The article, "Common Core Under Fire," brought up more questions than answers as to why there was opposition to this educational initiative that has provided $2 million funding to Cape Henlopen. So I looked at their website to get some answers, www.corestandards.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions. Another answer that came up as I searched to the question of, "Why there is opposition?" is that the Tea Partiers are against it.
My experience with a school system was years ago in Baltimore County. I took my son out in his sixth grade year and home schooled. In that year, he leaped ahead more than three years in math and five years in English while I used work books at no higher than the first half of seventh grade. It was then that I realized that the county board of education standards were lagging so far behind and explained further why the local community colleges were forced to hold remedial classes for such a large number of new high school graduate enrollees.
Another experience I had with my children early on was that students transferring in from other districts kept holding back those who had already learned some basics. I wound up getting a work book to help my son start reading in his second semester because the teacher hadn't gotten to the point he was at the beginning of the year.
I really hope that parents in the Cape Henlopen District look at the website and ask questions. Foundational skills based on a common standard voluntarily set by states could make many students far more competitive and likely to succeed in higher education and career endeavors.
Patricia M. Williams
Lewes
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