Today, Mr. Matt Brown was on “Uncle Henry” touting that Common Core could not be replaced at this point and that there was a bunch of “fear mongering” going on out there.  Mr. Brown, had the privilege of being homeschooled by his mother, went on to attend a Christian college, attained an engineering degree, was accepted to law school, and went on to receive a law degree.   Mr. Brown’s homeschool education was a positive experience enabling him to receive a high quality education which allowed him to go on to college, receive a higher education which allows him to go on to support his family, and become involved with the political process in this community, state, and possibly the nation.  He has benefited from this high quality education and yet is willing to allow the tripe of “Common Core” to continue to be taught in this school district and throughout Alabama.

Here are a few facts regarding Alabama education.  In 2011 Alabama had an A- in reading and a B+ in math prior to the implementation of Common Core.  In 2015, Alabama is now 50^th in Math overall and in reading fell to 44^th and 46^th in the 4^th and 8^th grade levels.   How is that Common Core working out for our children now?  So unimpressed is Massachusetts’ with the Common Core test 'the State Board of Education decided last week that Massachusetts would "go it alone” and develop a test just for Massachusetts’.  This is saying something considering Massachusetts is number 1 in the nation on test scores.  If it’s not good enough for Massachusetts, it’s not good enough for Alabama.  All of us want rigorous standards but Common Core is not the right choice.  Examples:

Or how about

Then, of course, there is the old school way:

The “old fashion” way got us to the moon.  It is the best way for children to become proficient in math.  We all agree we want our children educated to have the ability to think cognitively and to problem solve.  The solution to that is a good liberal education.  We can go back to what Alabama was doing prior to implementation of Common Core in math and reading, then look to Massachusetts for best practices to emulate in Alabama

No, Mr. Brown, we are not “fear mongers.”  We are concerned parents and grandparents about the direction of our educational system.  Common Core is untested, is not internationally benched marked, as many have claimed, and based on the 2015 NAEP scores, is not working for Alabama.

You should have an appreciation for a good education, yet you seem unfazed by a set of standards that have been forced on our teachers and children that are apparently not working.  Parents had no say in the implementation of these standards, and in fact, by the time they even heard the word Common Core, it was too late to do anything.  Implementation had already begun.  This does not go along with the idea of local control over education.  There should not be a program being implemented by the State with no input from the parents.  Your mother had all the control in the world as to what was taught in your home.  This should be the same for parents working side by side with local educators to determine what is best for our children. 

Lastly, Mobile County does not even show up with one elementary school in the top 100 schools in the State.  With a school district the size of Rhode Island, the largest in the state and 68^th largest over all, one would think we would have at least one.  Go to Yellowhammer and see the listing of the top 100 schools in Alabama, to verify what I have claimed.   I will not be voting for Mr. Brown.

Theresa Hubbard