I subscribe to your blog because I respect your literacy knowledge and appreciate your thoughts regarding our children and their reading progress or lack thereof. As a Literacy Coach, I often forward your thoughts on current issues to other teachers. However, I wish that "political perspectives" labeled "conservative" or "liberal" be omitted. Can we not discuss or present viewpoints without political reference? The issues that you discuss affect all of us in schools throughout the country. We need to reference what is BEST for kids. Again, I value your opinion, but not as much when your political leanings cloud the issu
I hear you Phoenix... and usually I would agree with you (I write very few political statements on this site). The reason for the exception this time? The way I look at it is the political types are forcing their political games into our classrooms (rather than me letting my political views seep into my educational statements). if these folks had an alternative for the CCSS standards and were fighting for those I'd get it. If they'd been upset about the past standards that were so low that 42% of kids passing them required college remediation, I'd get that too. But to oppose higher standards just because they see some political gain in it (even though that would keep kids from being prepared for college or career), that I don't get and I am against those political games on the left or right.
Phoenix posted his/her comment in May of 2014 and, as you can see, I argued back. Now with three years more perspective, I've come to agree with his/her sentiment. Regular readers of the blog may have noted that over the past 2-3 years. I have pulled back from political comment in this space (and have even deleted earlier blogs that were more political). I still think the entry Phoenix objected to is marginally okay, but whether I was right or wrong in my sentiment, I should have stayed to the content of the issue--what should teachers be teaching and the purposes of the CCSS.
Leave me a comment and I would like to have a discussion with you!
Copyright © 2025 Shanahan on Literacy. All rights reserved. Web Development by Dog and Rooster, Inc.
Comments
See what others have to say about this topic.