The Story of Matthew, the Bravest Little Guy in New York.
By Michael Bohr
There is a very brave young man in NY by the name of Matthew. He is 12 years old and has some serious learning challenges that he was in control of and learning to excel beyond them.That was until the middle of the 5th grade when the Common Core arrived two years ago.
During the last 2 years as the school continued to implement the Common Core, Matt’s IEP was increasingly ignored due to the demands of the NYSED and the Common Core. The longer it went on, the harder things became for this young man, until this year when enough was enough… he just couldn’t take what the Common Core was doing to him. He refused to go to school.
Such was the pressure placed upon Matt that at the age of 12, he knew he had to take a stand, even though doing so was extremely traumatic for himself and his parents. He continues to stand his ground despite even more pressure being placed on him to go back, but as his mom was telling me today, it is taking it toll on him.
Being a dad of two middle schoolers who are facing the onslaught of the Common Core as well as the uncle of two beautiful young ladies who themselves have IEP’s and are finding themselves left further and further behind by a system that ignores their individuality and forces them to contend with more than they can handle, I was inspired to write some words that came rushing into my mind. I posted them to his mom because I wanted her and her son to know that they are not alone… that he is not alone. That people everywhere are fighting for him as he fights for himself. That we are amazed, inspired and in awe of the strength that he has shown by saying, "No