Thoughts about the MN Independence Party

Tom's position on education can be found here: http://www.horner2010.com/issues/education/

When I read this statement, I have to be honest, it's a lot of fluff that doesn't say anything and I think highlights the problem in Public Education in Minnesota and across the country.

About half of all Minnesota students – students from every community and from every background – are entering kindergarten unprepared to learn.

I am an upper-middle class, two income family, where both my wife and I have College Degrees. We have a five year old son who enrolled in Kindergarten this year. My son, who is without question above average in intelligence and has no physical or mental handicaps was not prepared learn when he entered Kindergarten. Not even close. My wife and I spent months playing catch up with our son getting him to "what's expected" at his age in the current system. The problem isn't that my son wasn't prepared for Kindergarten; the problem is we as parents weren't prepared. We need to get parents involved and prepared to learn six months or more before school start. Handouts when we register our child indicating what is expected, learning about how punishment, rewards, and other activities work is more important than ever. Had we had an inclination our son would have been prepared for Kindergarten.

Meanwhile, high school graduation rates among many of our fastest growing populations are dropping below 60 percent. At a time when our economy demands more college graduates, a falling high school graduation rate is an economic crisis that will affect everyone.

High School graduation rates are dropping in all sectors of the population, to me the biggest reason is what is expected of people upon graduation. People drop out cause there is no benefit to be there. Start talking to the dropouts and ask them specifically why.. "I'm not going to get into College, so to me the difference between $9 an hour at the Fast food place and $10 at gas station as an assistant manger…." You need to put reason into High School for those that see it as an end, rather than a beginning.

We should pay good teachers salaries that compete with jobs in private business.

The average Full Time teacher in Minnesota earns $47,000, the average salary for a college graduate is $58,000. However that isn't the full story the average teacher in Minnesota total compensation package is closer to $70,000 a year while the average college graduate is under $67,000. So we already compensate our teachers at a higher rate than those with a college degree, when you factor in Retirement, Health Care, and other benefits. That is not the issue. The real issue is the starting point, when you become a teacher today, expect to start well below your fellow graduates on the pay scale and bounce around between jobs/districts until you have enough time/tenure/experience to get the job you really want.

For too long, policy leaders have sat silent while the value of education is denigrated. We need to make investments in making sure that all parents have the tools to help their children succeed in school, then hold families and students accountable.

Great sound bite, but how? Parents are spending more hours at work, children spend more time with babysitters/child care/teachers than the parents, how are you going to keep parents accountable. Parents can't even return forms to schools.

And, we need to hold school districts accountable. Resources need to go first and foremost into the classroom. We need to work with the innovative programs that are adapting new ways of learning to today's students. And, we need to invest in technology, not as a replacement for face-to-face interaction with classroom teachers, but as a complement.

The problem isn't the classroom, that's why we keep going round and round on the problem. The problem is today's children have nothing to do outside of the classroom, except stare at the TV and play Video games.

We really need to focus on putting play in education, learning about things outside of textbooks. Keeping our children in better shape mentally and physically.

We need to focus our efforts on keeping children from bouncing between daycare in the morning, full day school, and then back to day care. Lets develop programs where children go to school in the morning and our there the entire day, rather than bouncing between two three four services. That doesn't mean classroom time, but other activities, band, organized sports, science.

The opportunities for improvement are endless and we need to look at every option to improve education.

Our high school graduates need to be more prepared to directly enter the work force, it not a college prep-school.

We need to become more bi-lingual, whether it is Icelandic or Arabic. In a global economy communication skills are what will separate our children from those in other states and allow them to get further ahead.