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Monday, May 19, 2014

Geaux Teacher!: Louisiana Senator Conrad Appel Rightfully Called Out

Geaux Teacher!: Louisiana Senator Conrad Appel Rightfully Called Out:



Louisiana Senator Conrad Appel Rightfully Called Out


I felt like giving voice to one of our very active parents against the  Common Core Initiative.  This letter from Sara Wood of St. Tammany Parish was written in response to a Facebook Post by one of our Louisiana senators.  Sara is a conservative Republican who has engaged with a diverse group of CCSS opponents to very actively oppose ALL of the CCSS initiative because she has studied its genesis and its progress.

Senator Appel has supported the disastrous education reforms of our Governor Bobby Jindal since he took office.  As Chairman of the Senate Education Committee he rules without mercy doling out sarcasm and disdain to every citizen who testifies against his position.  He has refused during this legislative session to allow a number of anti-common core bills to be heard in committee.  This will effectively kill these bills.  He has been righteously attacked both for his stance and his behavior.  This was his justification post:

You decide.

My friends ask why I am such a passionate defender of Common Core State Standards. Why am I willing to take a stand that seemingly flies in the face of what some people believe to be a problem? Why do I allow myself to be viciously attacked by bloggers hiding behind the cover of Internet pseudonyms?

The answers to these questions find basis in my fundamental beliefs; beliefs introduced to me through education and reinforced by familial values. First, I am a natural optimist. I believe in the good of people and their infinite capacity to grow and improve their lives. This principle convinces me that all children can learn and that quality education should not just be limited to those who have won the great lottery of being born into a family with means. 

I am a firm believer in the historical foundations of our country. The preamble to the U.S. Constitution states, "We the People of the United States, in Order to Form a More Perfect Union..."; it does not state just, "We the People..". I am the son of a World War II veteran who gave fours years of his young life in defense of the proposition that we are only strong when we are united and not when we are constantly concerned about what we have and what is good for us an individuals. The Constitution was ratified because it was universally acknowledged amongst the Founding Fathers that 13 independent states (states in the absolute sense of separate countries) would never be able to succeed; that only one united nation could live up to the potential of what these 
Geaux Teacher!: Louisiana Senator Conrad Appel Rightfully Called Out: