WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservatives should “stop the fight” over Common Core and instead consider the benefits that the academic standards offer students in struggling schools, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Friday. The position puts him at odds with a significant bloc of Republicans.
Huckabee, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2008 and is considering a 2016 run, acknowledged the standards have become politically unpopular. Tea party-styled conservatives brand the standards as big-government intrusion, while teacher unions oppose having their members graded on how well students learn the more rigorous skills.
“Common Core has become toxic, I think it’s radioactive,” Huckabee said. “It has become an incredibly controversial topic on both the left and the right.”
Huckabee said, regardless of political leanings, “We want our students to achieve to the highest level they’re capable.”
“They can’t do that if we dumb down the schools,” Huckabee said. “I don’t know of any conservative who wants to dumb down America’s schools. I don’t know of any student who would benefit.”
Huckabee, a former pastor, made his comments while attending a National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference meeting in Washington. That group, which includes more than 40,000 churches and 16 million evangelical Hispanics, plans to have pastors pitch higher standards during their sermons on Sept. 7.
Huckabee did not use the appearance to outline a specific education agenda. But he has been consistent in his support for higher academic standards.
Huckabee’s comments closely resemble those from another former governor considering a 2016 presidential bid, Jeb Bush of Florida. But that pair splits dramatically from anti-Common Core crusaders such as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
Powerful outside players, including the tea party-rallying FreedomWorks and conservative personality Glenn Beck, also have stoked anti-Common Core sentiments among their supporters.
Common Core State Standards essentially exchanged state-by-state benchmarks for one uniform guide about what math and language arts skills a student should have at each grade level. For instance, all third-graders should know how to find the perimeter of a shape. How an educator at the front of a classroom teaches that is up to each school.
Critics of the program say Common Core is a federal curriculum that forces one-size-fits-all teaching onto students. The program is neither federal nor a curriculum, and it allows teachers to determine how to teach the prescribed skills to students. Supporters say the higher standards will help students be better prepared to attend college or find a first job.
Huckabee seemed to have little patience for the criticism.
“Stop the fight. Let’s not make this something that we’re going to shed blood for no particular value to the students. Put the students first. The programs are less important,” he said.
Huckabee said such political posturing only hurts students.
“I don’t want to fight over the program. I want to fight for students. The fight is not about the program or what it’s called,” Huckabee said.
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So let’s not call it “Common Core.” We should call it Ommon-kay Ore-kay." Nothing like a little lipstick to pretty up a pig.
I feel like a disappointed customs inspector, but I have to say I’ve looked all through that and I couldn’t find any crazy.
He must have had an off day.
Everyone wants high standards but claiming that common core
accomplishes that is ridiculous. The math method is from
another planet (or from the man who gave us Windows). There
is no empirical evidence that it is effective. Schools are
already lowering the number of correct answers needed to
pass the tests, not to mention the fact that they give partial credit for incorrect answers. What is the purpose of math if getting the
correct answer is optional??? I can get the wrong answer
without learning math!
Lots of interesting assertions there. It would be oodles of extra fun if you would provide some facts to back them up, identify the sources you’re drawing these facts from, offer some evidence you’re not cherry picking these facts, and tell us what background you have that would enable you to comment with such breezy assurance on a famously difficult subject. Also if you can provide a different and more surefire path to improve U.S. students’ performance relative to other countries on international assessments, that would be really cool too. Right now we’re in the middle of the pack, and if you took out the elite colleges and private schools along with the most affluent school districts, it would be far worse. You know that, of course, because otherwise you wouldn’t be so confident, but your proposals to address the problem will be welcome. Thanks! (Psst—your comment history kinda suggests you’re an oll-tray. Supplying the suggested information would help argue you’re not. Just trying to help!)