State School Board

Bright and early in the morning I am speaking in front of the State School Board sharing with them my concerns about Common Core.  I can't believe I'm doing this but I have felt very strongly about it since learning about it.  Anyway, wish me luck!

Here's my speech:

From the inner city to the small town, from single parent homes to English as a second language, how are we all supposed to fit into a one size fits all system?  Last spring I was handed a pamphlet introducing me to the Common Core and these are the thoughts that ran through my head.  We are all so different, how is locking the bar in the middle the same as raising the bar for all?  By placing an artificial ceiling we’re limiting those who can soar. 

I am a mother of 7 with high aspirations for all my children.  My oldest two were able to get ahead of the common core for which I am very grateful.   One got ahead by testing into advanced classes.  The other sacrificed her summer to take Pre-Algebra so that she could take Algebra in 7^th grade.  Brad James of the Salt lake Tribune wrote “The majority of Utah 9th graders will now be taking Secondary Mathematics I, which combines elements of algebra and geometry.”  My daughter is in 8^th grade and currently taking Geometry.  She’s ahead of the game, “Now what?”   

My 6^th grader ranked in the top 5% of the nation in every single subject of the IOWA test and now he’s stuck at the artificial ceiling that is Honors Math 6.  Now I know you’ve been told we’re going to dig deeper into the concepts because children are learning the concepts too quickly.  I say to you there are some who are capable of digging deep and quick at the same time and some who are not capable of either.  What about them?

Instead of rewarding success and working to correct failure Common Core is forcing everyone to be the same and that sounds a lot like Socialism to me.

In 1969 (Education for Freedom) Former Secretary of Agriculture and prominent Religious leader Ezra T. Benson wrote, "From the very beginning of recorded political thought, man has realized the importance of education as a tremendous potential for both good and evil.  In a free and open society such as ours, a well-rounded education is an essential for the preservation of freedom against the chicanery and demagoguery of aspiring tyrants who would have us ignorantly vote ourselves into bondage.  On the other hand, should the educational system ever fall into the hands of the in-power political faction or into the hands of an obscure but tightly-knit group of professional social reformers, it could be used, not to educate, but to indoctrinate."   

Now I would ask you, why would large money interest like Microsoft and international governing bodies like UNESCO and the UN work so hard to be involved in the local educational system of Utah and pay for access to our students?

Thank you, I stand against the common core