I don’t have kids but when and if I do, I will be searching for truly exceptional education. There will be nothing “common” regarding my children’s education and I’m sure every parent out there has the same hopes and desires. Common core can never satisfy my demands for exceptional education. By its very nature it is “traditional” education – making every student learn the same materials and curriculum at the same time or ‘fail’ rather than learn and succeed at their own pace. With that in mind I will prepare to homeschool my children first and foremost and will desire the liberty to educate my children without government oversight, e.g. standardized testing. If for some reason I absolutely cannot educate my children at home, I will search for “alternative” education which in many aspects is far superior to traditional education. Montessori schools are a perfect example. These schools provide excellent education for students precisely by allowing them to learn at their own pace and foster relationships. Force and coercion are never the best practices to foster relationships. This is my personal opinion about education these days even though I attended schools that provided a traditional educational approach. As a student who was ahead of the curve, I was provided opportunities to excel through advanced curriculum however, even that at times was boring and simplistic. Every student requires an individual approach to maximize their potential and the state will never be able to provide that by implementing common core.
With that in mind and taking into account the massive amount of money spent why can’t the state focus on providing more alternative, individualistic approaches to education, treating children as individuals and not labeling and dictating their status as “students”? Common core is a monopoly that has been created to enrich testing companies, teacher certification companies, state education budgets and in my opinion is the most exploitative creation yet by state and federal governments. It is truly and abomination and Florida should join the small minority of states that did not adopt it. Education is best left to parents, communities, and the smallest unit of government available, the school board. Every child’s education should have only one thing in common; an individually tailored and enriched plan to maximize their potential and provide them with a truly exceptional childhood that allows them to develop into educated adults.
Matthew Battista