrinated with extreme leftist ideology,� Beck has warned. He has called the Common Core an �insidious menace to our children and to our families.�
�This is top-down education from the federal government, dictating to local schools what they must teach and how they must teach it,� Beck says. �Local control is out the window with Common Core.�
In a statement oddly out of sync with the union�s typical political thinking, CTU president Karen Lewis said she agrees with �educators and parents from across the country, the Common Core mandate represents an overreach of federal power into personal privacy as well as into state educational autonomy.�
Gunderson agreed it was an unusual argument for the union to make.
"It is odd that we have a convergent interest with libertarians right now. We do not align with them but we know that there should be local and professional, independent control of what happens inside our classrooms."
Mary Fergus, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education, told the Sun-Times, �these are really standards that not only ensure that students understand the concepts but can apply them to everyday life and to their careers and in the workforce." Fergus also told the newspaper, �Anyone who reads the standards knows they really raise the bar for student learning.�
Freeda Pirillis, a first-grade teacher at Agassiz Elementary, said she was shocked to hear that union delegates had voted to oppose the Common Core. She's been part of a union effort to develop exemplary Common Core lessons. Most of those lessons are being field tested this year, including one she came up with to teach primary-grade students to read informational texts.
"As a whole class we read lots and lots of books about frogs. I was modeling for my students how to pick apart a text, how to do research." At the same time, her students investigated an animal of their choice and made their own books.
"They loved it," says Pirillis. "I think for the first time they called themselves 'researchers' and said, 'I love doing research!'" Pirillis says with the proper support, even six- and seven-year-olds can make progress toward standards, which she calls "end goals." She says expecting mastery of the standards is where they may fall short.
Patrick Smith contributed to this story.
Linda Lutton is a WBEZ education reporter. Follow her on twitter @WBEZeducation.
