Let me start by saying that I have great respect for teachers. I am not saying that because I am trying to endear myself to anyone or to get some warm and fuzzy feeling. I am saying it because I have a child who goes to school.

I'm saying it because I try to be a good parent and help my child with her homework, which gives me just the slightest glimpse into her teacher's experience. Most parents who make that effort have likely had those moments of frustration when you just want your child to "get it."

Or, you think they've got it and on the next question, you realize they don't. Of course, when you do get those Eureka moments, it's an amazing feeling. This is my experience with one child, for maybe 20 to 30 minutes. I can't even wrap my head around doing this with a room full of children, all with different sets of strengths and weaknesses for several hours a day.

With all of that being said, I don't see how any teacher or parent could be a supporter of this Common Core nonsense that has made its way into our classrooms. If you've just been sold on a couple of sentences about "raising the bar" or "giving our students a more standardized and rigorous curriculum," you should do some more research.

When I first got some glimpses of this Common Core system, I assumed that someone had found a better way. I'm not one to immediately dismiss something because it's not what I am accustomed to. "You're going to make my kid smarter and more successful than me? You have my 100 percent support."

After doing some research and learning where Common Core came from, how untested it is, who funded it and who's profiting from it, I am certain this system does not have my child's best interest in mind.

Additionally, great teachers are essentially stifled from being creative educators who can actually get through to a classroom of kids. That is a rare talent and one that I certainly do not possess. Why on earth would you try to tie the hands of these teachers and hold them to these standards devised by a small group of people who have never even attempted to be educators?

My goal isn't to make this sound argumentative or insulting to anyone, regardless of where you stand politically -- left or right; parent or not. I just ask that you try to educate yourself on what is going on here. This is not just a "new way to teach math." This is a much bigger issue than that and deserves a little time for you to do some of your own fact finding.

If you would like to get the opinions of some Montanans who are opposed, you can check out the site Montanan's Against Common Core.

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. - Abraham Lincoln

More From 103.7 The Hawk