on July 12, 2018

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Billboards Work!

The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers' union, held its annual convention in Minneapolis this year, beginning in late June and ending in early July. The convention was attended by 8,000 or more delegates from around the country. It began just a day or two after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, holding that governments cannot force public employees to contribute to unions against their will. We wrote here about the fact that we greeted NEA delegates with two billboards, one on Highway 35W and one on Highway 94: Were the billboards effective? This is...

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on July 11, 2018

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Anti-Janus Outrage: Allegations of Racism, Authoritarianism Alleged by Desperate Unions

Written by Kyle Hooten

in Culture, Education

In the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark Janus ruling, unions are in a state of outrage as workers are now allowed to leave. Pro-union media is raining down accusations of racism and authoritarianism on the part of SCOTUS, in attempt to to frighten union workers into maintaining their memberships. Fortunately, the facts remain, and after the media hype subsides, long term positive change is slated to take place. ...

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on July 10, 2018

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Lawsuit Charges U of M Bias Against Conservative Ben Shapiro

Written by Tom Steward

in Education

Conservative speaker Ben Shapiro just might get the last word in against the University of Minnesota after all--in a federal courtroom. The U of M refused to let the popular young speaker appear on the main campus in February, citing public safety concerns in off-loading the event to a venue with half the capacity on the St. Paul campus. American Experiment was among those warning that university administrators were teeing up a potentially lucrative First Amendment lawsuit at the expense of Minnesota taxpayers and free speech. The University of Minnesota continues to go out of its way to marginalize conservatives on campus. Perhaps the...

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on July 09, 2018

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Drag Queens at the St. Paul Public Library. Too provocative for kids?

Written by Kim Crockett

in Culture, Education

“There’s an adult sphere and there’s a sphere for children,” said Kim Crockett, vice president of the think tank Center for the American Experiment. “It is very clear to me that the St. Paul Library has forgotten that.”...

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on July 04, 2018

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Teachers’ Union is Meeting on the 4th of July Instead of Celebrating American Independence

Written by Kim Crockett

in Culture, Education

The national teachers' union (NEA) convention is in Minneapolis this year. While the rest of America is celebrating Independence Day, the teachers' union is conducting a day of business at the convention center. If teachers want to influence their union, they have to spend time away from their families and friends. Like it us just any other day of the week....

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on July 02, 2018

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National Education Association Meeting: A Social Justice Summit?

Written by Kyle Hooten

in Education

Marxist philosophy, abortion, gun control, open borders and transgender advancement were among the political ideas marketed to educators and their classrooms last weekend at the National Education Association (NEA) annual union meeting, hosted at the Minneapolis Convention Center. As teachers perused booths retailing titles such as “Marxist Education,” “A World to Win, the Life and Works of Karl Marx,” and “How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America,” some attendees questioned the legitimacy of the union as a representative body. As one vendor put it, “do you really think that the average joe, like a normal guy just off the street would come in...

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on June 29, 2018

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Twin Cities Schools Gobble Up Most of the Mining Revenue

Written by Isaac Orr

in Education

Of $31 million distributed from the Permanent School Fund in 2017, 52% went to metropolitan area school districts. The vast majority of these funds were generated from mining. This begs the question, why should Twin Cities liberals get to benefit from an industry they don't support?...

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on June 18, 2018

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Why are public schools feeding students, who are not in school, during the summer?

Written by Kim Crockett

in Culture, Economy, Education

I am not at all unsympathetic to hungry kids if they have incompetent and/or neglectful parents. But this is not a proper expenditure or activity for any public school. Period. This gives a whole new meaning to in loco parentis. These schools have operational deficits and massive unfunded pension liabilities. Even if you could accept the argument that schools should feed kids year-round, and I do not, we do not have the money. The good news is local charities are involved; it should stop there. ...

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on June 12, 2018

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American Experiment comments on PELSB’s attempt to redefine “cultural competency”

Written by Katherine Kersten

in Culture, Education

Minnesota’s Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board is writing rules to implement the state’s 2017 teacher licensing law. In the process, the board is trying to smuggle in an extremist definition of “cultural competency” training, which would shape teacher training for licensed teachers in both public schools and private schools. Through this backhanded maneuver, the board is essentially attempting to replace the far more limited (and reasonable) definition of “cultural competency” that is already in law....

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on June 12, 2018

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Catholic Schools and Embracing the Elusive

Written by Mitch Pearlstein

in Education

In most public policy discussions and debates regarding elementary and secondary education, critically important ideas are routinely downplayed to the point of dismissal because they are intrinsically elusive. And because such ideas are largely ignored, a lot of young people who could be better served and educated are not. Or, more specifically in this instance, a lot of kids who might benefit from attending a Catholic school don’t have the opportunity. [Photo Credit: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock]...

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