… receives rapturous applause from audience after articulate speech that stuns forum

A teacher from New York has branded education reforms and new tests for children ‘child abuse’.

Speaking at a forum on Common Core at Ward Melville High School, the unnamed woman blasted the reforms, saying that 70 per cent of children had failed the new tests.

She told New York state education commissioner John King that ‘hundreds of thousands of mommies’ were going to refuse to have their children tested because ‘mommies in New York don’t abuse their children.’

After her speech the auditorium erupted into applause and one listener even hugged the woman as she took her seat.

Under controversial Common Core reforms, school children in 45 states have been set new standards to meet in maths and English during every grade of their education.

Advocates hope the standards will better prepare pupils for college and working life, and help them keep up with international counterparts.

The only states which have not accepted the standards are Texas, Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska and Virginia.

However, to measure the success of these standards new tests have been introduced which could see students sitting exams just three weeks into the term, leading to parents and teachers branding them as unfair.

Critics say that the reforms are being rushed out too quickly, meaning that teachers are instructing pupils on material that they don’t understand, leading to confusion in the classroom.

New York State United Teachers, a teaching union, has accused reformers for putting the cart before the horse and said they are testing students on a curriculum which hasn’t been taught yet.

It has called for a three-year moratorium on the reforms for more assessment to be carried out.

There have also been accusations that the new system is formulaic, takes creativity out of teaching and forces pupils to simply learn to the test, rather than learning for the enjoyment of it.

Addressing a packed forum, the woman, wearing a pink sweater, said: ‘There is now a Common Core syndrome. Do you understand what that means?

‘It means that children are being diagnosed by psychologists with a syndrome directly related to work they do in the classroom.

‘If that isn’t child abuse, then I don’t know what is.’

Teachers have previously lambasted the tests as having questions which either don’t make sense, or over-complicate simple problems.

In a blog post published by the Washington Post, Principal Carol Burris, who was named New York’s 2013 High School Principal of the Year, pointed to one question on a standardised maths test.

She said: ‘Take a look at question No. 1, which shows students five pennies, under which it says “part I know,” and then a full coffee cup labeled with a “6″ and, under it, the word, “Whole.”

‘Students are asked to find “the missing part” from a list of four numbers. My assistant principal for mathematics was not sure what the question was asking. How could pennies be a part of a cup?’

Results from the tough new tests will be used to rank students, teachers and schools across states which reformers hope will drive up standards, but others have warned will put too much pressure on students and teachers.

However, speaking in response to parent’s concerns, Commissioner King said he was ‘absolutely committed’ to Common Core.

He added: ‘We see the Common Core as a path to ensuring that more of our students are college and career ready.’

Around 1,500 people attended the forum and booed King as he tried to speak, according to Newsday.

Written by Chris Pleasance and published by the Daily Mail ~ November 15, 2013.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www. law. cornell. edu/uscode/17/107. shtml“