Dear Editor

I finally put my issues about the fighting from both sides of the Common Core "discussion" on paper and wrote to the newspaper this week.  Last Saturday there were two long essays--from the proponents, and the opponents of this new initiative.  I agreed with the gal who wrote in favor of the CCSI.  Plus the guy who wrote against it is a notorious trouble maker in our district and I have nothing terribly nice to say about him beyond he must have cult-leader-like charisma because people certainly fall in line behind him and eat every word he tells them without any source checking of their own.  And I guess that isn't really very nice.

Here is what I sent the paper:

Dear Editor—

I read with appreciation the opposing opinions of the Common Core in the Saturday, May 18^th, Daily Herald.  I see the enthusiasm each contributor has for his/her side of this discussion.  But the discussion statewide has gone beyond the discussion into an ideological battlefield.  I’d sincerely hope that concerned citizens could take a deep breath, a step back and return to the discussion of this issue.

The current state of our public education is one that deserves enthusiasm and efforts and energy of all our citizenry.   Our kids are worth nothing less.  However, are opponents of the Common Core Standards Initiative directing their efforts and energies to the solution of this problem?  

The concerned conservatives who see the CCSI as a federal conspiracy, who quote a myriad of experts and implore us to “follow the money” have yet to propose an alternative solution.  Like many of the leaders we keep sending to Washington DC, there seems to be much complaining about what the “other guy” is doing, but not enough talk about how they propose to solve the problems we are facing.

Personally, I support the CCSI.  The standards themselves are not to blame or fear.  I want my children to have the very best educational foundation I can find and provide for them.  And as a parent, I have CHOSEN our local public educational system.  But this is Utah, and there are there are MANY other choices available.  We have a host of Charter schools that cater to nearly every educational niche there is.  There are some superbly run private school options in our area.  And if all those fail to meet a parent’s approval, homeschooling is one of the most personal and self-directed options there can be.  There isn’t even an argument about costs with this choice.

Why should the opponents of the CCSI remove the choice I have to send my kids to the local public school and the standards it now espouses from me just because they don’t agree with this new shift?  My choice is to send my kids, to spend my time volunteering there and to even write a check a few times a year to support the programs, teams, and clubs these local public schools offer.

My children have had wonderful, inventive and inspiring teachers over the course of their public education.  The administrators I have seen at work do their jobs with honor, diligence and an overarching goal to see ALL the children in their stewardship find success at school.  The efforts made on behalf of my children and their classmates are astounding.   If the CCSI opponents aren’t seeing the same thing I am, what is keeping them in the local public schools? 

I was over their "suggested length" but I said what I wanted to say.  In the meantime, I will put my head down and work as hard as I can to see our schools be as successful as they can for the kids they are stuck with as well as those who really want to be there.