From before she was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Diane Douglas was a target of the press. In fact, the mainstream media essentially agreed with incumbent Superintendent John Huppenthal that those of the anti-Common Core ilk were “barbarians.”
Hupp followed the lead of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who claimed “white suburban moms hated Common Core because their kids aren’t as smart as they thought they were. The mean-spirited claims were all part of the campaign to make the new lower Common Core standards look like they were higher than the old standards.
As a result, Douglas and her supporters were frequently misquoted, or their positions misrepresented in articles and television talking heads who bought into the mean-spirited campaign. Douglas and her supporters were moms and other unsophisticates who simply didn’t belong in the same room as lofty writers from the Arizona Republic, or the goofy but good looking mannequin otherwise known as Brahm Resnik.
Those same moms understood the issues with Common Core better than many of those, who were to later cast votes in support or against the Common Core system. You must remember that no one does better research than a concerned mom—not the NSA or the FBI. The powers that be want you to forget that those moms are – in most cases – more educated than the propagandists that look down on them.
Yet, the propagandists have the infinite wisdom that comes with controlling the narrative. Controlling the narrative means never having to say you are sorry.
The coverage began to affect kids
Although their treatment of the subject was unfair, it was to be expected. As the late Vince Foster reportedly said, “politics is a blood sport.” It is also a sport for adults, and most adults understand that.
After Douglas was elected, the education of the State’s kids was in her hands.
That didn’t stop those with a vested interest in protecting their cherished charter veils, or the supporters of her General Election opponent, David Garcia. Despite their claims that they dedicated their lives to children, they were the most vicious and vocal. The chambers of commerce, as the biggest advertisers in the state, when not controlling the press, who dutifully scribbled story after spurious story about Douglas, could and did spend thousands of dollars pumping out ads on Facebook, and newsletters with email addresses provided by the faux education groups they had created.
The coverage began to affect kids. Decisions, based on those spurious news reports were made in the highest offices in the State.
No sympathy
Conservative politicians always use the “liberal bias” of the press as an excuse. Because they have been around, and should know better than to say stupid things, they are generally undeserving of sympathy. When the press exploits the naiveté of members of the public, the public is deserving of sympathy. They have no idea how their words can be twisted and contorted to craft a narrative.
Moms, who are fighting for their kids would go to the ends of the earth, including talking to any reporter. The only special interest group the moms answer to is their children. Those working against Douglas and the moms line their pockets with grant money from groups like Gates Foundation and cover their pages with ads from chamber members.
Former Arizona Republic writer Cathryn Creno was one of the worst for twisting words and creating statements out of whole cloth. One article that appeared in the Arizona Republic after she left reads in part:
Still, bystanders including some Douglas supporters say they are getting tired of the fighting. They might not be unhappy enough to sign recall petitions, but they wish both sides would simmer down.
Gina Ray, who voted for Douglas and leads an anti-standardized-testing movement called Opt Out AZ, wishes the discussion could just get back to kids, classrooms and learning.
Ray, a busy mom who is part of the Mommy Lobby and founder of Opt Out Arizona, never wrote those words in her email interview with Creno. Besides mischaracterizing her as leading an “anti-standardized testing movement,” when in fact, Ray is opposed only to high-stakes testing – not all standardized testing, Creno misquoted her too. Nothing Ray wrote could even be construed to mean what Creno implied. She wrote:
The AzMerit has never been independently validated, is developmentally inappropriate and flawed (*please see attachment), causes tremendous stress on children, and takes away valuable classroom teaching time. Brnovich obviously did not take these things into consideration when looking at Title 15 and 1.
In ARS 1-601 A, it states, “The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children is a fundamental right.”
Many parents feel that high-stakes tests take a toll on their children’s mental and physical health (some parents have reported their children throwing up due to stress on the morning of the test). Parents also have the right to direct their children’s education. Too much time is being spent on testing, rather than improving children’s academic skills. Parents should be able to fight back and say “enough is enough!” We have gone to the state and tried to make our voices heard, however the ties to corporate earnings have been more important than parental voices. The people who represent us (the school boards) have their hands tied. Refusing to take the test is one way that we can make our voice heard on how we want to direct the education of our children.
1-601 B also says, “This state, any political subdivision of this state or any other governmental entity shall not infringe on these rights without demonstrating that the compelling governmental interest as applied to the child involved is of the highest order, is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means.”
Again, the AzMerit is not a validated test. It has not been proven to show “compelling governmental interest as applied to the child and is of the highest order”. So therefore, in this case, parents still have the fundamental right to refuse the AzMerit, especially when the state cannot prove the test is “of the highest order”.
Representatives from It’s My PII.com (It’s My Personally Identifiable Information) have met with former Attorney General Tom Horne in regards to the first AG opinion. Horne told It’s My PII that he did not understand the problems that would arise when he signed the Race to the Top contract and especially when he made his opinion that parents don’t have a right to opt out. He has had quite the change of heart since then. Is it a true remorse over his actions when he was the SPI or is it just a remorse over the loss of his last election? I don’t know –but this is what he said.
*The AzMerit is the same test SBAC test that Florida and Utah uses: http://www.air.org/resource/air-partners-smarter-balanced-assessment-consortium-create-online-test-delivery-system
Of course that response would not have fit the narrative that 1) the moms are stupid, and 2) Douglas lost their support.
In another instance, Creno simply makes up facts about Common Core opponent and teacher Brad McQueen. When he was being abused by Hupp’s employees at the ADE, the teacher became Creno’s target as well. When called on the fact that either she or ADE employees were making up facts, Creno simply refused to go back and check her facts, or the fact that an ADE staffer’s claims were in dispute.
It was evident from emails that Creno felt no shame about misrepresenting her subjects and had no intention of ever correcting the record.
Put a subject in the hands of the Arizona Republic’s Laurie Roberts and it becomes as distorted as her face when confronted with the truth. Roberts could make Mother Theresa look like Che if she so desired, and more often than not she desires to destroy rather than celebrate. But, that is what she gets paid for and ugly drives clicks.
Ugly about Douglas and her supporters must drive clicks through the roof because they are frequently subjects of Roberts’ wrath. Still, she is only a columnist and she will never be held responsible for relying on facts as the foundation for her screeds. Her latest screed, Roberts: Arizona Senate leaders have ‘grave concern’ for student safety, was based on an article about Senate President Andy Biggs and his bizarre letter to Douglas regarding State Board of Education “investigators.”
It’s for the kids!
Whenever politicians engage in questionable behavior or education hacks want to sell you something, you can’t question their motives. No doubt, Biggs and his co-writers sent their recent letter to Douglas “for the kids.” Friends say that as legislators, and adults, they did what they believed was right. The acted on the information they had – however specious it might be – like adults seeking peace. It is unlikely that they knew just how much spin was out there and how mistaken the reporting could be.
Like a DCS worker ripping a baby out of his parent’s arms because the other parent files a complaint to score points in divorce court, Biggs, and senators Griffin and Yarborough acted in haste and without all the facts before they caused harm to kids and the people who care for them.
Their letter to Douglas only served to muddy the waters and confuse an already confused public. More importantly, it served SBE president Greg Miller and Douglas’ other detractors, who have no interest in carrying out the Governor’s mission to improve the disastrous Common Core standards.
Ducey claimed early on that he wanted Arizona standards for Arizona kids. Appointed and unchecked, Miller has undermined the Governor and Douglas nearly every step of the way. It is impossible to know who really controls the direction of education in Arizona. It isn’t the teachers, parents, or taxpayers.
In the end
In the end, Douglas and the parents, who rely on her to take on the powers-that-be, will continue to be at a disadvantage. Rarely will they be heard, and when they do make it into the spotlight, they will likely be bit players in whatever propagandistic piece Miller, Ducey, and the men who control them need at the moment.
The public voted – their desires were clear. No one can spin the election results; not even the Arizona Republic and Mannequin Man.
In her screed, Roberts writes: “Arizona Senate Republican leaders have sent a letter to state Superintendent Diane Douglas and State Board of Education President Greg Miller, asking them, in essence, to grow up before “somebody gets hurt.”
She and her fellow “journalists” should follow Biggs’ implied advice. They need to gets the facts right before they write and hurt the kids and the people who care for them.