By Charles Barone, DFER Director of Federal Policy
It’s been a few weeks and we’ve gotten neither a public nor private retraction from Diane Ravitch regarding her claims about DFER/ERN’s efforts in support of education funding.
So, we figured we’d have a little more fun with it via the following “Top Ten” list. Even though we enjoy a good laugh here at DFER, keep in mind that, for us, the work of improving the quality of education is no laughing matter. So please also read our serious and substantive arguments about Ravitch’s problems with truth-telling here. In addition, we highly recommend these past writings by Kevin Carey and Peter Meyer on the same subject.
Now, let’s get to it:
Top Ten Things That May or May Not Be True About Diane Ravitch
10. Was runner up for Miss Congeniality, Texas, 1946.
9. Smokes in school bathrooms during speaking engagements.
8. Did a bid upstate as a teenager in juvie for lighting fires and torturing small animals.
7. Was once kicked off an airplane for refusing to stop playing Angry Birds on the runway.
6. Popped out of a cake in 1969 at a stag party for George Pataki.
5. Has a sense of humor.
4. Favorite Beatle is Ringo.
3. Uses speaking fees to pay off over $100,000 in NYC library fines.
2. Beats Deb Meier mercilessly in office arm-wrestling matches.
And, the number 1 thing that may or may not be true about Diane Ravitch:
1. Real reason she was asked to leave Brookings: caught on camera spitting in Russ Whitehurst’s food.
Prior to joining DFER in early 2009, Charles Barone spent five years working as an independent consultant on education policy issues. His clients included the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights, Education Trust, and the National Academies of Sciences. In 2007, Barone authored the DFER briefing “Keeping Achievement Relevant: The Reauthorization of ‘No Child Left Behind.” Read his full bio here.