COMMENTARY
“Whether Bush has the patience and tolerance to endure the Republican Party primaries, dominated as they will be by far-right extremists whose ability to reason has been eviscerated by watching too much of Fox News, is another question.”
MARK SCHUMANN
The island weekly reported this week on where State Rep. Debbie Mayfield is collecting her campaign contributions — more than two-thirds from corporations like All Aboard Florida and Florida Power and Light, and special interest groups and political action committees outside Indian River County.
The barrier island’s weekly also revealed Mayfield, an apostle of Tea-Party values, criss-crossed the state working to oppose implementation of Common Core standards in Florida schools. It would be interesting to know who paid for Mayfield’s travel expenses.
“You want to go off on Common Core? We can talk about Common Core all day,” Mayfield said, when pandering to the crowd at a South Beach Property Owners Association meeting a few months ago.
I was reminded of Mayfield’s strident opposition to Common Core when I read a article yesterday by New York Times columnist, David Brooks titled “When the Circus Descends.”
Brooks is a thoughtful, reflective conservative, which makes him one of an endangered species. Anyone interested in a more reasoned, balanced assessment of Common Core than is offered by Mayfield, Glenn Beck and company might find Brooks’ column in the Thursday New York Times an informative read. “When the Circus Descends”
According to Brooks, the “market-share-obsessed talk-radio right,” has now been joined in its opposition to Common Core by the fringe left, where mediocrity has become the steady-state. Increasingly, teachers union leaders are opposing Common Core standards because they are “too difficult.” To the teachers unions, I would say that if we are not committed, as a nation, to do what must be done to prepare out children to complete in the new global economy, then we might as well run up the white flag now.
Here are a few key points Brooks makes in his column in the Thursday New York Times.
“The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers set out to draft clearer, consistent and more rigorous standards. Remember, school standards are not curricula…This (Common Core) is a state-led effort, supported by employers and financed by private foundations. This is not a federal effort…”
“These Common Core standards are at least partly in place in 45 states…The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which has been evaluating state standards for more than 15 years, concluded the Common Core standards are ‘clearly superior” to the old standards in 37 states and are ‘too close to call’ in 11 more.”
“The idea that the Common Core is unpopular is also false. Teachers and local authorities still have control of what they teach and how they teach it. A large survey in Kentucky reveals that 77 percent of teachers are enthusiastic about the challenge of implementing the standards in their classrooms.”
More: “When the Circus Descends”
See also: Republicans See Political Wedge in Common Core
Jeb Bush, another thoughtful, reflective conservative, and perhaps the best person to lead the Republican Party back to the White House in 2016, supports Common Core. Despite the fact that Jeb Bush is twice as intelligent and ten time more popular that Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the Lone Star State’s favorite Tea Party wacko is ready to throw Bush under the nearest school bus simply because he supports Common Core – never mind that Bush might be just the man to lead the country post-Obama. (Yes, I realize voters may be suffering from Bush fatigue, but I believe each person should be considered on their own merits, and Jeb Bush is a man of merit. Whether Bush has the patience and tolerance to endure the Republican Party primaries, dominated as they will be by far-right extremists whose ability to reason has been eviscerated by watching too much of Fox News, is another question.)
Indian River Guardian 
The sad reality is that opposition to Common Core is easily traced back to the fact-free rants of radio personaliy Glenn Beck., It defies common sense to parrot the views of this high school graduate,
Only conspiracy theorists believe that Common Core is tied to the Federal government. The situation occurring all over America is a prime example of nothing more than mob rule. The ill-informed opposition to Common Core is a well financed group whose ultimate goal is to eliminate public schools.
Each time that the mob rule squad gets their marching orders they are ensuring that China will become a more prominent player on the world stage. The challenges of the 21st century will require a well educated majority in this nation.
All voters should question why opponents to Common Core are funded by those outside our community who will profit from the education budgets of the states and Federal government.