Music Teacher Fired Because Of ELA/Math Test Scores

In the Common Core world of instruction, music teachers should not tell students to practice musical scales, utilize repetitive strategies, or help students develop individual skills.  They will be deemed effective or not based on student achievement on ELA standards.

Where it doesn't matter if you teach a subject or not, if a student doesn't pass a test, you're a "bad teacher".

A Missouri teacher was ruled "ineffective" and not offered a job because of student performance on ELA and Math tests.

Here's what a mother of a student wrote:

I received an email from my daughters choir teacher. He has been teaching for 20 years and is an excellent CHOIR TEACHER. He was going to retire this year but had such a great group if 7th and 8th graders decided to stay. This is what he was told.

I learned I have been categorized as a “non-re-elect” teacher. The justification for this is my reading, language, math, history and science scores are low after two years of TCAP testing. They don’t show sustained growth, and based on this, I am accused of being a bad teacher. Actually, I don’t recall teaching these subjects.

The Common Core Initiative--not the standards--includes the money given to the states with the Stimulus. It has some strings attached to it:

The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program is a new one-time appropriation of $53.6 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Of the amount appropriated, the U. S. Department of Education will award governors approximately $48.6 billion by formula under the SFSF program in exchange for a commitment to advance essential education reforms to benefit students from early learning through post-secondary education, including: college- and career- ready standards and high-quality, valid and reliable assessments for all students; development and use of pre-K through post-secondary and career data systems; increasing teacher effectiveness and ensuring an equitable distribution of qualified teachers; and turning around the lowest-performing schools.

Nothing really about music in there, is there. Welcome to the Common Core Initiative, where yes indeed, you are told HOW and WHAT to teach.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week.