Is Parenthood the Reason Bobby Jindal Abandoned Common Core?

As a once
passionate supporter of the Common Core, Louisiana Gov. Bobby
Jindal surprised many with his 180-degree reversal earlier this
year. Much of the commentary that followed viewed this flip-flop as
politically motivated, and an indication that Gov. Jindal was
planning to run for president.

As Reason’s Robby
Soave noted in June:

Common Core is especially unpopular among the conservative
grassroots, given that the federal government is vigorously pushing
it and has incentivized states to adopt it in exchange for grant
money. The controversy has made Common Core an important political
issue heading into the 2014 and 2016 election cycles, and it’s
going to be very difficult for Core-supportive candidates to
survive in the more competitive Republican primaries.

Given that, Jindal’s shifting perspective on Common Core is
probably an indicator that he is going to run.

However, in a speech given to the
Heritage Foundation on Tuesday, Gov. Jindal provided another
possibility–that his sudden opposition may have been motivated, at
least in part, by his experience as a parent. Gov. Jindal told a
story about his son’s frustration with
the way math is taught under the Common Core. Despite providing
the correct answers, the governor’s son had to deal with explaining
the reasons for why his answers were correct (see Jindal’s speech
in the video below).

It’s impossible to know whether Jindal’s own experience with the
Common Core played a part in his change of position, or whether it
was merely a useful anecdote. But it raises the question of what
America would be like if politicians had to directly experience the
effects of the legislation they vote on.