Common Core Protest At Department of Education Building

Around 50 protesters gathered outside the state Department of Education today to rally against the Common Core educational standards.

Parents and teachers have expressed criticism of the new, tougher standards for teachers and students. In a Siena Poll released today, 52 percent of voters said there is too much testing in schools.

The protesters were largely made up of parents and students. Along with the protest, parents kept their children home today from school in protest, part of a national effort. About half of the protesters at the rally were children, reports Gannett’s Ashley Hupfl.

D’anna Blair, a seventh grade student from Saratoga County said, she is taking eighth grade math because the school is trying to catch up with the Common Core standards. Blair has to stay after school often because she is struggling to keep up, she said.

“Each child is different and no one person is the same as the next,” Blair said. She also said she takes about 10 standardized tests in a year for every subject.

Marilyn Held, a former teacher in Rensselear County, said she quit her teaching job after Common Core began in her school.

“I did not see any improvement or increase in basic skills. There’s no stress on phonics, handwriting has been thrown out, cursive writing has been thrown out of common core. The math, the way they’re having students do math is totally confusing. It’s not helping and I think it’s dumbing children down even more,” Held said.

http://townhall.com/video/common-core-protest-at-department-of-education-building-n1829078