Comments

• On the Blog Post Is Common Core a Bad Apple?

  Anne Gassel

  12:36 am on Friday, May 17, 2013

  If you would like to learn more about common core, please visit MOAgainstCommonCore.com

  Reply

• On the article Senator Nieves Speaking Out Against National Education Standards

  Anne Gassel

  1:19 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

  Larry, I'm in it for the love whereas others are in it for the Gates money. Any mother who has worked for a school function knows how to stretch a dollar. Thank you for the compliment on the website, but years of doing work for non-profits with little or no money has left me with a wealth of knowledge of free internet services that are of decent quality and so simple anyone can look professional.

  Reply

• On the article Senator Nieves Speaking Out Against National Education Standards

  Anne Gassel

  10:50 am on Friday, April 26, 2013

  Thanks Frank. I encourage people who actually want to learn more about the concerns over common core to go to MOAgainstCommonCore.com

  Reply

• On the article Senator Nieves Speaking Out Against National Education Standards

  Anne Gassel

  10:04 am on Friday, April 26, 2013

  Patch got the facts wrong in the article. Last night's event was not organized by Lamping or Nieves, it was organized by a group of mother's who have done their research on Common Core, called an expert from the CC validation committee and asked her to come speak to the public so they could understand where these standards came from & what problems exist with them. They invited the Senators to come report on what was happening on CC in Jeff City. Opposition to CC comes from the grassroots who have made a lot of effort to educate themselves. P Stanley's comments cover some of our concerns & I appreciate him making them. The opposition is not to standards themselves, but to the process used to develop & push these standards on states. CCSSI stds. are copyrighted and owned by two private trade assns. whose terms of use in the license state that they must be used "in whole." They also have a disclaimer that says they cannot be sued if the standards don't produce the outcomes claimed. States who use them cannot tailor them to the needs of their state or fix any pedagogical flaw in them. The math standards, for example, use a non-Euclidean approach to geometry that has never been used successfully in any country, including the top school in Russia where it was developed. If we are going to try to improve our student outcomes, selecting a methodology that has a poor (or in the case of the focus on non-fiction reading in HS - non-existent) track record seems like the wrong way to go.

  Reply

• On the article Tax Loophole For St. Louis County Country Clubs Has Homeowners Paying More

  Anne Gassel

  10:45 am on Saturday, November 10, 2012

  Sure would have sounded different if you would have said, "Parkway could receive an extra $218k a year if the laws and zoning codes were different." Parkway currently is not entitled to that money so they are not losing it. With the state's economy in a slump, every school district is looking for additional money. Painting a group as bad guys because they have been following the law for years and it was a non-issue when you didn't need their money, is just more class warfare. Should the law be changed? You better find out what all would be impacted if you did so before you answer. Country Clubs are under a unique set of regulations that limit what they can do, such as no advertising for members, in exchange for this tax status. If you change the tax status, those limitations (and others) would likely go away. It would be far more useful to ask this question about legislative action once all the facts are known.

  Reply

• On the article Wildwood and Eureka Election Guide

  Anne Gassel

  9:42 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012

  The August Primary is very important. Not only will everyone be narrowing down the field of candidates in their party for the major offices, but there will also be other party offices that will only be voted on by the public on the August 7th primary ballot like the county and township committeemen and committeewomen. These people are your direct line of communication into and out from the party. Use the Sec of State site to find your township if you are uncertain which one you are in (most people never look at that line on their voter notification card) and while you're there, make sure you are registered to vote at your current address.

  Reply

• On the article Readers' Choice 2012: What’s Your Favorite Golf Course?

  Anne Gassel

  9:32 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012

  Forest Park is the best public course in the St. Louis area. If you are considering private courses I'd go with Bellerieve.