Voice of MN Education

UPDATE ON STEM CONFERENCE W/ GOVERNOR PAWLENTY

By: Charlie Kyte

  This audioblog is 9 minutes long.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH (STEM) CONFERENCE:  This conference was organized by the Minnesota Citizens League and was held at the MN Science Museum.  Governor Pawlenty was the keynote speaker and theafternoon was filled with small group discussion sessions to help us identify what we, as a state, need to do in order to compete with the emerging 2nd and 3rd world countries that are now investing so heavily in education.

This call to action is for our whole society and especially our parents to overcome complacency. The Governor asked businesses and community groups to take the lead in helping parents understand how important the study of science and math is going to be for our future.

The Governor emphasized the importance of educators and the need to focus on late MS and HS in Math & Science.  We need a higher calibur of college student going into teaching and we need to pay a premium for math & science teachers.

The 2nd and 3rd world competition is fast approaching our skill and education level.  In addition they are still hungry and are working at wages of 20 cents to our dollar of wage.

We can't be defeatist, just more creative and infuse more academic rigor.  The Governor proposes for Minnesota to become the #1 state in this country in terms of educating our students in science and math.  He proposes that we require Algebra II and Chemistry for graduation.  Our top kids are doing as well as any students in the world.  However we need to have more of our students academically involved and we need to include more of our disadvantaged kids.

We are going to see fewer 'strong back' jobs and we can't afford to leave too many of our students unable to work in our emerging jobs--75% of which require strong math and science skills.

THIS WEEK AT THE LEGISLATURE: Tuesday is the 2nd committee deadline for policy bills.  Actually K-12 education has had most of the Bills with a chance of passage heard already.  Most of our work will be in the Senate this week.

On Tuesday morning the Senate Ed Finance Committee will heara presentation by John Meyers on the Education Finance Study.  At noon, the Senate Judiciary Committee will have a hearing on the Gay Marriage Constitutional Amendment.  Attendance at this hearing is limited by passes, but we expect demonstrations and counter demonstrations all during the day.

The Senate Ed Policy committee will hold a hearing on the Senates Education Omnibus Bill late on Tuesday afternoon.  We will see at that time what the Senate will actually propose in terms of policy initiatives.  On Thursday, this same committee will hear the 'Legth of the School Year' Bill proposed by MASA.  In attendance will be the Youth Advisory Committee for the Senate.  We expect many interesting questions as we discuss the need for more time in school for students and more time to prepare for teachers.

INDIAN LAND TRUST DVD AND STUDY GUIDE

Producer Barry ZeVan posing with Mia Urick, MASA's Communication Director

Audioblog is 4 minutes long.

Every once in awhile, we come across a learning aid that looks really good and is very cost effective. A DVD entitled “AMERICAN INDIAN HOMELANDS”, and an accompanying Timeline Study Guide meets this criteria.

This 78 minute DVD highlights efforts to redress more than a century’s worth of legal and political moves undermining Indian land ownership going back to the 1887 General Allotment Act.  It is appropriate for High School History and Political Science classes and would also work well for accelerated MS students.  It would also be a good addition to school libraries.

This DVD is hosted by Sam Donaldson and was produced by Barry ZeVan.  This is Barry’s 14^th documentary, and ‘yes’, for those of you old enough to remember, Barry ZeVan was one of the early TV weathermen in Minnesota.

You can order the DVD and Study Guide from the Indian Land Tenure Foundation located at 151 E. Cty Rd B2, Little Canada, MN 55117 or you can get it at Borders Book Stores.  You can also order it ‘on-line’ at www.indianlandtenure.org.  If you mention that you are an MASA Associate, you will get the discounted price of $17.50 + $5.00 handling charge.

Please pass this e-mail on to the appropriate administrator, teacher or media person in your district.

PENSION FUND ADVISORY

By Charlie Kyte

This audioblog is 8 minutes and 45 seconds long. The “key question about pensions” is posed at 5:20. To hear a segment, click 'play' and slide the bar to the correct time.

As you all know, the legislature is preparing to pass a bill that would roll the Minneapolis Teachers Pension Fund into the statewide Teachers Retirement Fund (TRA). This pension advisory will help you to understand the bill as it is now progressing through the legislature and will provide you the "key question" to ask your legislators.