This academic year , the major lesson in America 's public schools will be on the civil war . No , not that Civil War . I 'm talking about the brawl between what are usually ideological allies . Conservative vs. conservative , liberal vs. liberal . On the left , the Obama administration , the Department of Education and Secretary Arne Duncan are scrapping with allies in the teachers ' unions . On the right , pro-accountability education reformers are battling supporters of local control who think the federal government should butt out of the education business . This war wo n't be won or lost in boardrooms , classrooms or conference rooms but in the worlds of politics and public relations . You might have a powerful idea to reform the education system . But if you do n't spend the time , money and effort fashioning an effective communication strategy to sell it , you 're toast . You ca n't bring a policy paper to a Twitter fight . Take Common Core . You might think the word `` common '' describes the shared success that we 'd like students to have . If you take underperforming schools and less-demanding curricula in some states and raise them to a level where they compare to higher-performing schools in states with more demanding curriculum , you give students a `` common '' experience . For the disadvantaged , this is a good thing . But for those parents who are happy with the education system and content with the product , the word `` common '' can be terrifying . They worry about a one-size-fits-all process that holds back high achievers so all students in different schools and different states get the same level of education , even if the results students have in common are mediocre . Here 's a quiz about one of the most controversial -- and poorly marketed -- stabs at education reform in recent years . Common Core is ... a . A good and harmless idea that has been unfairly maligned by a small band of critics on the left and the right . b . A reasonable concept that has been poorly executed and terribly communicated by the elites who devised it . c. A nonsensical method of teaching that reeks of a big government and corporate takeover of the public schools . d. A gigantic `` fail '' that is taking on water faster than the Titanic after the ship hit the iceberg . e. All of the above . The answer is e. Wait , that does n't make sense . Exactly . That is precisely what the opponents of Common Core say about , for instance , its meandering method of teaching math . Equations that could once be solved in two steps now take six or seven . The sad part is that the idea was good to begin with : develop a common curriculum that outlines what students should know at every grade level so that students attending different schools in different states get roughly the same education . What good does it do society to have a high school diploma in Mississippi that does n't compare to one in Massachusetts ? Forty-five states and the District of Columbia signed on to Common Core right out of the gate a couple of years ago , and the federal government provided grant money . But not long thereafter , 10 states -- including Indiana , Oklahoma , Missouri and Iowa -- dropped out . More are likely to follow . All of this seems familiar . In the 1960s and 1970s , Americans grappled with `` new math , '' a dramatic change in how math was taught in elementary schools that was prompted in part by the federal government 's desire to ratchet up teaching of math and science . Some complained and thought traditional ways of teaching math were better . In the 1980s and 1990s , Americans were rattled again when they were introduced to `` whole language '' instruction as a new way of teaching students to read by encouraging them to think strategically about the meaning of words , phrases and sentences in their entirety . Again , there were critics . Now , here we are again : at each other 's throats over a concept that many people do n't even understand . There are lessons in this debacle for both sides . Common Core supporters ca n't concoct a new national curriculum and then fail to effectively communicate what they did , why they did it and what effect it 's going to have on kids . Politics is a reality . Learn to navigate it , or stay out of the arena . And elitism and condescension are better repellents than bug spray . Opponents have to shelve the `` look out for No . 1 '' approach to education . Americans are part of a collective with public roads , public libraries , public schools . How other people 's kids are doing in other states is your problem , just like , one day , paying for your Social Security and Medicare will be theirs . I hope that the people behind the new curriculum have learned some humility and are ready to show us why we should listen to them . And I hope more states stick with the Common Core and give it another chance .
Ruben ##stein : The debate over the pros and dangers of Common Core goes on . Navarrette : The idea behind a common school curriculum for all kids makes sense . But it failed to convey to the public why it 's good and how effective it could be . Navarrette : more states stick with Common Core and give it another chance .