Politicians love ideas. They can talk about them for years. Politicians are somewhat less enamored of implementing ideas, since concrete actions can have (electoral) consequences. Look no further than Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s erstwhile embrace of the Common Core State Standards. Or rather, look no further than my just-published column at Talking Points Memo for a discussion of his efforts to terminate the standards he helped bring to Louisiana:
it’s particularly tough if you’re Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal — a one-time supporter of the standards who, just two years ago, touted them as a critical way to “raise expectations for every child.” Those were the halcyon days, when many conservative politicians believed that strong, state-developed standards could give them a better idea of how their states’ education systems were performing—and, by extension, be used to hold schools accountable. But once grassroots opposition began to grow on the right (and beyond), ambitious Republicans like Jindal realized that their youthful enthusiasm for the standards could force them into tough, adult decisions before they were ready.
Click here to read the whole thing!
[Cross-posted at Ed Central]
