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on January 29, 2019
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“Just Missing” Online Learning Projections

Written by Mitch Pearlstein
in Education

In a 2008 book, three of the most insightful and innovative people I know in education wrote, “by 2019, about 50 percent of high school courses will be delivered online.” Or as Maxwell Smart might say if “Get Smart” were somehow in its 54th season on NBC, “Missed by that much.” The book was Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns.  The three truly impressive authors (check them out online) were Clayton M. Christensen, Michael B. Horn, and Minnesota’s Curtis W. Johnson.  Three pages after their projection that about half of high school courses across the country...

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on January 28, 2019
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We celebrated School Choice last week, now let’s work on expanding it

Written by Catrin Wigfall
in Education

Minnesota pioneered a model for the rest of the country to follow in 1991 when it passed the nation’s first charter school law, but the state cannot live on past success. We continue to have one of the worst education achievement gaps in the country, and we need more breakthrough in our provision of education services to address our educational challenges. Expanding education tax credits so they can be used toward private school tuition would be an excellent start....

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on January 22, 2019
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Minnesota teachers are judged solely by the color of their skin; asked to change curriculum for black students.

Written by Kim Crockett
in Culture, Education

While we are still thinking about the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., I wanted to bring a startling development to your attention: public school teachers are being subjected to on-the-job mental abuse and bullying. Teachers are being told they are white supremacists by people who judge them solely on the basis of their skin color. They are forced to listen to crude language (so they could better understand black culture), and then blamed, as whites, for the achievement gap. The kicker? Teachers are being asked to change the "white curriculum" to accommodate black students. Who does this serve? Certainly not teachers...

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on January 18, 2019
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Duluth School Board Pays Out $55,000 to Citizen Watchdog

Written by Tom Steward
in Education

Schools exist to disseminate knowledge and information, right? Apparently the Duluth School Board didn't get the lesson plan. This week the board of Minnesota's 22nd largest district by enrollment reached a settlement with a former board member turned citizen watchdog who'd sought  information on Duluth school's controversial Red Plan, according to the News Tribune. The Duluth School Board on Monday unanimously approved a $55,000 settlement with former member Art Johnston, ending Johnston's quest for data involving the district's long-range facilities plan and other matters. "What you as a district would get would be dismissal of this lawsuit," said Trevor Helmers, the attorney representing...

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on January 15, 2019
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$1,300 To Take A Class in Eco-Feminism? No Wonder Gen Z Is Opting for Trade School Instead of College

Written by Isaac Orr
in Education

Apparently, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth has an online “ecofeminism” course in which students can learn about topics like “the oppression of nature.” The course costs nearly $1,300 for three course credits, but it is unclear how this course will equip students who take it with the real-world skills needed to compete in an increasingly global and specialized economy. It is no wonder Generation Z is skipping college in droves. Liberal Arts universities are becoming increasingly divorced from the things that made them useful in the first place. For most young people, education is not an end in and of itself. The point...

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on January 09, 2019
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‘What Percent Are You?’: 1/3 of Teachers’ Union Employees are in Top 5% Income Bracket or Higher

Written by Catrin Wigfall
in Education

Education Minnesota President Denise Specht’s gross salary of $192,481 placed her in the top two percent of Americans earning money. Around 1/3 of the union’s employees placed in the fifth percentile income bracket or higher. And 99 out of the 159 employees earned personal incomes higher than the average annual wages for secondary school teachers in Minnesota ($65,290)....

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