Bears and Garbage
Dear Editor: After cleaning up two ugly piles of garbage left on my property by a wandering bear last week, I am asking: ‘‘Please, kind neighbors, lock up your garbage until collection day.’’
Doris Smith, Sitka
Common Core
Dear Editor: I was pleased to see that the Sentinel covered the important Chamber luncheon, which hosted the candidates for School Board. I found it particularly interesting that almost all of the candidates were not supportive of the Common Core standards. The follow up question that I would have like to have heard was a simple, “Why?” The answer to that question would have been more enlightening then a simple yes or no in support of the standards.
First of all, the standards were created to address the real and perceived deficits, in which the U.S. suffers when compared to other industrialized countries around the world. It is hoped that, among other things, high standards in math, language arts, science and social studies will increase the productivity of the workforce and allow the United States to improve relative to other countries of the world.
Secondly, the tests based on the standards are being used to hold school districts accountable for the job they are doing educating our children. As Kat Richards pointed out, Sitka’s teachers will do an outstanding job no matter the curriculum and this will help the district show student improvement.
Thirdly, if you put the recently adopted standards side by side to the Grade Level Equivalents, which have been used for years, you will find that there are not significant differences between the two. If there is a difference, it calls for students to have a deeper understanding of concepts.
The new standards are not an attempt to wrest local control away from schools. They are not designed for the government to gain more information about children and their families. They are not the first step for Sharia Law to be instituted in Sitka.
As I had the opportunity many years ago to explain to some parents new to standards based grading, standards are good. Grades can no longer be assigned in some arbitrary manner, but are based on what a child can accomplish. A grade is no longer simply a number added to a bunch of other numbers, but a summation of the actual skills of a student. A teacher can easily explain this to a student and a parent. Families know exactly what their children need to do at every level.
So if you really want to know what a candidate feels about standards, follow up and ask why they are for or against. Ask for an example of a standard he or she is against. Ask them what is bad about that particular standard. Ask what they would replace these standards with. What would they have the kids learn? How will we hold teachers and school districts accountable? You might find out that they have no idea what the standards really are or you might find out that they are informed. We cannot afford an uninformed candidate with a personal agenda that is something other than what is best for our children. Follow up!
Bob Potrzuski, Sitka
