Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I was sitting in a hotel in Gettysburg reading USA Today, and dang, if two stories that could have been published here caught my eye. One, by Greg Toppo, illustrated our need to prepare our kids for the future through programs like Common Core, and the problems kids already in school may have adapting. The second, by Tyler Wells Lynch, illustrated how expensive and third-world our broadband is compared to the rest of the world.

Both these stories speak to a common thread: We, as a nation, are failing our children by not preparing them to compete with nations that focus on higher math and science, rather than one-size-fits-all education or, as Mrs. Goff said in Mr. Toppo’s article, "We plan to fight hard to stop test scores being the determining factor for promotion." Her child is a good student in the math and science taught today, but failed when tested under Common Core standards. More than half in New York did.

Higher standards are needed and m...