fbpx

Latest Posts

Home

Facebook

Twitter

Search
About
logo
Thinking Minnesota Archive

Education

Governance

Healthcare

mobile logo
0 Comments
on March 02, 2020
Print
Sticky

Law Firm at Center of Discredited Trump Dossier Hired by U of M

Written by Tom Steward
in Education

The University of Minnesota has hired the law firm at the center of the controversy over the discredited Trump dossier. Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based law firm, will be overseeing a university investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by a former Gophers assistant men's hockey coach from the mid-eighties, according to the Star Tribune. Perkins Coie and the firm's superstar partner Marc Elias billed the Clinton campaign and Democratic party for millions of dollars of fees during the 2016 campaign. (Elias represented Al Franken's 2008 senate campaign in the successful recount against Sen. Norm Coleman). But Perkins Coie's role in the evolution of...

Continue reading
0 Comments
on February 27, 2020
Print
Sticky

St. Olaf College states student teachers “must” join union’s pre-professional organization

Written by Catrin Wigfall
in Education

Students at St. Olaf College are being told they “MUST join EMAE” [Education Minnesota Aspiring Educators] if they are licensure candidates completing field experiences or student teaching with the Education Department. This appears to be in violation of student teachers' First Amendment rights upheld in the Janus decision....

Continue reading
0 Comments
on February 13, 2020
Print
Sticky

Constitutional amendment on schools won’t help, will hurt

Written by Katherine Kersten
in Education

This article was originally published by the Star Tribune. Minnesota schools, like schools across the nation, have been striving for decades to shrink the stubborn racial learning gap. The frustration caused by repeated failure accounts, in large part, for the support behind the latest proposal: the Page-­Kashkari constitutional amendment that would make a “quality” education a “fundamental right.” Unfortunately, the amendment is virtually certain not to produce the desired academic improvements. Instead, its adoption would likely lead to a loss of democratic control over education, coupled with mind-boggling financial outlays and continued low performance. The amendment’s noble-sounding, aspirational language is appealing at first glance. It...

Continue reading
0 Comments
on February 08, 2020
Print
Sticky

Grading standards do impact student achievement

Written by Catrin Wigfall
in Education

Authored by American University’s Seth Gershenson, "Great Expectations: The Impact of Rigorous Grading Practices on Student Achievement" investigates how the grading standards of an Algebra I teacher affect content mastery—as measured by student performance—and students’ longer-term performance in subsequent math courses. The "everyone gets a gold star" mentality does more harm than good. ...

Continue reading
0 Comments
on February 05, 2020
Print
Sticky

Mitch Pearlstein Testimony on Civics Education

Written by Mitch Pearlstein
in Education

This testimony before the Minnesota Senate Education Committee was delivered on February 5, 2020. Madam Chair and Members of the Committee, my name is Mitch Pearlstein and it’s an honor to be with you today to talk about civics education. At the risk of resume reading, I have held several jobs over the years pertinent to the subject at hand in education, government, and journalism, including special assistant for policy and communications to Gov. Al Quie; as an official of the U.S. Department of Education; as an editorial writer for the Pioneer Press; and as founder of Center of the American Experiment. ...

Continue reading