Dear future president, 

Common core, the two most reviled words to a kid who was once forced to learn the subjects pertained to it in school. It is known than no two brains are alike, as any doctor will tell you: and yet, every child is held to specific standards for their learning. It seems to be common knowledge that if you don't learn fast, you're slow. You are told to get tutoring, ask a parent, or search the web for answers, but wouldn't it make more sense to just teach the subject at each student's own pace? It could take a day for one student to learn how to multiply polynomials, while it could take another a week. It's the same information, just spread out to fit the requirements of that student. It seems funny to imagine that, as children, we are told to celebrate differences; but, when it comes to our education and our own futures, our unique characteristics are put into a box and labeled. If you learn slower than the other children in your class, you are stuffed into a classroom with two other kids and told that you aren't as good as 'them,' but you can get better. Better. Otherwise known as 'not as bad.' Children who learn visually or verbally are given textbooks and told to take notes. Kinesthetic, or hands-on, learners are targeted and put into higher classes, told they are fast learners only because they are the only group that is focused on. Please help all of us who love to learn and are just not given the chance to.

Sincerely, Abigail W.