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STATE STANDARDS PATROL -- Education Commissioner Cheri Pierson Yecke is hosting a series of public forums on the proposed science and social studies requirements that are slated to replace the old Profile of Learning. The standards were drafted by a citizen's committee assembled by the Department of Education, and, pending legislative approval, will begin to take effect in the 2004-05 school year, and will be fully in place by 2005-06, when students will begin to be tested on the science standards. There are no tests currently planned for the social studies standards, but it is assumed there will be some way to verify student progress in social studies.

Public Criticism of the Standards

The majority of the attendees at a recent forum in St. Paul were angry about the standards, saying that there were far too many standards, and that they were biased in favor of white Americans. St. Paul School Board chairman Al Oertwig said that "the standards must reflect the worlds from which these children come from...many are not from American backgrounds."

Oertwig has a point--it is generally agreed that there should be at least some level of multiculturalism in the standards, though it may be difficult to include the stories of recent immigrants in American History textbooks.

Criticism also came from Kerry Felt, Minneapolis Public Schools' Director of Instructional Services, who said the requirements are a "radical departure from curriculum in Minneapolis and many other districts," and that they are so different from current lesson plans that materials needed to teach them would be hard to come by.

Minneapolis teacher and 2003 MN Teacher of the Year Gino Marchetti suggested that the standards were imbalanced and looked like propaganda. And South High's own "Mr. History Day" Michael Boucher criticized what he felt was a conservative agenda driving the standards. Boucher also complained that there were several references to recent Republican presidents, without counterbalancing requirements referencing Democratic oval office occupants.

Public Support of the Standards

Georgia Dietz, one of a handful of standards supporters, said that Minneapolis attendees should "look to their own problems," like their low graduation rate, instead of criticizing Yecke's standards proposal. She was met with hisses and catcalls. Yecke said the forum was contentious, and she claims that her previous forums in outstate Minnesota were much "more favorable to the proposal." Yecke also claims that there's a disconnect between what she hears from parents and what she hears from educators: "Educators are saying they want to show what's good about American and what's bad about America...parents are saying they want to hear what's good about America."

Our Thoughts on the Standards

It seems to me that while some liberal teachers may indeed be out of step with an increasingly Republican electorate, there is something to be said for multipartisanship. After all, I'm not too sure I'm comfortable with a partisan Pawlenty administration being the only entity directly involved in the composition of our new state standards. Sure, the new standards weren't actually written by Pawlenty administration officials, but administration officials chose who would be on the panel that wrote the standards--and you can't tell me that they didn't use a litmus test in the selection process--and that means it's probably no accident that the standards being proposed are more conservative than previous proposals.

If they'd wanted any balance in the standards, they'd have assembled teachers registered as members of each of the four major political parties (DFL, Green, Independence, Republican), in proportion to the percentage of the vote their parties' candidate received in the most recent gubernatorial election. Currently, there would still be a plurality for the Republican Party, but the majority of the public, which voted for a candidate other than Pawlenty, would receive equal representation as well.

We Want Your Take on the Standards

Despite our misgivings about the way in which these standards were composed, at SouthHighSucks.com, we feel it's important to give everyone a fair hearing, so we hope you'll give these standards a hearing, by reading them online at education.state.mn.us, and by speaking with your legislators. Whatever you do, please make your voice heard on this important issue.--Dr. Vinny, SouthHighSucks.com Founder & Publisher

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