NY Governor Cuomo is partnering with Bill Gates to “reimagine” education. In other words, virtual learning after the pandemic is over.

Reminder: Gates backed and pushed the untested, expensive to taxpayers and controversial Common Core. Gates admitted it was a failure in 2018. Governor Cuomo initially decided to enlist NY in the Common Core. That resulted in a huge Common Core standardized test opt-out movement, about a quarter million strong to try to regain local control of education and common sense.

Gates and Cuomo are up to no good once again, ignoring research and partnering to reimagine virtual schools. We don’t know all of the details just yet, but what we do know is alarming. Cuomo in his address today, questioned why we needed buildings when we have technology.

As a parent, I know that our kids deserve real teachers to directly teach them, not a device. They deserve to be in a real school with activities and peers. Learning isn’t merely academic. Social-emotional learning is paramount and only happens in the context of relationships, which no electronic device can replace. This has been made crystal clear during the pandemic.

Research has repeatedly shown that learning online isn’t nearly as effective as relational learning with teachers and peers. Online learning exclusively is developmentally inappropriate for N-12 students. Presently, during the pandemic, it is a necessity. A bandaid, not meant for long-term. Furthermore, reading comprehension isn’t as strong with scrolling and retention is poor when typing compared to writing studies have shown.

Our kids need the right amount and kind of technology and then only as a tool, not the primary vehicle to learning. There are no shortcuts. NY students are not Bill Gate’s guinea pigs for his education experiments and agendas. Our governor doesn’t utilize research into best learning practices. Our NYS Board of Regents needs to be a student line of defense. 

Please sign this petition to show support for our traditional schools, children and teachers and then share this petition!