The editorial, “The problem, when test results provide few answers”, that appears on Page A30 in today’s Newsday, is well worth reading.
The subtitle to the article is, “Long Island’s high opt-out rate on state tests leaves (school) districts wondering how to evaluate or improve their teaching,” and that is the quandary.
Early on, the editorial mentions that the opt-out rate for Long Island is about four times the rate for the rest of the state.
Any idea what accounts for that great disparity?
How about Long Island parents being better educated , generally, than up state parents, and thus they are more sensitive to the problems that may be caused by implementation of Common Core exams?
Or, how about Long Island parents, especially many living on the North Shore, being more influenced by Freud and Dr. Spock about stress and anxiety levels in their children?
Or, how about the heavy blue population on Long Island, versus the heavy red population up state (except for Westchester County)?
Of course, the big question is, why is any parent allowed to break the law, without consequence?
If our state government requires that students in our public schools are required to take annual tests, what right does any parent have to prevent their child from taking those tests?
The answer is, the parent has no right.
The excuse that parents want to prevent high stress and anxiety levels in their children just cannot be justified.
Life is filled with stress and anxiety, and as part of any child’s growing up, the child should be exposed to stress and anxiety, and have to learn how to deal with it. (I won’t mention the stress and anxiety levels that the child will experience when serving in our military, but by then, our country will need the child’s service and the child will no longer have his or her mother’s protection.)
Shouldn’t a child who does not take required annual state examinations not be advanced to the next grade in school?
That should be, at least, the consequence of the parent breaking the law. And shouldn’t the parent who prevents his or her child from taking required annual state exams be charged with endangering the welfare of a child?
Of course that parent should be so charged.
Why our school district tolerates the mothers in Port Washington who organized the opt-out movement here, is a subject for another message.
Of course that movement should not be tolerated here.
I would like to opt-out of the traffic ticket that I recently got and I certainly would like to opt-out of my obligations to pay federal and state income taxes, but I haven’t yet found the mothers who are willing to lead me in those movements.
Joel Katz
Port Washington
