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Community Corner

I, Thomas Resnick, as a student, am formally announcing my candidacy for trustee for the Three Village Central School District Board of Education, 2014

This is NOT an agitation towards nor an attempt to unseat the incumbent members of the Board of Education of Three Village Central School District. Rather, this is a publicity stunt meant to open a constructive dialogue between students and administration in regards to the state of education and our schools. For far too long, critical educational issues have been ignored to the detriment of studen...ts, and many times teachers alike, in our district, as well as innumerable other locations around the countries. As a candidate, I seek to take action in regards to the following issues:

-A full halt to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and its related assessment consortium, as well as all state-mandated testing. Initiatives like the previous have for far too long encouraged teaching to the test, rote memorization, diverted funding away from much needed district programs, and limited teachers' ability to set and design curricula which best interacts with their students.

-Immediately cancelling all district contracts with corporate curriculum designers, such as Pearson PLC and McGraw-Hill. The aforementioned conglomerates have sucked much-needed resources away from the district in order to purchase their one-size-fits-all curricula, which time and time again has been shown to harm students, not help them. We can all agree that teachers are capable of teaching, not CEOs.

-Abolishing superfluous zero-tolerance policies, including restoration of an open campus at the high school, freedom of movement for students not proven to have harmed person or property, a revisal of the district's lockdown protocol, a gender-neutral dress code, the removal of various surveillance technologies, treating substance abuse not as a criminal justice issue, but a health issue, etc. Studies have proven that these measures are not only useless, but counter-effective in maintaining district security, and have only benefitted a growing prison-industrial complex.

-Budget cuts are a threat to district security, not students. Programs and services that could otherwise help troubled students find a positive outlet for their emotions are often substituted by security cameras and metal detectors, making students feel further isolated and frustrated. Restoring previously cut district services by allocating funds away from testing and the prison-industrial complex and towards programs shown to help students and the community as a whole.

-A full investigation into the diagnoses of students with ADHD, ODD, and similar behavioral disorders, as well as the medication of these students such as Ritalin and Adderall. There is a strong correlation that suggests that mere boredom with test-centered curriculum, rather than a chemical imbalance in the brain, is responsible for a substantial amount of behaviors associated with the behavioral disorders in question.

-A comprehensive commission into the history and current nature of the model of education that is used by the school district, as well as various other public schools around the country, and how we can construct a new one that is centered around the needs of students and teachers. We must gradually move away from age segregation, putting students in columns, scheduling, bells, and administrative hierarchy to have an education system truly made for the 21st century.

Please follow this campaign at https://www.facebook.com/Resnick4BOE

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