After the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that the funding for vouchers was unconstitutional, Jeanne Allen urged Governor Jindal to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Bruce Baker chastised Allen and said she needed a civics lesson about how federalism works.
Jeanne Allen responded here. In her response, she says that there were criticisms of her family on this blog. I did not see every comment, but nothing posted here referred to Jeanne’s family, only to her published views.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Perhaps this comment?
It wasn’t a criticism. It was factual. I don’t get it.
I wasn’t saying it was. I was just trying to pin down what she was referring to, and that was the only thing I could find.
I think that’s it…she didn’t understand that the point was she had a built in bias in favor of privatization. It’s nothing against her family…they can work at, and send their children wherever they choose (at their own expense of course). It’s the obvious conflict of interest involved. Privatizes who have control of public education are along the lines of “the fox guarding the chicken coop.”
Darn! I can’t comment on her blog!!! I don’t think your blog is anti private school, correct Diane? She misses the whole point, purposely I know. Love the curriculum she describes as her children having experienced, most public schools have a similar rich curricula, we just want it to stay that way!
“She misses the whole point, purposely I know”
Exactly.
You will see that a lot.
Diane Ravitch has nothing to apologize for in this blog’s postings about the Louisiana debacle in education. Jeanne Allen’s whining about phantom personal attacks on her family reads like a rhetorical ruse, a way to avoid the substantial criticisms offered here about her position. When your position is exposed as weak, one rhetorical strategy is to change the subject and ridicule your critics, to try to put them on the defensive. What’s going on in Louisiana is simply outrageous and offensive. We on this list are watching it carefully. The attacks and dismantling there of public schooling amount to a rampage against education. The so-called Recovery District of New Orleans scores at the bottom of districts in La. Lots of pain with no gain, as in Chicago and New York, among other districts controlled by corporate privatizers.
The lady doth protest too much.
There were 8 comments on Diane’s post. Two were from Jeanne, herself. Of the other 6, only 1 mentions her family and says:
Mark Collins
May 8, 2013 at 9:11 am
Jeanne is a trip. Her group is well funded and she is making some serious coin spouting misinformation. I’m glad she isn’t teaching anyone civics or government. In addition, her children went to a parochial school in Potomac MD and her husband teaches at one. I guess she’s another public school parent?
The Form 990 makes for an interesting read.
Click to access 2011-521847187-08bf3cef-9.pdf
Jeanne Allen’s claims that she supports public schools are based on the fact that her husband is a teacher, his family members were in education, and her kids went to school? Support by osmosis? Hunh?
Yet she criticizes public education.
“My boys actually learned about the Federalist papers in 10th grade, without an AP class. They learned Latin, English literature, about nature, biology, the Greeks, the Romans, the Europeans and yes, Native Americans. They learned about civil rights, the Constitution and the purpose of American government. They all went to college dramatically more knowledgeable about such subjects than most kids in even better public schools. I know. Their professors told me – constantly – and I’ve seen the data.” She just has to get a dig in.
What is she doing to see that all public schools get that type of education?
It appears that is not her goal. The goal is to funnel taxpayer money away from public schools into well orchestrated eduschemes.
There is one comment about Allen’s kids attending parochial school and her husband teaching there. The argument is that she does not qualify as a “public school parent.”And a reference to the “serious coin” she is making via CER (990 included as a link).
The US Supreme Court ruled that vouchers are constitutional. The La Supreme Court does not contradict the federal ruling regarding vouchers– it just says that according to the La Constitution, MFP is money for public schools and therefore cannot be diverted toward payment of vouchers to attend private schools or to course choice programs provided by business and industry.
I understand the federalism argument here: The US Supreme Court would have to override interpretation of a state’s own constitution regarding education in a matter that does not contradict the US Constitution. Such would violate the reserved power of the state of Louisiana. (See http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_fedr.html for a quick word on this.)
In this case, the Louisiana Supreme Court is the ultimate authority because state education issues are considered a power reserved for the state.
Even in the case of federally promoted RTTT, the federal government could not mandate that the states accept RTTT. Sure, the feds put the states in a chokehold to “entice” involvement, but the feds had to stop short of saying that states must participate.
I think NCLB is a bit trickier, but even then, the states were told to measure their own progress. NCLB was nevertheless a federal coercion into an arena (education) that is traditionally a reserved state power.
Not sure where Allen expects to go with this.
There’s nothing remotely tricky about this. The Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a state’s highest court unless (1) there is a question of federal law and (2) the issue has been litigated in and decided by the state court, thus preserving the issue for appeal. There is no question of federal law in this case, and even if there arguably were, it has not been preserved for appeal.
Jeanne Allen states “though like any good competitive “team” I wont’ be sharing all my secrets – that would be akin to giving the other guys the playbook!”
I’m lost! We are competing against the LA Constitution?
I feel that she may have been a cheerleader at one point in her life? Not sure but I think I can fell the breeze of her flipping her hair after every comment. Maybe she is the ying of Michelle Rhee’s yang?
Jeanne Allen’s comments seemed to infer that public schools weren’t holding their own. The fact that the Louisiana Supreme Court found unconstitutional, by 6-1, the way vouchers were funded is time appropriate. The 10th Amendment states that rights not “assigned” to the federal government belong to the individual states. Most, if not all, of the states also have on their dockets the fact that “a free and adequate” public education is due each child (student). My take: agencies/organizations CANNOT divert public funds to fund private/charter/parochial school systems! Ms. Allen, is this what you’re incensed about?
We have of course seen this kind of cloud of dust before. Some pundit or politico can be pushing to lay waste to you and all your kin’s school district, but you’re not supposed to ask or say anything about where them and theirs are coming from.
Ms. Allen put more personal data in her response than anyone would care to know, as if to shift the discussion to that and to lead her readers to think there was some big discussion of it here.
Yes, cheap tactic out of desperation..smear Diane rather than admit her weak argument.
Jon Awbrey & Linda: thank you from your postings directed to Planet Reality. We read you loud and clear.
🙂
I checked moments ago, and when I looked there were only 11 brief responses to Diane’s short posting; only one of them very briefly references Jeanne Allen’s immediate family.
Some perspective. There have been some postings on this blog that have garnered many dozens of responses, some more than 100 responses, quite a few pushing the limits of my interest in reading longwinded diatribes—not to mention responders testing the limits of ferocious but civil discourse. I beg leave of KrazyMathLady for my foray into math [fools go where Angels dare to tread] but is this the latest version of the new and ‘improved’ accountabully math? How can a minor posting on “Diane Ravitch’s blog A site to discuss better education for all” with a notably weak response rate be worth a megaton of rejoinder by Ms. Allen: this blog is “full of comments about me and my family…apparently in an attempt to discredit my integrity” [from Ms. Allen’s blog entry]? This is off the top of my head, but on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being of no importance or merit at all to 10 being as important as full-scale nuclear war and the annihilation of humankind—I think the posting and the responses barely registered as a blip on this blog. [anyone else like the alliteration? more coming…]
Or perhaps what moved Ms. Allen to make a VAmountain out of a VAmolehill was the following—unaddressed [by her]—comment by Lawrence Feinberg, one of the 11 that accompanied that allegedly infamous blog posting:
The Walton’s have been very good to Jeanne Allen:
Center for Education Reform $500,000 2009
Center for Education Reform $518,273 2010
Center for Education Reform $930,662 2011
Center for Education Reform $809,209 2012
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2013/02/follow-money-walton-family-foundation_3.html
POV is very important. Perhaps Ms. Allen’s constant references to her family being under attack aren’t restricted to her husband and children but include, well, look at the latter part of the link above.
Am I wrong? Overstating? Understating? Then she should drop the faux offended pose and engage in honest and direct discussion. Ms. Allen, like others before her, has wounded herself more than she knows with such outlandish and unfounded claims.
“The Walton’s have been very good to Jeanne Allen:
Center for Education Reform $500,000 2009
Center for Education Reform $518,273 2010
Center for Education Reform $930,662 2011
Center for Education Reform $809,209 2012”
Maybe this is what she means when she claims to be interested in public schools?
She claims to have have good cause to suggest that an appeal would succeed, and she plans to write a bit about it in the near future. She had to first respond to the comment. She also writes, “(though like any good competitive “team” I wont’ be sharing all my secrets – that would be akin to giving the other guys the playbook!).”
I don’t think many litigants are holding their collective breath.
When ed deformers get their feathers all ruffled you know you are making an impact. I imagine Diane has quite a following now that the official narrative is finally being subjected to some long-overdue scrutiny.
Herein lies the entire problem- Jeanne says “(though like any good competitive “team” I wont’ be sharing all my secrets – that would be akin to giving the other guys the playbook!)”
The reformers think improving education is a competition (as in the business model) and those who end with control over the most schools and most money and most lives reign victorious. After all, isn’t that what all businesses are about? Making money and possessing things.
People are not possessions. Education is not just “for the children.” It is to create a more enlightened society in which we all live. It is for self fulfillment for all and service to others.
It is NOT for sorting out winners and losers- individually or collectively (e.g., Finland vs USA). It is not for beating the “competition.” It is NOT for creating the highest “achievers”. It is not for anyone to determine what we think others should do with their lives (e.g., go to college instead of fishing for a living).
We should be having the conversation/debate about what education truly is and what purpose it should serve. WHAT DO WE WANT OUR SOCIETY TO LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE FOR OUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS AND EVERYONE ELSE’S TOO? Do we think the best future for all should be bigger, higher, faster, more??? Everyone trying to out do everyone else?
I do get upset with the other side too- the “side” I’m on. The side that hates being vilified and steamrolled and cheated. The course we are on can only produce “losers”.
Can we have a civil conversation about making society a better place for everyone and what we wish our young ones to be exposed to now in order to make that happen in the future? Or does NO ONE but me think that matters anymore? Does the rest of the world just want to win and possess?
Ah Ha!!! My sentiments exactly. Instead of sharing what works, i.e.good practices, we are “competing” with each other. Teachers, I hope & pray, are striving to be “the best” at what they do or to achieve to be good-enough[not mediocre] to give their students needed skills & abilities for the future. I’m worried about the future & that both sides are not thinking long-term. We are in this predicament because we aren’t inspired to project into the near- and far- future. By what we’re doing now, we’re actually being very restrictive. There’s no goal to have something in place for 7 – 10 years, and it will work well. At the same time, planning for the next 7 – 10 years, & so on & so forth. Does this make sense?
Never heard of her until yesterday. But this quote from her rebuttal pretty much sums it up….
“But I’m not curled up, at all. In fact, I’m amused. That Diane Ravitch hosts such people on her blog is a mystery, which I will explore in more detail in my book. In fact, I devote almost a whole chapter to Diane and our numerous communications during the 90s that I’ve cherished.”
My book. She said, my book. I say she’s a crook. In precarious times snake oil sells, and obviously she has a few gallons.
Pretty disgusting.
I look forward to learning about the “numerous communications” that I had with Jeanne Allen in the 90s. I have no recollection of any communications at all, though I did meet her a few times when I was hobnobbing with folks on the right in the 90s.
It seems obvious that those people/organizations/agencies are in awe of themselves for hyping & spreading DIS-/MIS-information! Public Schools are NOT failing except for the concerted efforts to deprive, starve, and decimate them of goods & services & products! It is an interesting ploy because no one makes the connections of these actions, in the beginning. Then, some wealthy “well-informed” someone has the answer on “fixing failing public schools”. In essence, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
> I have no recollection of any communications at all
LOL! Oh my. I too cherish the many conversations I’ve had with Bill and Obama and Michelle and Jeanne and Arne. (Not!)
Wow, Diane…almost (?) a whole chapter in her book!
“I see you shiver with anticipation”
(Since some have been doing music references recently, I offer Rocky Horror)
A little background on Jeanne Allen from Ed Week back in 2003. Note the connections and always follow the money.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2003/11/12/11allen.h23.html
Rod Paige, who called teachers’ unions “terrorist organizations” called Allen “an American hero”.
Yes, and “Waiting for Superman” was the unvarnished truth. The official narrative.
Time to add her to the Anti-Heroes (Villains?) of Public Education web site.
Anytime these folks are getting funding from the Gates/Broad/Walton triumvirate, as Allen’s organization is: http://www.edreform.com/about/people/cer-supporters/ education “reform” is code for privatization. Like many involved in “reform”, she has a BA in Political Science and, on her LinkedIn page, it says that she has been President of TAC Public Affairs Solutions since 2003 and
“As president of TAC Public Affairs Solutions –a consulting firm specializing in promoting and defending growing education markets–Jeanne and her team of strategists provide public relations, media relations, writing, and crisis communications counseling to education reformers and business organizations across the country.”
Get it? She’s all about “promoting and defending growing education markets” (like in LA etc.) and she’s trying to apply “crisis communications counseling” to this matter and do damage control by diverting attention to a false issue.
She spent a whole lot of copy space basically describing how she is affiliated with education by injection. So, she confirmed the point made by the ONE person who brought it up, only she smattered it with a lot of self-righteous indignation.
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
Looks like she needs to add a chapter or two to her new book…she opened a can of worms here. She thought the factual statement about her family was all she had to deal with…..Buckle up!
Jeanne,
This one’s for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd2_LKoTYKw
Duane
Allen works to discredit public schools, unions, pensions, teachers and students for $215,000.00 per year. She’s upset because smart people know what she’s doing. Her response reeks of desperation. The corporate reformers are fearful that their scheme to take over public education for the love of money will fail.
Click to access 2011-521847187-08bf3cef-9.pdf
Check out page two…nice spin. Wow…this is much more informative than the school her children attend.
A cheesy response from a cheesy lady! Once again–my children get this but public school children don’t. I’m a product of public schools and I did receive all of that; however, as a public school teacher, what I can do with my students has been narrowed down by mandated curricula (now Common Core) and the ever growing number of days spent on testing. I long for the early days of my teaching career when the possibilities were limitless.
“Mom…who are these people?”….These “people” are predominantly lifelong educators who don’t view children as revenue streams…..
Parochial schools. There are Catholic schools that are part of the local diocese and have low (?) tuitions . (Low compared to others) And there are Catholic schools that are really independent schools (private) that are just as expensive as anything out there.
Webster —
I never had a twitter account until tonight and as my post here will show, I’m not the most tech savvy person around.
Earlier tonight on my mobile phone I did a google search of Diane Ravitch and Jeanne Allen and happened upon this 2011 twitter comment from Jeanne Allen to Diane:
“Oh Diane I’m so sorry!Kids’ success matters more thn adults, more thn PR. Remember? I still hv the emails u sent me.” 8:46pm – 3 Aug 11
But now I’m on my laptop, opened a twitter account, and I could not locate the same comment on twitter.
Apparently, like Jonathan Alter, Allen thinks she can skewer Diane by exploiting the views she held in the 90s:
“That Diane Ravitch hosts such people on her blog is a mystery, which I will explore in more detail in my book. In fact, I devote almost a whole chapter to Diane and our numerous communications during the 90s that I’ve cherished.”
Cherished.
Diane said not one word about Allen’s family or children. She is way too classy for that. Although Allen is careful not to claim that Diane herself did, it is she (Allen) who chose to divert attention away from the substance of the Bruce Baker “civics lesson” in the manner in which she did.
One single, solitary commenter mentioned Allen’s family and it was simply a statement of fact, not an attack.
Tauna,, I think that Jeanne Allen will reveal that I was closely aligned with rightwing groups like hers in the 1990s. Since I already wrote a book about it, it won’t be shocking to anyone.
No, it won’t be shocking to anyone.
And Jeanne Allen cooks her own goose well done.
It just proves people are reading your blog Diane. And when they can’t do it using your own words, they go to the comments. But the comment in question was not even an attack but a point of information. She is not upset with you, she is upset with the LA. Supreme Court for doing the right thing.
As many of you stated, and I thank you; the comment I made was just an observation. Nothing more. No malicious harm was meant. I’m just tired of those with no skin in the game suggesting and arguing for policies they would never subject their child to. I’m also offended by those same people, far removed from the realities of urban life deciding what’s best for children of color. As a white male, I cringe each time I hear from these ‘experts’. I just wish to say: You have no idea what is really going on. After having taught in DC in Anacostia for many a year, I do.
Now, my definition of parochial seems to differ from Jeanne’s. I define parochial as a religious education combined with a conventional one. I did not indicate the religious affiliation or its linkage with Opus Dei.
However Jeanne has a habit of misinterpreting comments just like she has misinterpreted the LA state Supreme Court ruling. She went off on a fellow Rutgers student, Stephanie Rivera this fall in regards to the movie, Won’t Back Down.
Parents vs The Blob
http://www.edreform.com/2012/09/parents-vs-the-blob/
This former and current attack and hyperbole is just another example of the whoa is me, ad hominem attack on me and my family; and no doubt, a lead for a fund raising letter or blog post. I’m honored.
Jeanne, I’m local. We can meet for lunch and discuss if you wish.
Mark, what you describe is an effort to silence and bully people. To paraphrase Churchill, “Never, never, never give up.” When you stand up to bullies, they back off.
Respond to Ms. Allen’s blog entry here: http://www.edreform.com/contact/
EdReform.com leaves no doubt what they support, I don’t like any of it but I appreciate they don’t try to hide their agenda like other “reformers”
I would beg to differ. I could find nothing on Allen’s website stating explicitly that her goal is to privatize public education. That can only be inferred from the list of billionaires who openly support privatization and donate to her, like the Waltons, and from her LinkedIn page, where it says that her consulting firm, of which she is President, “TAC Public Affairs Solutions,” specializes in “promoting and defending growing education markets”
Very few “reformers” openly admit that their aim is to privatize public education, because that is not a popular concept among most of the masses, and Allen is no different. So, you have to look for key word indicators, such as regarding interest in education “markets.”
Jeanne Allen’s response is not directed at Bruce Baker…it’s not directed to Diane Ravitch (or the “commenters”) either.
Jeanne Allen’s response is directed to her base of support. She’ll raise big $$$ off of that response of hers.
Yikes– that was funny I guess– can’t wit for her book. Will it be called Cry Me a River-!? It seems so easy to pass laws for “other people’s children”
wait not wit