Commenters on the AJC Get Schooled blog discussed the Republican sweep of the midterm elections, which included the election of former teacher Richard Woods to the state school superintendent’s post. Woods opposes the Common Core State Standards, which have the support of the governor and the state Board of Education. His stance on the standards was a theme of much of the post-election debate. Here is a sampling of reaction:
Falcaints: Absolutely nothing will change. Schools districts won't be properly funded, one reform plan after another will be created only to be abandoned before it is fully implemented, and the rhetoric will just continue to rhetoric.
Patriot: Congratulations, Georgia voters. You did good from top to bottom. Now, let's rid our state of Common Core, the federal DOE (and) Arne Duncan and let's "Take back our Schools."
Caius: Correct me if my memory is faulty, but Common Core was adopted by the Georgia Legislature and signed by the governor. Woods has no voice in the matter unless he can get it changed by the House and Senate with the governor's OK.
BCW: Regardless of who is in control, the teachers always have a voice.
MBK: Well, that's just great. Now my second child can also experience the confusion of another curriculum change. It was tolerable the first time when we saw the curriculum improving, although which college really understands what Math I, Math II, Math III and Math IV are? Won't that be great to spend millions on developing another curriculum, millions more to train the teachers, develop new tests, etc.?
DG: This race doesn't matter nearly as much as the governor's race because the state board has the power, and they are all the governor's cronies.
Cat: I weep for our state.
Astro: I rejoice. Georgia is showing political maturity. Political parties actually have to win your vote, not take it for granted. For 130 years, the Dems did just that.
DecaturMax: Valarie Wilson lost me with her opposition to new school districts. Decatur could have never become the district they are without a classroom-first approach and minimal administration. DeKalb County is suffering. It needs to be broken up. Schools, too. The tyranny of the majority is running it into the ground.
Stereo: Creating new school districts is against the Georgia Constitution at this time. So is breaking up a county. What you desire would require a constitutional amendment (or two). Not something that someone running for state school superintendent should take a position on.
DC: The two most important things Richards Woods can do: Give the administration true incentives that force them to do the hard work of getting rid of bad teachers — the very few, who like a bad apple, ruin the entire department and/or school. With the current system, it's just easier to let them be and not do anything. And give students stuck in awful learning environments a chance to move — and take their funding with them. In the end, that is the only way to ensure principals are motivated every day to make hard decisions, the ones that require actual work.
