Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Dump the

Common Core

To the Editor:

Stop the Federal Government's over reach into education in Indiana. Ask your state legislators to stay on track and dump the Common Core!

Last week, the Senate Education Committee wisely added language to House Bill 1427 to abruptly halt implementation of the Common Core standards in the state. Proactively stopping the Common Core is a positive step in re-asserting control over our state's educational legacy.

The brief explanation: Common Core is a set of pie-in-the-sky K-12 education standards that has been developed and mandated by former Indiana top educational politico, Tony Bennett. Adopted in Indiana in 2010, the standards are full of busy-work and fall woefully short of the intended goal of educating Indiana's children. Instead, the Common Core continues a long tradition of bureaucracy and a move away from local control.

The standards are already being implemented in classrooms across our state. They have the support of textbook companies, multi-million dollar corporations, political lobbyists, and former educators who have moved into lucrative consulting positions funded by multi-national special interest groups. The ACT and SAT tests are being bullied into reflecting these new standards. Continuation on a path toward the Common Core (Common Chore) in Indiana would prove costly -- both financially and, more importantly, to our students.

A certain red-flag is hearing how the repeal would be costly to taxpayers. Obamacare was passed using this same tactic. We heard the same talk surrounding the sequestration nonsense. The objective, as always, is to funnel taxpayer money into the pockets of special interest groups under the guise of providing a better education for Hoosier children.

However, some liberal activists and national groups opposed to common sense have singled out Indiana -- a state traditionally grounded in rigorous, common sense, locally controlled approach to education -- as a state in which the citizens are starting to wake up to the overbearing regulations and hidden agendas being ramrodded down the throats of taxpayers.

The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is one of the organizations in bed with special interest groups and career politicians in trying to saddle Hoosier teachers and children with yet more paperwork and endless implementation procedures.

Is this the new look of the Chamber of Commerce? Will they take a path similar to the AARP (in their support of Obamacare), who betrayed millions of elderly people in America in order to buy a seat at the table of a more "progressive," socialist America?

Indiana citizens, I ask you to follow the money. You will immediately see who is behind the Common Core. You will also see the agendas are not about Indiana children.

Please take a few moments to send a message to your state legislators supporting the repeal of the Common Core academic standards.

Dump the Common Core!

Andy H. Davis, Sr.

Worthington

Campbell family

says thank you

To the Editor:

The Steve Campbell family would like to thank the following for their love, support and care during the time of Steve's illness and passing: Greene County Infusion Center and Hospital, Dr. Kunapreaddy and staff, Kris Pruett of Home Health Care, Union Hospital of Terre Haute, and IU Medical Hospital/Simon Cancer Center of Indianapolis.

To Vern Spoor and his staff of Welch and Cornett we say thank you for the beautiful memorial. Your thoughtfulness and attentiveness to our needs were greatly appreciated.

We thank Reverend Kenny Adams and wife Wynn for the love and support to Steve as a young man and to our family over the years. We were touched by your inspirational words during Steve's time in the hospital and at his service.

Thank you to the WRV faculty, staff and administration for their overwhelming expression of love and respect for Steve. The use of the Worthington gym, all the hard work organizing food, the beautiful flowers and taking care of our family will forever be remembered.

To the alumni of Worthington-Jefferson High School and WRV alumni/students, we thank you for the memories you shared with us about Steve. You warmed our hearts. Thank you to the Worthington classes of 1966, 1976, 1979, 1982 for the lovely flowers. Class of 1989, we thank you for your contribution to the Stephen L. Campbell Scholarship Fund and the flowers.

To the First Financial Bank of Worthington, we thank you for helping us with the Stephen L Campbell Scholarship Fund. Steve's passion was educating children. Our hopes are, through this scholarship fund, we will be able to help deserving students achieve their dreams and goals.

The cards, food, phone calls, thoughts and prayers from the Greene County community over the past year have been a source of great comfort to us. Our family is blessed to have had the support and we again thank you all.

Leitta Campbell and family

Stephen W. Campbell and family

Michele and Rick Hunter

Joyce Campbell