LI Superintendent Dr. Michael Hynes Blasts Attack on Opt Out Parents and Schools
Will Return to AERO Conference as a Speaker
In reaction to an article in today's Newsday, Dr. Hynes exclusively told AERO:
“The public school system has been under attack by our federal and state government for decades. The fact that they are now willing to punish schools because a parent exercises their choice for their child to opt out of a state test is not only abusive, but I believe unconstitutional.”
Headline stories in Newsday in the last two days indicated that legislation proposed by the the New York State Education Department would now punish schools with high opt-out rates. Long Island schools had an astonishing opt-out rate of more that 50% of parents refusing to let their students take the state mandated tests, with some districts over 80%.
Bio and Summary of Dr. Hynes Talk:
Dr. Michael Hynes is an educator, scholar and thought leader. A public school superintendent of schools on Long Island, NY, it’s his mission to spread the importance of a holistic approach to educating children. Dr. Hynes, an innovative public school advocate, TEDx talk speaker and university lecturer has made contributions regarding the importance of play and recess in schools and yoga and mindfulness in the classroom. He has also
published numerous articles and featured in numerous podcasts on school leadership.
Michael was awarded “Friend of Education Award” and the “Distinguished Leadership Award” by Phi Delta Kappa. Dr. Hynes has focused his work on transforming schools by tapping into Potential Based Education which focuses on the significance of social, emotional, physical and cognitive development for students. Hynes received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Bethany College and his doctorate in educational administration from Dowling College. Michael has undergone professional training to integrate organization learning and school leadership in programs at New York University, Stony Brook University and Harvard University.
Summary of Talk:
PEAS: An Educational Experience for ALL Children
In the name of so-called “education reform,” public schools have been badly transformed into kindergarten-12 pressure cookers. Too many children are required to read before they are able to, and master challenging math skills at far too young an age. This narrowed, accelerated, one-size-fits-all model, reinforced by stressful high-stakes testing, has meant that proven pillars of successful education have been pushed aside; social and emotional learning, discovery through play, physical activity, academic learning through inquiry, have been shunted, to allow for more teaching on state-tested subjects.
Public education must be reassessed, deconstructed and built anew, so that we can allow children to grow to their full potentials. We must nurture children in all aspects of their lives, if we are to offer a true holistic education, rather than continue to focus almost exclusively on limited academics, coupled with punitive testing. Training our children to think and act like computers do is no education at all.
Moving forward, a 21st century education must consist not just of academics focused heavily on math and English language arts, but of the components that are truly essential and are proven to improve students’ success: Physical growth, Emotional growth, Academic growth, and Social growth – PEAS.
Dr. Hynes talk will be part of the 7 TED-style presentations on June 29th
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