Editor, Why are we dumbing down our children? Our high schools send 90 percent of students out the door without the most basic skills high school is supposed to teach. High-tech businesses won’t locate to Liberty County because of our inability to provide educated workers.
Maybe I’m prejudiced because I graduated high school over 50 years ago and strongly believe that the schools back then produced the great minds that made America the technological juggernaut it is today. In those days, we didn’t have the worst math system ever devised, called Common Core. We memorized our math tables. Today, if I had to multiple 11 x 11, I would automatically reply, 121. Simple! Common Core is not simple, and I personally believe it is unintelligent. As an example for those who do not understand the tenants of Common Core math, here is how a simple math problem is solved today. Let’s add 9 + 6. I would automatically say 15, but here is how this problem is solved with Common Core.
9 + 6
1 + 5
The six is broken down because we are on the “10” system.
The 9 and 1 are added to get 10, while the 5 is added to the 10 to get 15.
Confused? I don’t doubt it. Why not break the 9 down to 4+5? Then, 4+6 is 10 and add the five. I certainly can’t see the reasoning behind all of this confusion when this problem can be done in your head in a second.
I was at a fast-food restaurant and my order came to $1.96. I gave the cashier two dollars and a penny. She looked at the penny and gave it back to me saying, “Your order was only $1.96,” before giving me four more pennies instead of the nickel that I wanted. This is representative of our high-school students.
Remember the term, “Carry the one?” It is now “Regroup 10 ones as a ten.” How about “add?” That is now “increase.” You no longer subtract, you decrease. I wish the department of education would increase old-fashioned learning and decrease stupidity.

— Len Calderone
Midway