• Home
  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Caffeinated Thoughts Gear
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • The Caffeinated Thoughts Podcast

Caffeinated Thoughts

Stimulating Christian Conservative News & Commentary

Social Media Management
  • Culture
  • Current Events
    • Sports
  • Education
  • Faith & Theology
  • Iowa News & Politics
  • State News & Politics
    • California News & Politics
    • Colorado News & Politics
    • Illinois News & Politics
    • Kansas News & Politics
    • Missouri News & Politics
    • Nebraska News & Politics
    • New Hampshire News & Politics
    • Ohio News & Politics
    • South Carolina News & Politics
    • South Dakota News & Politics
    • Wisconsin News & Politics
  • U.S. News & Politics
    • Election Central

Providence Public Schools Teacher Quits Over One-Size-Fits-All Curriculum

December 18, 2012 By Shane Vander Hart



steven-round-screen-shot

A 2nd Grade Teacher, Steven Round, with the Providence Public Schools in Rhode Island read his resignation letter on camera and posted it to YouTube when he wasn’t permitted to read his letter at a recent school committee meeting.  He quit over how the educational system in his community had changed.  Instead of creating life-long learners he says they are churning out test-takers.

Round stated, “The school system in which I had so much pride drastically changed. Rather than creating lifelong learners, our new goal is to create good test-takers. Rather than being the recipients of a rewarding and enjoyable educational experience, our students are now relegated to experiencing a confining and demeaning education.”

He cites the how a one-size-fits-all curriculum has lead to the loss of creativity, the inability to address individual needs in the classroom, and severe behavior problems.

At the end of the video he tendered his resignation in rather dramatic fashion, “I would rather leave my secure $70,000 job, with benefits, and tutor in Connecticut for free than be part of a system that is diametrically opposed to everything I believe education should be.”

Good for him.  Expect to see more teachers take steps like this as the Common Core State Standards are implemented.  This may be a consequence unforeseen by the educrats foisting the standards upon us.

Be sure to watch the video below:

 

HT: Conservative Teachers of America

  • About
  • Latest Posts

Shane Vander Hart

Editor & Founder at Caffeinated Thoughts
Shane Vander Hart is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts.  He is also the President of 4:15 Communications, LLC, a social media & communications consulting/management firm.  Prior to this Shane spent 20 years in youth ministry serving in church, parachurch, and school settings.  He has also served as an interim pastor and is a sought after speaker and pulpit fill-in.  Shane has been married to his wife Cheryl since 1993 and they have three kids.  Shane and his family reside near Des Moines, IA.

Latest posts by Shane Vander Hart (see all)

  • Lots of Dads Find This Prom Picture Humorous - April 23, 2018
  • The DNC Says They Are Suing Russia and the Trump Campaign - April 20, 2018
  • Are Transgender Marines and Sailors Causing Unit Cohesion Problems? - April 20, 2018

Related

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: Common Core State Standards, curriculum, featured, Providence Public Schools, Stephen Round

About Shane Vander Hart

Shane Vander Hart is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts.  He is also the President of 4:15 Communications, LLC, a social media & communications consulting/management firm.  Prior to this Shane spent 20 years in youth ministry serving in church, parachurch, and school settings.  He has also served as an interim pastor and is a sought after speaker and pulpit fill-in.  Shane has been married to his wife Cheryl since 1993 and they have three kids.  Shane and his family reside near Des Moines, IA.

Comments

  1. SJ says

    December 18, 2012 at 11:26 pm

    Good for him! My father is a retired high school teacher, and, unlike a lot of educators,
    he was very opposed to gearing teaching toward tests. That took so much courage for Round to make his decision and speak out like this. I hope it all sends shock waves throughout the educational community.

    While there is nothing inherently wrong with standardized tests, they should not be overemphasized, and should never be the focus of the curriculum. Looking back on when I was a student, I realize that I cared way too much about the SAT, etc. I don’t necessarily regret doing a lot of reading and stuff to prepare for it, but my goal should have been more toward doing the reading and study just for the enjoyment of it, not for what it could do to bolster test scores. In one sense, learning itself should be the end, not simply the means to an end. Furthermore, the range of skills measured by standardized tests is very narrow–for instance, it’s great to have a healthy vocabulary, but exactly how important is that one skill to success in college? And how well do such tests truly measure reading comprehension when you often barely have enough time to read the passage and answer the questions, much less give them deep thought? The tests of verbal ability are often very subjective as well. In addition, if one person scores in the 99th percentile on a standardized test and another person scores in the 90th percentile, is the first person really likely to do much better in college?

    There’s an article from several years ago about spelling bees that explains what’s behind this educational phenomenon:
    ——————————————
    Joel Westheimer, professor of education at the University of Ottawa
    and specialist in education trends, says spelling bee mania is part of
    today’s social obsession with quantifiable measures of success.

    “The desire for standardized and quantifiable measures — whether in the
    push for more and more standardized tests, rote assessments or spelling
    bees — is symptomatic of a society that would like its schools to
    measure something — anything — to gain a comforting sense of progress.
    If we can’t measure what we truly care about, we just start caring
    about what we can measure. Bring on the spelling bee.”

    ——————————————-
    So, whether it’s standardized tests, the spelling bee (which I could go on an extended rant about, but will save for another time ;), etc., our culture’s obsession with quantifiable measures of success is doing great harm to our kids IMO.

Get CT In Your Inbox!

Connect With Us!

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Our Podcast

Apple PodcastsBlubrry Google Play Music Podbean Soundcloud Stitcher

  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • CT Gear
  • Donate
  • Send a News Tip
  • The Caffeinated Thoughts Briefing

Top Posts & Pages

  • Lots of Dads Find This Prom Picture Humorous
  • Top Ten Reasons Why Students Need More Literature (Not Less)
  • No Mass Shootings: The Myth of Australia's Gun Control Policy
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace
  • Utopia, And Why It's A Bad Idea
  • How Does the Bible Define the Word Nation? (It Is Not What You Think)
  • Seven Ways Christians Should Respond to Persecution
  • Calvinism and the Southern Baptist Convention
  • Elon Musk – Production Hell or Party Balloons? Pick One.
  • The DNC Says They Are Suing Russia and the Trump Campaign

Recent Posts

  • Lots of Dads Find This Prom Picture Humorous
  • A Taxpayer First Approach
  • Elon Musk – Production Hell or Party Balloons? Pick One.
  • The DNC Says They Are Suing Russia and the Trump Campaign
  • Are Transgender Marines and Sailors Causing Unit Cohesion Problems?
  • The Top 15 Most Popular Governors Are Republican
  • Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board Sides With Pate, Rebuts AP Story
  • The Expendables: There’s More to Life than Death

© Copyright 2018 Caffeinated Thoughts · All Rights Reserved · Hosted by 4:15 Communications, LLC.