Governor Herbert Wants to Hear From ME about Common Core?

Coming back from SLC recently, I heard a news excerpt about the Governor's requested review of Common Core by the State Attorney General to determine if, legally, the Common Core represents federal intrusion into the public schools. With this announcement, he included a survey at utah.gov/governor/standards which he encouraged everyone to visit and chime in to.

I was impressed, hopeful, and a bit skeptical. 

What struck me, before even visiting the website, was the time frame. The survey is only up through August. This reminded me of the "ample opportunity for public input" that was allowed before Common Core's adoption. Ha!  Try a few weeks in the summer when school, and especially school policy and bureaucratic headaches are farthest from what anyone wants to think about. So, they're doing it again, I thought to myself. Still, I didn't want to miss THIS tiny summertime window to chime in, so I visited the page I mentioned above.

And the rest of my skepticism was confirmed. Turns out the Governor doesn't want to bring people to the same point of reference, find common ground, really hear concerns, or field other suggestions. The survey is a joke if it claims to be anything but a propaganda piece for supporters of the Core. There are no fields to list real concerns about federal involvement, data mining, loss of public control. There is no legitimate place to call for a change of anything but the edu-speak language of what is taught and when. He doesn't want to hear from me. Or you. Or anyone, unless you are one of the few, the proud, the bold who have read through the 450 page document on English standards, and would like to tweak a few things here or there - and please be sure to list standards and the age to which they apply specifically. (Oooh. The Math standards are only 155 pages!)

I know I'm supposed to swallow the suggestion that a group of removed experts have come up with an answer to all our educational woes and that their agenda really has my child's best interest in mind. I am surprised such "smart" people hope to gain that trust without any REAL opportunity to hear from those who really do care most about the kids: their parents. Nice try, Gov'nah. You'll find true listening difficult while your primary concern is that you appear to be listening.