The Arizona Department of Education under the leadership of John Huppenthal is strongly supportive of the Common Core.
When officials at the Department learned that teacher Brad McQueen had written an article critical of the Common Core standards, they decided that something had to be done about him. He had worked on the Common Core assessments, and state officials began to harass him. Several of them worked together to deal with the problem of Brad McQueen. They could not permit dissent because they wanted to maintain the illusion that the Common Core was both popular and inevitable.
Their efforts were in vain. Despite the best efforts of Huppenthal and his subordinates, Governor Jan Brewer announced that Arizona was pulling out of the federal Common Core tests. And Huppenthal embarrassed himself by posting anonymous comments on the Internet.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
karma
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Karma for WHOM?
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Karma Chameleon
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There is no keeping Brad McQueen quiet. He’s already published a book on the subject. And here are various e-mails he captured. More power to him! http://www.arizonadailyindependent.com/2014/06/30/az-dept-of-education-to-anti-common-core-teacher-what-a-fcktard/
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Courageous professional educators are not intimidated by CCSS bullies and will continue speaking up. There is a growing culture of Common Core Protest material. Here is an example that I love:
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In education more than in any other field, it is important to have discussion and debate free of dogmatism and intimidation. Unfortunately, many millions have experienced precisely such intimidation as is described here. Such intimidation is dangerous because open disagreement prevents groupthink that leads to disastrous policy.
“And though all the windes of doctrin were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously, by licencing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falshood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the wors, in a free and open encounter.”
–John Milton, Areopagitica (1644)
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This behavior on the part of Arizona state officials is, therefore, disgraceful.
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Reblogged this on onewomansjournal and commented:
Running scared? Intimidation is all the pundits know.
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The official who used insensitive words towards people with learning disabilities should be out of a job. No better than what Donald Sterling said, which was off the record. This was an on the job email, talk about grossly incompetent choice of words and actions.
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Exactly. That whole exchange is appalling from a so-called professional. But that person is probably some legislator’s nephew or something, so he will keep his job.
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Did state education officials decide? Or did someone else higher up decide?
Regardless of who “decided”, intimidation and harassment are the methods of common thugs and that they were used against a public school teacher who is doing his best to teach our children under very difficult circumstances is nothing short of grotesque.
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While I am in no way supportive of the craziness that appears to be the Arizona Department of Education, I’m not supportive of McQueen, either, and I’m surprised to see any support for him here given his anti-Ravitch writings: http://eagnews.org/we-might-be-wearing-the-same-anti-common-core-jersey-but-were-not-on-the-same-team/.
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Thanks, Raymond. I have not reviewed his writings.
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Thanks for that. I agree with McQueen about one thing, at least: we’re not on the same team. Anyone who thinks that Mike “the market in Iraq is as safe as any market in Indiana” Pence is presidential material doesn’t know what Pence is doing to Indiana (continuing to do – Mitch Daniels did a find job of getting the ball rolling). I just got back from a weekend at a state park inn and it’s apparent that he’s doing to the state parks exactly what he’s doing to schools – starving them of resources. This particular place (Brown County State Park) was and could be a really nice place. But there is a lot of wear and tear that clearly isn’t being repaired. Clearly the intention is to let it run down until it “has to” be privatized, at which point it will become a playground for the rich.
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I just left this comment on McQueen’s EAG post:
Brad, Ravitch just defended you: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/07/05/arizona-officials-harass-teacher-for-criticizing-common-core/
Looks like someone “not on your team” actually helped you. Go figure.
I am against CCSS, and I do not consider myself “on your team” because I don’t want any reader of mine to equate me with your anti-CCSS-“purist” idiocy.
I have just completed a ten-chapter book on CCSS origins, development, and promotion, and Ravitch makes a moment’s appearance for her support of national standards long before such were hijacked by privatization. The “national standards” Ravitch promoted were not trickery designed to lock states into a vehicle for unprecedented standardized testing. (Ravitch also supported charters until such showed no notable benefit over traditional public schools– and indeed, tend to be worse for their lack of fiscal accountability in many states. Care to throw another rock?)
Moreover, if you are advocating that the Ravitch who writes in 2014 is against state sovereignty, you are flat wrong. Even in her prior years of promoting national standards, she did not advocate that the federal government should “trick”, corner,or mandate states into acceptance– hence the title of her 1996 article including the term “national voluntary standards.”
Again, 1996 was pre-hijacking of public ed by corporate reform.
Find me the current Ravitch article in which she writes about replacing CC with another set of national standards. It doesn’t exist.
As to Cheney: Lynne Cheney led a witch hunt against the national history standards that she helped birth– a set of standards designed to be voluntary according to the pre-corporate-reform, non-twisting of the word but that were blackballed by Cheney. Never were the national history standards peddled as a product for governors to be “state led” in signing on for.
As for Jindal: He has canceled the CC MOU and suspended funding to keep La out of PARCC. I don’t consider myself on his “team,” either, but I have advised his people regarding our state board documents and the nuances of the CC MOU.
I hope you enjoyed throwing your rocks. This post of yours is a tragic blunder.
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From the article:
“Conservative Mama Grizzlies across the country were the first to sense something was wrong in their children’s schools.”
Yep that statement gets the FDA stamp of approval of being 100% Pure Grade AA Bullshit.
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And even though McQueen has been outspoken (in a way that I find to be quite mistaken in many regards) that is no reason for the scurrilous attacks by the state officials.
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As a transplanted New Yorker now living and teaching in Arizona for the past 26 years, you have no idea how disgusted many of us are with Huppenthal. I am still simply amazed that the voters of this state elected such an unqualified individual. We had so much to hope for in the candidacy of Penny Kotterman. Now we have David Garcia lining up to take a shot at the office, and I have already volunteered for the campaign. Arizona is such a beautiful place, and I have great hope for its continued growth, but I have to admit to constant embarrassment at the political climate fostered here by what is becoming a smaller representation of the people of Arizona. Just know that many of us are working at building an Arizona that embraces a better future for ALL of its people.
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So were the previous state tests the Eden McQueen describes? Teachers were entirely in charge, could change questions, etc.? Who graded the tests?
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Let us not forget Huppenthal’s role in shutting down the Tucson school district’s Mexican American studies program.
“As a State Senator, Huppenthal helped pass Arizona’s HB 2281, which banned public school courses that advocate the overthrow of the United States, promote racial resentment, or treat students as members of an ethnic group rather than as individuals. The law targeted Tucson’s Mexican American studies program specifically.”
He considered going after the University of Arizona as well: “…the university program that educated the public school teachers is to blame.
‘I think that’s where this toxic thing starts from, the universities,’ Arizona Superintendent of Schools John Huppenthal said in an interview with Fox News Latino. ”
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/03/28/arizona-official-considers-targeting-mexican-american-studies-in-university/
You can hear more of Huppenthal in his own voice here on NPR, including some words he made up:
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/18/145397005/mexican-american-studies-bad-ban-or-bad-class
The classes were restored this past school year, due to a federal court ruling, but it doesn’t look like smooth sailing:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/07/24/205058168/Tucson-Revives-Mexican-American-Studies-Program
And if you need a good laugh, Jon Stewart provides one with an interview with John Hicks, Tucson school board member:
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/ovmyo9/tucson-s-mexican-american-studies-ban
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