Thanks to Karen Bisso for Assembly for sponsoring today’s discussion.
When I was a young girl my grandfather ran for public office every four years and I loved working the polls. My job was to greet voters as they would go into the election hall. I would usually hand out stickers, pins, and other objects then shake the hands of the voters. It taught me so much about our government and how it works. I remember staying up late to see all the votes come in from the various districts. I also remember the party and excitement after each win. I know that’s why I really feel its important for women to vote and have a say in the political process.
I’m especially interested in supporting female candidates who share my views on education and other major topics like child support, and underemployment of college grads. That’s why I really feel our readers need to hear about Karen Bisso. Karen is running for the 115th Assembly Seat in the state of New York. Karen is also a small business owner and teacher!
Karen Bisso has hree children,Paul (27) a chemical engineer and entrepreneur who lives in Boston with his wife, Miriam, Katelynn (22)a senior at Portland University majoring in geography and Lisa (19), a junior at Plattsburgh State who is pre-law have been the focus of her life; being a great mother is the finest achievement Karen could hope for. Karen owns Brennan Properties, a business which services 30 college students yearly and has been a business owner for over 10 years. For the last 29 years, Karen has been a high school special education teacher at Plattsburgh High School. It is here that she has dedicated her life,in service to children. At this stage of her life, Karen is seeking to serve her community and change the role of The Assembly into a position which is proactive, field-work oriented, accountable through frequent report cards and an elected official who asks constituent opinion before voting. Karen’s skill set in presentation and communication and her ability to motivate both small and large groups of people will assist her in representing her district well. If elected, Karen will be the only member of the NYS Assembly who has taught the Common Core and will bring her passion regarding this subject right into the halls of Albany.
Common Core: This nationalizing of our education system is unconstitutional. President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative nationalized our system, removed local control from states, Boards of Education and teachers. As a teacher, I have seen this first hand, and really feel that common core will create an educational system that lacks creativity, individuality, and freedom of speech.
A loss of autonomy in the classroom is not in the best interests of students and this one size fits all, teach to the middle,curriculum does not improve our standards at all. Add to this problem,the use of developmentally inappropriate curriculum and the data mining and use of 400 criteria points of our children, and you have a program which does not allow for parent input, does not allow for parent refusal to release student data for third party consumption and does not provide curriculum parents can assist their children with at home further alienating parents from participation in their children’s education. Be sure to watch the youtube clip of a high school students who puts it all in perspective.
Karen’s opponent, as all lawmakers say, stands behind the nationalizing of our standards (which is a violation of our constitution) and states as all lawmakers do, that the program is good,it was just implemented and rolled out poorly. Karen has been a teacher for 29 years. She feels Common Core is not about implementation and roll out. It is a program which will forever change how our children learn and will impact them for the rest of their lives. We have no time to allow our children to be guinea pigs for profit.
Child Support Court in NY : After traveling over 65,000 miles in the last two years through her district, Karen has listened to so many of her neighbors discuss how the support system in NY is destructive to them, their children and their families. So alarming are some of the stories, that this MUST be addressed. We cannot allow families to be destroyed and forced into a one size fits all system which assumes guilty until proven innocent and is about numbers instead of people.
Underemployment of our college graduates: New York’s recent college graduates are leaving the state for jobs elsewhere. No one wants their children to leave the state and eventually raise their grandchildren in a location which requires a plane ride for a visit. NY has lost two congressional districts, further evidence that we are losing NYers to other states; NYers who leave, take their income and tax payment potential with them. Parents of any age children should be aware of this concern and hopefully be looking for an economic recovery so their children will remain close and gainfully employed.
It’s so important to me that we reach our readers at a national level on these issues and reinforce how important it is to vote! You have a personal say in what happens in your local neighborhood, counties, states, and the nation! If women don’t take a stand now for what’s important to us, someone else will make the decision for us. This is why Karen Bisso is one female voice out of thousands that is going to make a difference.
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