Lazy Gopher Pachyderm

The state public education giant (i.e., union), Education Minnesota, just got the election they wanted. Now they want their policies imposed. In the ads they’re now broadcasting they talk about how wonderful and important government schools are. I hear nice talk about feelings and goals, but nothing concerning actual results.

A visit to the advertised web page yields a glimpse of the upcoming agenda. It starts with a push for more pre-K programs, but knowing this organization, it has more to do with funding than results; look for parental choice to be a completely lost concept in the state.

It’s interesting to note, though, that all this effort focuses on the system, not the child. There’s little demonstrated reason to believe that Education Minnesota cares about academic achievement if it comes at the expense of their own influence or income.

I particularly love this part…

More than half of Minnesota children start kindergarten without the skills they need to succeed in school. Our youngest students require comprehensive, high-quality early childhood education, one step to help narrow the achievement gap.

Excuse me, but acquiring the skills to succeed in school is what I went to Kindergarten FOR! If teachers don’t actually want to do the teaching, then perhaps they’d best find a different line of work.

Also, given that I find the public schools NOT providing “comprehensive, high-quality” education, why should I think they’ll accomplish it at an earlier age?

A question for Education Minnesota…What is it you do so well that you should be trusted with more of it? Hands off the pre-5s until you get your act together and can once again teach a K-12 kid the basic 3-Rs and history.