Bush change on education standards excites some voters

BEDFORD, N.H. – Jeb Bush had long been a supporter of Common Core classrooms standards, but in recent campaign events he has implied a different opinion.

Bush told voters last week that while he still supports higher standards, he said those standards should be “state-created, locally implemented – where the federal government has no role in the creation of standards, content or curriculum.”

An article from U.S. News and World Report, showed that Bush even went as far as to call the idea of standardized classrooms “poisonous.”

In a Town Hall held at the McKelvie Intermediate School on Saturday, Bush acknowledged a concern about the education system and what higher standards meant for students.

Put in place in 2010 by 42 states and the District of Columbia, the core standards were intended to guarantee that students would gain a proficiency in English and math that would allow them to compete in the workforce and/or to reach levels needed for post-secondary education.

Under the Obama administration, not all states were required to adopt the standards.

Dan and Penny Torbich have been residents of Bedford for more than 20 years, and said that while they have always disagreed with Bush’s earlier opinion on classroom standards will still vote for him in Tuesday’s primary.

The Torbichs said the standards actually lower a student’s chances for success because they place unrealistic expectations on each student. In some cases, elementary students are taking college level math courses, they said.

“The math system is a total disaster,” Torbich said. “My wife and I are both college graduates and we can’t even help our grandson.”

New Hampshire is among the states that have accepted the core standards. The Torbichs’ grandson, Jason Labrecque, is a 5th grader in Hooksett, N.H. He said his math class is calculator-free and that students are “doing scary hard math in an old fashioned way.”

Mrs. Torbich said she worries that the methods are too complicated for her grandson to grasp because the school insists on moving on to the next subject before one is mastered.

Bush also informally spoke out against the no child left behind policy, which was signed into law by his brother, former President George W. Bush. Jeb Bush said education is something the government should not rush and that every American “should be able to go to a school of their choosing.”

“I truly believe that if a country can make sure that people reach their full potential, everybody, that nothing will stop the United States,” Bush said as the crowd erupted in applause. “I know the American people are what is extraordinary; it’s not our government.”