Mom writes Cuomo: Furious about Common Core

By carolcorbettburris, October 16, 2013

Emily Santamarina is a teacher and a mom. She is horrified by the pressures being put on her first grade daughter.
She understands how the Common Core is driving bad practice in suburban districts. She is furious that John King took away her opportunity to speak at the PTA forum this week. This is what she sent to Governor Cuomo and all of the Regents. Regent Phillips kindly and promptly responded.

A first grader walks home and hands her mother a math test with a 45% on it. Governor, we have a problem! This child is mine. She is a living, breathing, beautiful and talented child, not a number. Her name is Isabella. She gets up every morning and can’t wait to go to school. She has a genuine love of learning. Isabella loves every aspect of school, even homework. We sit down every day at the table and I am astonished by the worksheets given to her from Pearson’s “enVision Math Program”. These worksheets contain extensive word problems given to a first grader who is still developing their reading skills. It seems a bit insane to me, but hey, my daughter is a smart-cookie, No problem! Then she comes home with a 45% on a math test. What first grader comes home with a 45%? How are we supposed to foster a love of learning when children are getting grades like this? A large handful of students in her class failed the test. I myself, a college graduate and Speech and Language Pathologist had to read questions twice to understand the vague semantics provided. I am appalled at these tests and materials linked to the common core curriculum. Frankly, I am appalled at every facet of the government that is not addressing the needs of our children. How dare the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) take my child’s confidence away in first grade? How dare the NGA and CCSSO try to tell teachers how and what to teach when they have little to no experience in public education? How dare teachers be encouraged to put a 45% on a first graders test? Fix this and fix this now before our children suffer more at the hands of the common core and its assessments!
Sincerely,
Emily M Santamarina M.A. CCC/SLP
Furious and Concerned Parent