To the editor:
Although Mr. Edelblut’s eagerness to embrace new approaches for students and his willingness to take the time to talk with stakeholders is commendable, it remains the fact that decisions regarding education should be guided by data and not research by anecdote. Only methods that have been scientifically determined to be best practice should be promoted and adopted. The 2019 NAEP results indicate that NH students are outperforming many students in our country and that our nation’s public schools are outperforming charter schools.
Although New Hampshire students continue to outpace children from other states, it’s sad to report that our nation’s children on average are becoming less proficient in reading and math. In the meantime policymakers keep busy trying to siphon money away from public schools by promoting charter schools while huge publishing corporations suck up education dollars by marketing unproven programs and unnecessary tests.
If Mr. Edelblut truly wants to do what’s best for NH students, his time might be better spent familiarizing himself with the scientific literature on proven teaching methods and then insisting that our teachers be trained in and use only those methods that have been proven to be effective.
When he is finished with that work, he can then advocate for all of our educators to have the resources they need to prepare our students to be the well-informed populace that our democracy relies on to flourish.
Marilyn Jonas
Wilton