Civics host forum on education

The Queens Civic Congress recently convened a panel of local newspaper journalists, as well as Community Education Council District 26 President Rob Caloras, to discuss recent citywide education reforms.
Primarily, panelists voiced concern about the overuse of standardized testing and shift in schools away from parental involvement during the meeting on Monday, May 21, held at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology.
“What the Bloomberg administration overlooked, was the role of parents,” said Queens Tribune reporter Lee Landor. “That’s not enough for the parents who don’t just want to read about the changes.”
For public school students, standardized testing has allowed the city, state, and even federal government to gauge individual progress and group trends, but Queens Chronicle reporter Colin Gustafson questioned whether prepping for testing impeded unorthodox teaching and, in turn, critical thinking by students.
“The consequences keep getting more and more substantial,” Gustafson said.
In addition, members of the Congress, which is composed of many of the borough’s civic groups, were encouraged to voice their opinions and problems to local newspapers and State Legislators, who will vote on the state of city schools come 2009.