This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jason Coyle's letter ("Academic myopia," Forum, March 5) illustrates attempts to falsify a need for Common Core.
There is a great deal of misinformation in support of the program. The major push behind Common Core is a group of big businesses (IBM, Chevron, Boeing, etc.). The program is supported by special interest groups who have little knowledge about the complexities of teaching and learning.
Common Core began with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Eli Broad Foundation, which financed its creation. The purpose is to enhance private sector control of a public function and to punish underfunded schools in disadvantaged areas, so that they can be privatized.
Common Core is a political ploy to control public education and to ridicule poor schools. Those who have deluged us with propaganda seem to think that the academic myopia of special interest groups is more valued than the experience and wisdom of professional educators.
M. Donald Thomas
Executive Director
Public Education Support Group
Salt Lake City