Governor Pence, Stop the Common Core

January 31, 2013 0 Comments

A weeks or two ago, Phyllis Schlafly wrote a great article entitled, “Common Core Opponent is Upset Victor.”  In the article she depicts Glenda Ritz’s stunning defeat of Tony Bennett, and the role that grassroots opposition to Common Core played in that race.  Schlafly ends her column with the following piece of sound advice:

Wake up Governor Pence, the people of Indiana want Common Core standards stopped.

Those looking for Governor Pence to lead Indiana, and possibly the nation, out of the Common Core calamity don’t end with Phyllis Schlafly.  Just yesterday, Shane Vander Hart, of Caffeinated Thoughts, in the title of his article, “How will Mike Pence Govern,” asks the question to which everyone would like to know the answer.

Vander Hart begins by noting the much talked about notion that Pence has the potential for higher aspirations.

When looking at the 2016 landscape there is a potential candidate  that comes to mind, the new Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence.

He questions whether Pence will govern Indiana, with the same “bold” leadership he displayed as a Member of Congress, or will he choose to simply follow in the seemingly “safe” footsteps of his predecessor ?

After examining Pence’s remarks about education in his State of the State address, Vander Hart has this to say:

I’m a school choice advocate, but I’m also one who doesn’t want strings attached.  I’m concerned that private schools and home schoolers will eventually have to embrace the Common Core State Standards. It’s hard to have real choice when the standards are the same.  He said nothing about them.  He didn’t comment on them as a candidate.  How will he handle SB 193, the Anti-Common Core bill, if it reaches his desk?  His campaign announced a commitment to federalism which I applaud, but does this not reach into education as well?

I hope that he will branch out from what the previous administration did and plot out a bold new course.  School choice certainly, but also standards that are truly excellent with input by parents and vetted by the Indiana Legislature.

There’s much we don’t know, but I look at the Pence Administration and perhaps a future presidential run with cautious optimism.

Vander Hart’s article suggests that Pence would be wise to seize the opportunity to prove himself a leader in the spirit of Ronald Reagan, and buck the National Governor’s Association’s, when it comes to the Common Core.  If he does, it just might be his ticket to the White House.

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