I sent this letter out because I have reason to believe the EOC will water down what the General Assembly passed to try to stop Common Core. This puts the director on notice that I’m paying attention. I have also sent this to my Republican colleagues in the Senate in hopes they will voice their concerns as well. I also emailed the Governor’s staff to encourage the Governor and her appointees on the EOC to be certain they do not allow the director to take the easy way out.
Dear Ms. Barton,
I recently read your comments concerning the elimination of Common Core from South Carolina education standards, and I am very frustrated and alarmed. Your statement that, “I wouldn’t say it’s going to be a total rewrite” strikes me as incredibly tone deaf if not outright defiant. Perhaps you have not followed the discussions of the General Assembly since January, but let me assure you that the intention of the legislation is that South Carolina students not be subjected to Common Core standards in any way, shape or form. I hope that you understand that now, if you didn’t understand it before.
Ms. Barton, your further complaint or excuse that “we don’t have time to do that” also strikes me as unbelievably disingenuous. You certainly had time in 2010 to adopt Common Core standards in record time through a truncated and barely legal process, but now you tell us that you don’t have time to undo that debacle? I, many of my colleagues and the majority of parents and students in South Carolina simply will not accept that abdication of your LEGAL responsibility.
Ms. Barton, I know that Superintendent Mick Zais is committed to eliminating Common Core from South Carolina, and I know that the State Department will issue new standards in ELA and Math that will accomplish that legal directive. I will be following the actions of the EOC to ensure that it, and you, do not stymie the will of the people of South Carolina as reflected in the action of the General Assembly. I trust that you will not allow an individual agenda to thwart the education of South Carolina children.
Regards,
Shane Martin
The text above is the body of the letter. To download a PDF of the actual letter, just click here.
Zais says he will kill Common Core – The State newspaper article.
I was very ignorant of Common Core until a friend enlightened me about ‘all/most’ of its content. I was shocked. I asked her if she would write up a petition against it that I would be one of the first to sign it. I also suggested she send it off to the Superintendent of Education in Columbia. I really don’t think the average person, especially people like me who do not have children in the home, really know what Common Core is all about. Again, I appreciate your standing up to represent the majority of the people in SC. Praying for you as you continue to fight for the values that our nation was founded on.
Thank you for standing strong for what is right!! You are in my prayers Mr. Martin.