[Speed Gibson,
Wednesday June 13, 2007 at 11:35am]
Schools First!
The school year is over, and the Legislature has adjourned. The DFL is claiming to have had some success in K-12 (E-12?) funding, though most went to Special Education, and most of that went where it will do the least good. They expressed disappointment that they couldn't raise taxes to opt for still more all-day kindergarten and early childhood programs, more basic per-pupil funding, and of course, still more Special Education money.
Is this where are problems are? How about:
Oh, they'll (they being the DFL and Education Minnesota) say how early childhood programs will eventually address some of these problems, which is also to deny that any of the many other changes they made the last 40 years or are even partly to blame. It's always something else. We need cheaper lunch, no make that free lunch. We need breakfast programs and after school day care. We require Special Education on a need-to-fund basis, not need-to-have. It's better to preserve culture by retarding immigrant progress if necessary via ESL programs. (Unless that culture includes a prominent role for Jesus Christ in their lives.) We can't give them so much as an aspirin for a headache, but certain other medical "treatments" are readily available. Walking two miles in below zero weather to avoid busing costs won't hurt you, but little Johnny will be suspended for saying, all unknowing, something impolitic.
Those who challenge this sophistry are soon dispatched, as with Kenneth Keller (U of M), Pat Harvey (St. Paul Schools), and Cheri Pearson Yecke (State Dept. of Education). Instead, a proven serial, slanderous liar, stripped of his supposedly safe seat in the Senate now sits on the University Board of Regents. Yep, Schools First!
Is this where are problems are? How about:
- High drop-out rates?
- The remedial work one third of those going on to college require?
- Our nationally infamous high minority achievement gaps?
Oh, they'll (they being the DFL and Education Minnesota) say how early childhood programs will eventually address some of these problems, which is also to deny that any of the many other changes they made the last 40 years or are even partly to blame. It's always something else. We need cheaper lunch, no make that free lunch. We need breakfast programs and after school day care. We require Special Education on a need-to-fund basis, not need-to-have. It's better to preserve culture by retarding immigrant progress if necessary via ESL programs. (Unless that culture includes a prominent role for Jesus Christ in their lives.) We can't give them so much as an aspirin for a headache, but certain other medical "treatments" are readily available. Walking two miles in below zero weather to avoid busing costs won't hurt you, but little Johnny will be suspended for saying, all unknowing, something impolitic.
Those who challenge this sophistry are soon dispatched, as with Kenneth Keller (U of M), Pat Harvey (St. Paul Schools), and Cheri Pearson Yecke (State Dept. of Education). Instead, a proven serial, slanderous liar, stripped of his supposedly safe seat in the Senate now sits on the University Board of Regents. Yep, Schools First!