It is Not Too Late to Get the Anti Common Core Vote: Open letter to Rick Scott
Dear Governor Scott.
I am a parent that has been fighting common core for almost two years. I know that you are the best option to get rid of common core. So I need you to win. However, if you are told that voters will vote for you out of fear of Charlie Crist that will not work this year. Parents are angry; they see their children hurting and cannot bring themselves to vote for anyone who would let this happen. I am estimating at least a third of Adrian Whyllie’ s votes could have been yours if you had given us a sign that that you understand what is happening in the State you are running.
I will vote for you because I met you in 2010, and I saw a good man. However, I have had very little luck persuading other anti common core people to vote for you, with nothing more than a four old impression of someone I talked to for five minutes. I haven’t voted yet because, I am waiting for something that will make me feel like I am not betraying my children with that vote. I know I am doing the logical thing, but I can’t help dreading that vote.
You could change all this by restating the commitment you made on August 25th. The promise you made was supposed to calm down us anti common core voters. Whoever told you, that we wanted more digital learning and a rehash of the 2013 standards review, should be fired. In fact everything since the Educational summit in 2013 seems to be based on bad advice.
More digital learning is exactly what we don’t want. We parents want to see what our kids are learning at school, digital learning prevents that. We do not trust the digital learning provider because we know their history. Moreover, we have no idea if our children are incurring irreparable harm from these devises that have not been studied on adults let alone more susceptible children. We see money for digital learning for exactly what it is: a boondoggle to get tax dollars to the same crony corporations that funded common core in the first place.
Reviewing the stands again is pointless because we all know that common core is owned and copyrighted by the NGA and the CCSSO. We can make minor tweaks and add non-tested things like cursive and calculus, but we already did that in 2013.
What would work would be committing to signing a bill that would get us out of common core and back to the 2008 Florida State standards, Jeb Bush’s standards. They are not perfect, but unlike common core, we can amend them. The Fordham institute ranked Florida’s2008 standards higher than the common core in math and the same in English Language Arts. We already have the curriculum, the text books, and the exams based on the 2008 standards, they would be ready to put in place in 90 days. We just need legislative approval and your signature.
With or without the 2008 Florida standards, a really easy and effective way you could regain our trust and votes, would be to promise an Executive Order placing a moratorium on the State mandated, End Of Course (EOC) assessments and the Value Added Model Teacher evaluations (VAM). Since the State EOC are come as early as they do and are of such a dire consequence that put the brakes on any real education in February if not sooner. The results go to rate the teacher using an algorithm developed for corn production that has failed everywhere it was used.
There is only one reliable way to evaluate a teacher. Ask a student’s parents, who love their children, who help them with home work, who cry for them when they fail, and whose hearts leap when they succeed. Parents know who is a good teacher but has happens has removed parents from the school and good teachers from the classroom.
If you lose this election, and I hope and pray you do not, look no further than those who advised you during the campaign, because they wanted this. Your campaign headquarters are still packed with signs paid for by big donors. It makes no sense to ignore the 2-3 % of the electorate, but that is what happened. Betrayal by people, that were supposed to be on your side, is hard to take. We know, for four years of a republican super majority, we have been betrayed. We parents will keep fighting common core and all it entails. I ask that you join us win or lose, for two months of four years. Be the Governor that we trusted wit our vote in 2010 and use the power that God lent to you, to free our children.
You’re faithful Friend,
Joseph C. Ryan
