Board Trustee Fires Back At Education Secretary Duncan Controversial Mom Comments

Alexandra Gordon, a trustee on the Comsewogue Board of Education, has never been one to not speak her mind. For years she has been known as an educational activist standing up for what she feels is right for the students of New York. 

On Nov. 15, the New York State Education Department Secretary, Arne Duncan made some controversial comments about the common core to a group of state school superintendents. 

During his speech he said he found it “fascinating” that some of the opposition to the Common Core State Standards has come from “white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were, and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.”

Gordon followed Superintendent Joseph Rella and decided to write a letter of her own to Duncan. In Gordon's letter she tells Duncan things are a "little more complicated" then he made them out to be and the common core implementation has been somewhat "developmentally inappropriate." 

Read board member Alexandra Gordon's full letter below.

Dear Secretary Duncan,

I am a white suburban mom, and I’m reaching out to you in an effort to explain what seems to be very confusing to you. Your statement on Friday that some of the foes of the Common Core are “white suburban mothers who find out all of a sudden their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were” leads me to believe that you’ve been spending too much time in DC. Perhaps you would like to come to Long Island and meet with some of us, and our friends who are not white, living in suburbs, cities, and in rural areas. It might do you some good, and help you to reframe your thoughts on those of us who have been advocating for our children.

I don’t like to be lumped into any one group. I’m actually a pretty complicated individual. Initially you tried to convince people that the only people who oppose the Common Core are Tea Partiers. Let me assure you, I’m about as far from a Tea Party member as you could imagine. I am a Progressive, bleeding heart liberal. I not only voted for President Obama twice, but I donated to his campaign and volunteered to knock on doors. My husband and I brought our family to both Obama Inaugurations.

Just so you’re clear that I’m not a bored housewife, I work full time. I am also an elected Board of Education Trustee for the Comsewogue School District, and my local public library. I’m a Uterine Cancer survivor; this month marks one year cancer free for me after two years of very difficult treatments. I’ve been a very active member of my community for many years. 

I’m a mom of four kids. My oldest daughter is in her Sophomore year at Simmons College in Boston majoring in Economics (she was ‘College Ready’ before the Common Core). My second daughter is a Senior in High School, and a member of many Honor Societies. We are in the midst of her college application process now. My only son is in 7th grade, and he is very creative, but struggles academically. After advocating for him for many years, I was able to get him an IEP and the services he needs. My youngest daughter is in 5th grade, and also has an IEP. In addition to her academic struggles, she has epilepsy. 

Now that you know a little more about me, let me explain to you very clearly how I feel about the Common Core implementation. I am not completely opposed to the idea of common set of standards throughout the country- although I believe any state that adopts such a measure should do so on its merits, not because they were offered money in exchange for its adoption. I think another word for that is extortion. I’m also not opposed to high standards. I love the idea of making all children strive to be the best they can be, challenging them to imagine more for themselves, and encouraging them to work towards goals- as long as we realize that they will not all reach the same level of proficiency.

I am, however opposed to standards, and more specifically curriculum, that are developmentally inappropriate. I am strongly opposed to the number of standardized tests students are subjected to, which have no bearing whatsoever on their education. I believe the money schools are forced to spend on the administration, and scoring of all the testing could be put to much better use, and the same goes for the amount of time spent on testing. I’m also opposed to the 1%- Bill Gates, et al imposing business model mentality on public schools.

It’s certainly not, as you implied, that I have some unrealistic idea of my kids abilities- I don’t. I’m very aware of their strengths and weaknesses. I know that each of my children have different learning styles, and I recognize that what worked very well for my oldest daughter will absolutely not work well for my youngest. I am confident that my kids’ teachers know that as well. They have the education, experience, and expertise to differentiate instruction for varying abilities and learning styles. The Common Core is a one size fits all approach to millions of different minds… it cannot benefit every child- especially those with learning disabilities. It also completely ignores the effect of poverty on achievement. No silver bullet education program will have the kind of success you are looking for nationally unless you address child poverty.

By the way, you might want to have a chat with New York Education Commissioner John King, because he is certainly not doing you any favors with regards to getting the suburban moms on board with the Common Core. He and his department have botched the implementation of CC here at every turn. They created a curriculum, EngageNY, that is rife with errors, intentionally confusing, and very poorly written. He’s had several public forums around the state that have not gone well. He’s listened to parents, teachers and administrators speak about how our children hate school, are feeling defeated, are being forced to read and interpret reading passages that are developmentally inappropriate, and on and on, but he ends every meeting with the same refrain. “We stand united in our effort to move forward with the implementation of the Common Core. Now is not the time for delay.” Honestly, the time for delay was years ago, when states adopted the standards before they were even completely written.

The rest of the country is watching what we ‘suburban moms’ do now, so thanks for the shout out. One more thing you should know about me- I’m incredibly stubborn. I assure you, I won’t back down. I will not stop advocating for my children. I will not let you, or Commissioner King experiment with my child’s education because Bill Gates has lots of money to throw away. He said himself it would take a decade to see if his “education stuff” works. My kids don’t have a decade to waste on your hunches or his money.

Again, I would encourage you to visit some of us suburban moms before you dismiss us. I would be happy to host you in my suburban home at any time that is convenient to you. I’m no Bill Gates, but I make a mean chocolate chip cookie.

Sincerely,

Ali Gordon

What do you think about common core? Do you agree with Gordon? Respond in the comment section below.