Andrew Cuomo And Michael Mulgrew Still Love The Common Core

Students, aprents and teachers all over the country are turning against the Common Core.

Protests have risen up in many states, three states have already pulled out of the Core (Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina) and two more are on the cusp of going (North Carolina and Louisiana.)

Here in NY State, a mass movement of students, parents and teachers is rising up against the Core and the ancillary tests that go with it, but that hasn't stopped our "betters" from keeping the Core agenda going.

Governor Cuomo, for example, just reiterated this week how much he loves the Common Core when he finally came out against using the CCSS scores in teacher evaluations (since the tests don't actually count for students):

Cuomo said the proposal would apply only to those teachers and principals who have “developing” or “ineffective” ratings, because those are the educators who could be unfairly affected by the state's rough transition to higher standards. Teachers that were rated "effective" or "highly effective" are not at risk.

“The fear is that if, in fact, the transition to Common Core has been rushed, which is the operating premise here … you don't want to have a negative evaluation ... that's not 100 percent accurate,” he said.

“I believe long term in Common Core,” Cuomo continued. “And I believe the move to the Common Core is exactly right. But when the Regents [and] the state Legislature accepted the premise that we were somewhat rushed in the transition to Common Core and therefore had to make adjustments for students, these are the corresponding adjustments for teachers.”

And Arwen at NYC Educator points out that UFT President Mulgrew also reiterated his support for the Core this week:

I received a second Mulgrew e-mail later in the day.  Here's an excerpt:

Dear Arwen,

Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature heard our concerns and have agreed to a two-year pause in attaching high-stakes consequences for teachers to student performance on Common Core-aligned state tests. Everyone recognizes that the Common Core, while the right direction for education, had a terrible rollout. Students aren’t being judged on the Common Core tests and state lawmakers made the smart decision not to judge teachers on those tests either.

I was horrified to read Mulgrew's implicit assumption, however.  "Everyone recognizes that the Common Core" is "the right direction for education."  How can he make this claim?  I guess everything to the contrary goes in one ear and out the other.  Does he not know how states are pulling out like it's the plague?  Louisiana pulled out just recently.  I believe only 36 states are still with the CC program.

I don't care how much PD is provided and how many CC-aligned lesson plans are sent along, I don't want the Common Core.  I don't want test companies and data companies profiting off of the misery of little kids.  I don't want to teach to someone's test today, tomorrow or ever, to save myself from professional annihilation--when I already know students living in poverty with language deficiencies and many special needs will never on average surpass the scores of children in wealthy suburbia.

As I think about it, I am sure that America has not so much bought the Common Core as been handsomely paid to adopt it.  As states begin to realize the federal morass in which they are now mired, I am sure many more will agitate for withdrawal.

So as state after state begins to pull out of the Core, Cuomo and Mulgrew double down on their support for the CCSS agenda.

No wonder Mulgrew helped engineer a Working Families Party endorsement of Cuomo.

He's on the same side as Sheriff Andy.