Comments on: Quality Education for all Vermont Students

By: Peter DesLauriers

Peter DesLauriers — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 22:19:16 +0000

Peter,
Some see problems as obstacles while others see them as opportunities. The current financial problems are a wake up call to Green up our State and save the environment, and to revamp an educational system based on an outdated agricultural model and schedule. To fix a problem we must be brave, creative and intelligent. Vermont cannot continue to do what everyone else is doing, and expect to be the best! Be bold, Be brave, Vote for Peter Shumlin! You, Peter, have the courage to seek real solutions to tough, but solvable problems. You have my support!
A Friend and Supporter
Peter Deslauriers

By: Pamela A. Surprenant

Pamela A. Surprenant — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:25:19 +0000

Thanks, Peter

By: NICOLE LEBLANC

NICOLE LEBLANC — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:24:34 +0000

Consolidate supervisory unions and cut administration to save $$$$$$$$$$$. Also go to a 4 day school week. Lower the cost of higher education by 20% . Get rid of acuplacer testing at CCV as a requirment to take college level courses.
It is a barrier for people with disabilties.

By: Sue Monaco

Sue Monaco — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:11:04 +0000

It appears that you have a “sane” position on education. I am an educator with 38 years of experience in the classroom and I am deeply concerned about the ramifications of the emphasis on testing under NCLB, and especially with the “Race to the Top”. Education funding should not be a competitive “race”, where a school’s funding is determined by it’s willingness to give up local control over curriculum and teacher evaluation (to name a few of the strings attached). Teachers’ salaries and positions should not be held hostage by students’ test scores: poverty is the major factor affecting those scores, and it is out of the school’s control! The over-emphasis on testing is creating an unhealthy educational atmosphere where test-prep is taking precedence over actual teaching, memorization of lists of words and facts pushes critical thinking and creativity out of the classroom and “one-size-fits-all” approaches are mandated over tailoring education to meet the needs of each student. The students most hurt by this law are those the law proposes to help – children in poor neighborhoods and schools, children who speak languages other than English, and children in Special Education. Testing requirements are costly in other ways as well – districts and states are paying millions (perhaps billions) to buy and score tests and test-prep materials. And all this for NCLB, a law which has not shown results (NAEP test scores have not improved since 2001) and RTTT, which includes practices which have been proven to NOT work!
In addition, the latest push toward “national standards” is a dangerous road to travel for our country. We are a nation built on diversity and individualism, creativity and ingenuity, while using those talents for the common good. The “Common Core Standards” proposed by the Governors’ association and major corporations would remove the local control we Vermonters are so proud of, and serve to destroy those ideals we hold dear. While sounding like a lofty and worthy goal, national standards would not help our students become the problem solvers and life-long learners our nation needs.