Autistic 9th grader testifies against Common Core: ‘It makes me very dependent on others’

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Special needs student Bryce Mulhull testified against Common Core at the Missouri Senate Education Committee.  He described how he was enrolled in a science class that was way over his abilities, yet Common Core mandated he participate in it.

“I struggle with math and don’t understand abstract concepts,” Bryce said. “I was enrolled in the only 9th grade science class offered, ‘Physic First.’ It was higher level math and has very hard concepts that I don’t usually understand because of my disabilities.  In contrast, my math class in Special Ed is adding simple fractions.”

Bryce said his parents tried to work with the school to get him in a more appropriate class.

“They said no. DESE said no too,” Bryce testified.

He said his para often uses his math class to help him with his science homework.

“She helps me with some of the answers so I get good grades. It makes me very dependent on others instead of allowing me to learn in my own way,” he said.

Witnesses were only allowed three minutes each, so when Bryce’s time was up, his mother completed his testimony.

“I ask you, is this a proper and appropriate education,” Cindy Mulhull asked.  ”Is education’s purpose to train or to enlighten?”

She said a school in a nearby town offered four different levels of science class.

“I believe that they understood, at least for now, that a one size fits all education does not, and cannot, work for all kids,” she said.

They were testifying in support of Senate bills that would halt the implementation of Common Core in Missouri.

http://eagnews.org/autistic-9th-grader-testifies-against-common-core-it-makes-me-very-dependent-on-others/