on March 05, 2018

Sticky

An Edina High School Student Writes

Many Edina students, parents, teachers and staff have expressed their appreciation for our efforts to reform the politicized Edina school system. This email, from an Edina High School student, is typical: Mr. Hinderaker, I’m a student at Edina High School. Recently, my high school has been very divided. This may not be a new issue, but it is a constant distraction from learning. Students' views clash with the views of other students and even teachers. I believe that it’s very important to value other people’s opinions. In an education environment, I believe there should be a free-market of ideas, where people can...

0 Comments

on March 02, 2018

Sticky

“School Discipline Gaps” in Minnesota: Are They Really a Mystery?

Written by John Hinderaker

in Education

This brief Associated Press article is a classic of the genre, on an increasingly important subject: A new study highlighting wide gaps in school discipline between Minnesota's white and minority students is raising concerns among state human rights leaders. Some would say that it should be raising concerns among leaders of minority groups whose students are behaving badly, so as to incur discipline. The report released Friday found students of color were twice as likely to be suspended or expelled as their white peers, despite making up a smaller share of students. The phrase "students of color" is telling. I will try to track...

0 Comments

on March 01, 2018

Sticky

Word of Edina’s School Decline Is Spreading

Written by John Hinderaker

in Education

Our exposure of left-wing indoctrination, politically-motivated bullying and declining academic performance in the Edina public schools continues to reverberate. The story has gone national, with the Weekly Standard and the Drudge Report, among others, picking up on it. Here is another indication of the broad interest that the Edina story has generated. A YouTuber named Sean Fitzerald has produced an 11-minute video on "the complete failure that is the SJW [Social Justice Warrior] take over of the Edina school district." The video is based on Katherine Kersten's work, and he quotes liberally from our reports. You can tell Fitzgerald isn't from...

0 Comments

on February 28, 2018

Sticky

Conceal and Carry: The World Would Be A Safer Place If Responsible Adults Could Carry Concealed Firearms

Written by Mitch Pearlstein

in Education, Public Safety

This column originally appeared in the Twin Cities Business Monthly on July 1, 1999. In Israel, according to John Lott of the University of Chicago, terrorist shootings decreased radically in the early 1970s after concealed- handgun laws were liberalized. "All of a sudden," he recounted in a Minneapolis speech last January, "elderly ladies would pull pistols out of their purses and fire at the terrorists, and the terrorists would complain that nobody had warned them." In Pearl, Mississippi not long ago, when a student started shooting, killing two other students, an assistant principal ran to his car a quarter of a mile away,...

0 Comments

on February 22, 2018

Sticky

U of M Faces Potential Lawsuit Over Barring Shapiro From Main Campus

Written by Tom Steward

in Education

The University of Minnesota continues to go out of its way to marginalize conservatives on campus. Perhaps the Republican-run Minnesota Legislature will find a way to make the bloated ranks of U of M administrators pay during the 2018 legislative session just underway. But a national foundation may beat them to it with a potential lawsuit over the school's foolish decision to banish Ben Shapiro, one of the most popular conservative speakers in the country, to the farm campus in St. Paul. Reports in the Star Tribune and other media note the U of M claims Shapiro represents a supposed security...

0 Comments

on February 19, 2018

Sticky

Teachers Challenge Duluth Schools on Censoring ‘Mockingbird’ and ‘Huck Finn’

Written by Tom Steward

in Education

Duluth Public Schools' decision to remove two classic American novels from the district's curriculum has been ripped nationally. But now the de facto classroom censorship of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" finally seems to have struck a nerve locally, as well. The process by which administrators' reached their controversial decision has been questioned and criticized by a group of concerned citizens and educators in the Duluth News Tribune. The Arrowhead Reading Council, a professional organization that counts several current and former Duluth district teachers as members, sent a letter to School Board members and administration asking for...

0 Comments

on February 15, 2018

Sticky

How to reach high school students? Manufacturers try going straight to their parents

Written by Katherine Kersten

in Education

As the need for new talent ramps up, manufacturing companies are increasingly reaching out to parents to convince their children to consider a career in manufacturing. ...

0 Comments

on February 14, 2018

Sticky

Lego Building Competition Introduces Students to Construction Careers

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Education

Equipped with 100 Lego blocks and some string, foil, and paper, elementary school students in Rochester, Minnesota recently participated in a national building block competition called the “Block Kids Building Program,” sponsored by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Chapter 346 in Rochester. The program “introduces children to the construction industry in an effort to create awareness and promote careers in the industry.” Students also learn the trade industry is meant for both men and women. ...

0 Comments

on February 14, 2018

Sticky

Where Are U of M Duluth Champions of Banned Books Now?

Written by Tom Steward

in Education

The University of Minnesota Duluth Office of Diversity and Inclusion makes a big deal out of Banned Books Week each fall. In fact, the office goes so far as to actually "celebrate" the occasion, an odd choice of words to highlight what they depict as an imminent threat to society. The campus hosts an open house to publicize the campaign, inviting students and the public to "stop by anytime during this free and informal event to celebrate Banned Books Week!" This event, co-sponsored by the Duluth Public Library, is in celebration of Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read....

0 Comments

on February 08, 2018

Sticky

Duluth Dumbs Down Its Curriculum

Written by John Hinderaker

in Education

Sad news reported by the Star Tribune: "Duluth schools remove 'Huckleberry Finn' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird' from curriculum." Why are Duluth's students no longer going to be assigned the two best-known anti-racism books in American history? “The feedback that we’ve received is that it makes many students feel uncomfortable,” said Michael Cary, director of curriculum and instruction for the district. Apparently it was minority students who reported being uncomfortable. The move was hailed by Stephan Witherspoon, president of the Duluth chapter of the NAACP, who said it was "long overdue." “Our kids don’t need to read the ‘N’ word in school,” Witherspoon...

Latest Posts