SPEAK OUT

What do Kansans think about Common Core?

Please read these statements and personal stories from parents, grandparents, teachers, and other Kansans who are speaking out about Common Core.  If you would like to submit something for us to post here, please email kristin(at)kansansagainstcommoncore(dot)com.

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Our Common Core experience’s have been many different thing’s. I have watched my 4 children go from eager,attentive and over-all well rounded student’s to witnessing their confidence decline and their ability to complete assignment’s on their own greatly affected. Subject content is not being mastered before continuing to the next chapter and this has affected comprehension and result’s in lower test scores. We have at some point in time felt: over-whelmed,aggravation,frustration,fatigue and stress. It has cost us doctor visit’s and expensive medications,all for the sake of ‘focus’ for over-thought, time consuming and unnecessary math steps! It has been an adjustment that I wasn’t prepared for, nor would I ever want to re-do.

Replaced with common-sense and the return of a standardized format should be insisted upon. Not only by and for the student’s and parent’s,but for the teacher’s as well. Get out of those re-education ‘work-shops’ and back in the classroom and start teaching our children how to think…instead of what to think. Bring back common sense and get back to who you are and why you chose to be a teacher. Get back the 3 R’s in their intended formation and you will soon see what we have all been missing! Happy parents,happy teachers and most importantly…happy students! We need you’r support,your leadership and mostly,you’r experience’s need to be heard,as well.

I compare Common Core to a modern day Frankenstein. Combine them and we have,”FrankenCore”… the misunderstood Bully of modern education. It was created with bits and pieces,held together with nuts and bolts,brought to life artificially,escaped the castle,brought chaos and destruction where-ever it went,and now the villagers have to fight,contain and return it to the evil doctor. So…villagers…what are we waiting for?

Concerned Kansas Mother,
Laura Gragg
Posted on October 24, 2013
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We’ve been enrolled in virtual school for 6 years. Though I am not a huge fan of standardized tests in general (and we had to comply), it wasn’t a huge deal. I could manipulate; pick and choose lessons for each of my 3 students and deal with the pre-tests and test preparation.

This year things changed. My ability to bypass lessons I didn’t feel appropriate was greatly diminished. My attendance wasn’t accepted because I turned it in at 2 (school doesn’t end until 3 or so I was told). The prep for the ‘big test’ involves 3 hours of on-line classes a week, plus daily warm-ups…per student. Then the principal sent a letter about common core compliance. It will involve more lessons and tests (though none have been written yet…but we better be ready…and our students better do well).

In a nutshell, I’m sad. As a conservative activist, I enjoyed the cover of an accredited school, but the consequences are too great. We are pulling our kids from virtual school and homeschooling the old fashioned way.

Leslie Schmidt
Posted on October 24, 2013