Parents deserve the best education that the Maine public schools can provide for their children! When public education fails to do so, parents have every right and responsibility to move their children to private education, either through homeschooling or private schools. Why is it that many of our public officials choose private schools for their children but expect the rest of us to use public schools? There is no common sense in that decision. They must believe that there is something wrong with our schools!
Did you know there are at least two different methods to teach reading? One is called the “look-say” method, in which the student sees a word and the teacher tells the student how to say the word. When the student repeats the word enough times, he or she knows how to pronounce the word. This does not make sense to me, because we have too many words in the English language to learn them all. Have you seen the size of a dictionary?
The other method is called “phonics.” This method teaches how combinations of letters sound, enabling one to read any word seen for the first time. I have watched as kindergartners and first graders were given words they had never seen before and listened as they read them.
One of my daughters was struggling with learning to read in a Maine local school, prompting my wife have a conference with her teacher. She asked the Resource Room teacher if our daughter could be taught phonics. We were shocked with the reply, “we are not allowed.” Did I hear that answer right? So who was not allowing the teachers to teach phonics back in the 1980s?
In June of 2022, I gave a graduation card to a 12th grader from a Maine public high school. He said, “I cannot read it.” (I had written it in cursive!) It seems some Maine schools have eliminated reading and writing in cursive from their curriculum! If they teach it, they do not continue using it, so the students practice it in latter grades.
When it comes to math, it is considered hard work to learn addition, subtraction and multiplication tables. But students need to learn them. Using a calculator is considered the preferred solution. Now we have students graduate who cannot do simple math. It seems that we are teaching students to depend on calculators and other electronic devices. My other daughter (not the one mentioned above) went to college and failed consumer math. Her Maine schools had not prepared her for life. This is insane!
Friends, this does not make common sense to me! It is the dumbing down of our greatest resource, our children. It is the dumbing down of Maine. It is the dumbing down of America. It is time we steer this ship-of-state in a different direction and that would be back to academics rather than social issues!
How can you expect the people and political party that got us into this mess to get us out of it? Therefore, vote for David Corbett in the city of Biddeford and the towns of Arundel, Lyman, Dayton and Hollis. In the meantime, tell your friends to vote for me, ask me for a yard sign, contribute $5.00 to my campaign and request a rear window sticker showing your support. Remember, in this election, friends don’t let friends vote for Democrats!
By the way, I also have yard signs for all of our Republican neighbors. If you live in my Senate District 32, just call me at 207-286-7378 and I will personally come to your home to deliver and install signs for you. If you offer, I will also take the time to have a cup of tea or coffee with you. This is what a public servant should do. By the way, I also like cinnamon rolls … just saying!
Rev. David Corbett
Maine Senate Candidate
District 32 (Biddeford, Arundel, Dayton, Lyman, Hollis)