Just over a week ago, I wrote about how the facts have been overshadowed by bad information in the Common Core debate. I knew something was wrong with this picture, but I couldn’t point to the exact problem. Sure, it had to do with politics, but what exactly was going on?
I did a little digging and found an article in the August 24, 2014, edition of The Columbus Dispatch. I remember reading the article before, but it didn’t have as much meaning until now. A number of Republican incumbents faced primary challenges last May, and Common Core was a big issue. Cincinnati Rep. Peter Stautberg lost to Tom Brinkman after having prevailed over Brinkman in the prior election. Common Core is suspected to have made the difference for Brinkman. Stautberg’s Republican colleagues apparently took notice.
Rep. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, who is sponsoring H.B. 597, the anti-Common Core bill, is expected to run in the 2016 Senate primary against Rep. John Adams, R-Sidney, who had tried to repeal Common Core in 2013. Is it just coincidence that Huffman is sponsoring H.B. 597, or is H.B. 597 simply a means for Huffman to appear more conservative than Adams? If the latter is true, then I suppose being conservative means you have to disregard facts and ignore that most teaching professionals favor Common Core and that it was approved years back.
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Jack D’Aurora writes for considerthisbyjd.com
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