Look To Westchester County To Fight Pearson and the Deformers

PEARSON CEO "DAME" MAJORIE SCARDINO

For those who don't know who Janine Sopp is, run do not walk, and check out her blog Change The Stakes. Janine is a parent in Brooklyn, in fact she is not an educator,  as well as an artist and she is leading a movement to end testing as we know it. I have spoken and emailed with her a on several occasions and she is smart as a whip and really is quite knowledgeable.

I bring Janine up for several reasons tonight. The main reason being is that I read an interesting article in today's Journal News (Westchester County) about how scores of students in Westchester and Rockland counties refused to take the Pearson inspired field tests this week. In fact, the Tarrytown school district is sending a bill to Pearson for $20,000 for the time the students and teachers missed from class. Can anyone imagine Sock Puppet Dennis Walcott allowing this?

According to the Journal News, in Scarsdale;

“just over half (53 percent) of the eligible students were absent. Of those who took the test, about 16 percent did not respond to the questions or filled them in randomly,” said Vicki Presser, the district’s spokeswoman.

Can you imagine this kind of boycott in the NYC? Nope. Won't happen, can't happen.  How can this happen when at my school PS 154, a new principal is introduced and the superintendent and network leader appear at a special meeting to quell any parental concerns and only 10 parents, 5 of which were with the PA, show up? In fact, statisticians have estimated that there would have been 20 parents if food had been served.  If the same situation occurred in Bronxville or Ardsley, would only 10 parents have shown up? 

In my opinion, the fight is in the wrong place. To fight the deformers, to fight those shoving tests down our children's throats the fight, perhaps the "muscle" must come from the suburbs. The suburbs need to be ground zero for the fight. Of course, this is not saying that the parents of the inner city should not be involved or have a major voice in the fight, but the backlash needs to come from the suburbs.

Politicians care only about votes and money. Politicians don't give a rats ass about the underclass. Once the hoity toity parents realize that deform is coming to Scarsdale, Bronxville, Great Neck, Roslyn, Franklin Lakes, upper Saddle River, etc... then the proverbial poop will hit the fan. Once these parents realize that their children's education is being destroyed, they will fight like hell to end this destruction.

The reason why the deformers get away with what they do is silence and compliance of the parents of the inner city. They know that the parents, and in no way am I saying all of them, are wither too tired, too afraid, too apathetic, too unknowledgeable of their rights, to truly mount a fight. In the suburbs the communities are smaller and more close knit than they are in the city. Where else is it better to light the spark of the fight needed? Ardsley or Brooklyn? Ardsley has a population of about 4,500 and a school district size of about 800.


The politicians will care once Edgar J Puffenstuff who lives in a million dollar home in Irvington NY and donates regularly to his favorite political party sees how his children are nothing but test scores are affecting their lives. At that point the politicians will want to appease the Puffenstuff's of the state.

About 2 months or so ago, I received my free copy of "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman." Living in Mt Vernon NY, I had no inkling to show it here. It needed to be shown in neighboring Bronxville at the public library. I knew it wouldn't be received well in Mt Vernon. But those in Bronxville need to see the train wreck heading their way.

But circumstances prevented me from showing it in Bronxville. We are moving next month to Harrison NY. Home of the McMansions and estates in the Purchase section of Harrison to the rich and richer. This is where TITBWFS will be shown. This is where the shit will hit the fan come January. News 12 and the Journal News are out of the reach of Uncle Mike.

It is time to set up base camps in Nassau, Suffolk, Fairfield, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Bergen counties. From here, the fight can and will be won.