Teachers across the Rochester area gathered in a rally
against Governor Cuomo’s education plan on February 27th. Governor
Cuomo has pushed for a major reform of New York States education, to decease
the amount of failing schools and students, but also improve the teacher
evaluation process. Governor Cuomo also stated that he wants to close many of
the schools that have been in constant failure over the past years, and some of
those schools reside in Rochester. Teachers all across the Monroe
County area have rallied together to criticize Cuomo’s views on our education
system. A rally that was held which was organized by Rochester Teachers
Association, and New York State United Teachers, at the rally teachers across
the area took turns complaining about Cuomo’s expectations of teacher
evaluations. Many teachers stated that their evaluations are too focused on the
students test scores at the end of the year, limiting them to what they can
teach and what they should really focus on not to get a bad evaluation. Some of
the teachers stating that high stressful test taking environments limit a
student’s ability to know the material and actually learn. Many more rallies
have been scheduled not just in the Rochester area but across the state as
well.
Cuomo’s reform focuses a lot on teacher evaluations and if
they work or not. Some teachers claim that the process of an evaluation is
unfair due to different kids learning at different levels. For example, a
poverty kid coming into a public school is already at a disadvantage from all
the other students. Also kids who have a poor home life and that are not
motivated by parents or family to get their schoolwork are also at a
disadvantage. In Governor Cuomo’s plan for better teacher evaluations, he plans
to grant tenure to teachers that receive high evaluations for more than five
consecutive years, also rewarding high performing teachers with bonuses. This all
helping prove that their teaching styles are working and that kids are learning
and passing.
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