According to Governor Andrew Cuomo in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the future of education looks more like the inside of a Google-classroom meeting than a real one, and not everyone is cool with that.
Harsh criticism followed the announcements of the partnership and the reimagining of the public school education system with one of the critical forefront voices being Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).
“Anyone who wants to ‘re-imagine’ schools should go first to the people who have made the education of children their calling and their profession. Our teachers are the real experts, and they have lots of ideas about how schools could be improved,” he said.
According to Cuomo, a time for change might be on the horizon.
“The old model of everybody goes and sits in a classroom and the teacher is in front of that classroom and teaches that class, and you do that all across the city, all across the state, all these buildings, all these physical classrooms – why, with all the technology that we have?” Cuomo said.
So KCP put the issue of remote learning and the reimagining of public school education to Stefani Zinerman and Justin Cohen, the two candidates running for the open 56th District Assembly seat covering Bedford-Stuyvesant and Northern Crown Heights). They each had some things to say on this matter as well.
“While I appreciate the Governor’s forward-thinking on the matter, I would like to urge him to include all voices (Teachers, Students, & Administrators) in the decision making, not just legislatures,” wrote Zinerman in an email.
“While I full-heartedly support technology as an educational tool, we must first address the issue of lack of access. Too many of our district students have been left out of remote learning programs and they are being left behind.
“Unfortunately the pandemic has also exposed the lack of readiness amongst some of our educators and the inability to adapt to the remote learning environment. We must invest in staff development and training for our educators. This has to be a top priority. We must also consult with our educators before we commit to a large scale investment that may not be a good fit for our students and faculty.
“One of the benefits of using technology is the ability to access industry professionals to provide high-quality instruction to a greater number of students. Disabled students, Level 1 & 2 students, and immigrant students, through intentional curriculum development, would have access to the best methodologies from language acquisition to math, tailored to their learning styles.
“On the local level I am having conversations with administrators, teachers, school personnel and students, about re-envisioning the learning environment. School buildings provide a vital resource for our community, especially the community school model. We have an opportunity with all stakeholders on a model that would utilize the school building to service our families by distributing information, providing education and wrap-around services,” Zinerman finished.
Cohen responded similarly, emphasizing the need to focus on hearing all sides.
“We’ve been talking to thousands of neighbors about what they think our community needs to recover, and the overwhelming feeling is that the families most affected by this crisis need to have their voices and concerns centered in recovery. When it comes to education, families and schools are struggling to adapt to a new reality that places unprecedented new responsibilities on parents and educators alike to understand the right role for digital learning,” said Cohen.
“We need to listen to their needs and ideas, first and foremost. If their concerns are not driving recovery, we’re having the wrong conversation. Philanthropy can be helpful, but letting outside interests drive education reforms has never led to sustainable change that benefits children, families, and educators. If we increased taxes on the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers to ensure we have adequate revenue for our schools, we could bring families and educators to the table first, without outsourcing our creative thinking,” he finished.
Early voting for the Democratic Primary begins June 13. The election is June 23.
