There is no question that standards-based education will set aside traditional methods of instruction used to educate students since the late 1800s.

Nor is there any question that a change is desperately needed.

The disturbing question, however, remains: Is standard-based education the best model in existence to replace the 100-plus-year-old industrial model?

I am anxious as I watch this change approach us like a tsunami that seemingly cannot be stopped. My anxiety increases when I read such articles as “Teacher: One (maddening) day working with the Common Core,” in the Washington Post on March 23. (www. washingtonpost.com/blog/answer-sheet/Archive/).

Simply because this new system will replace an old worn-out system is not sufficient reason that it should be embraced. Are there better models out there that are being ignored (e.g., Finland, Singapore)? Are we racing headlong into this drastic change, thus possibly putting our students at risk, in a disguised attempt to acquire federal money (i.e., the Race to the Top)?

It is past time that we apply a little braking, not enough to stop, but enough to slow a bit and proceed cautiously. There are many wrinkles in the common cores; wrinkles big enough to wreck an already damaged system.

Guy Bourrie

Washington