Secrets of the City

A White Bear Lake man pulled his ninth-grade daughter out of school this week to protect her from racial threats. Over the past three weeks the young African-American girl “has been called a racial epithet on a White Bear Lake school bus, been stared at menacingly in a North Campus classroom, and had her life threatened by a weapon-wielding student.” A police report shows that a juvenile from the school was arrested on Wednesday and put into juvenile detention, but the school has not confirmed this.

Meanwhile, between 6 and 16 officers were patrolling the halls of Owatonna High School this week after a fight broke out between white and Somali students. Tension had been building for a couple of weeks, “stemming from a student’s inflammatory paper alleging Somali privilege that was posted on a school blog.”

And in St. Paul, the final candidate for Saint Paul Public Schools superintendent was met with a protest of about 30 high school students yesterday, claiming that North Branch superintendent Deborah Henton “was not supportive of minorities.”

According to MPR, “The Minnesota Department of Education on Wednesday said it will fine a charter school $139,800 for employing teachers who didn’t hold valid teaching licenses.”

Sure the school has teachers without valid licenses. And sure, they’ve been given plenty of time to correct this. But, what the story fails to stress — leaving it for the last two paragraphs — is that the school, which caters to Muslim students, is actually being targeted for allegedly promoting the Muslim religion, which is unlawful as long as they receive state funding.

My question: why not address the real issues here? Why the sideways attack?

In January of last year, the ACLU sued the school for promoting Islamic culture. In January the school counter-sued. And in August the school threatened to sue the Minnesota Department of Education for defamation. This might sound extreme, but in a year-and-a half the department had already conducted 19 inquiries in the school. Excessive?

And come now, let’s face the facts: the Buffalo teacher who sent sexually explicit notes to a student probably has a license; the high school teacher who pleaded guilty to a plot against her stepmother probably had a license; and the Sleepy Eye Public High School teacher who was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old student probably had her license, too. As a former teacher without a license (and a good one at that), I have to wonder how important these darn licenses are to begin with.

Last week, we discussed the job situation in Minnesota and across the country. Yesterday, we covered GenXers dissatisfaction in the workplace, and many of you asked why GenYers (and perhaps even younger folks) don’t suffer from that same disappointment. And today the Strib tells us that “enrollment in bachelor’s degree programs in agriculture across the country grew by 21.8 percent from 2005 to 2008.” Why? Is it a belief in (or hope for) something simpler? A green thing? Or perhaps a belief in the farmers assistance programs?

Do you remember those lists of test scores your teacher used to post outside (or inside) the classroom for all to see? Well, apparently, this is entirely illegal.

A Northfield High School teacher thought that posting top test scores might motivate his students; but after a parent complained, the Minnesota Department of Administration agreed that this practice violates a state law protecting student data.

Huh?

The Lion’s Tap in Eden Prairie has won a lawsuit against McDonald’s, crediting them with the “Who’s Your Patty?” phrase.

Thirteen-year-old Daniel Hauser, who gained acclaim for running away to avoid chemotherapy treatment earlier this year, is scheduled for his last round of chemo this morning.

The School Nurses of Minnesota association will be honored today at 4:30 at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park for 100 years of professional service in the state.

Joyce Preschool — “an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide children from diverse ethnic, linguistic and economic backgrounds with developmentally and culturally appropriate preparation for success in school and lifelong learning” — just earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Via the Strib: Concerns about segregation and unequal opportunities grow as charter schools flourish outside the urban core.

Perhaps untimely on the eve of a major joint session speech on health care, on on the opening day for many schools, the President is going to speak directly to school children on Tuesday, encouraging them to “work hard and stay in school.” It all sounds innocent enough, but some conservatives are outraged at the idea. Several Minnesota schools have already said they won’t show it. I don’t recal any outcry when Bush the Elder did this in 1991. What’s different now?

MPR reports: Minnesota students who took the ACT this year once again scored well enough to rank the state first in the nation. Whoo hoo! We are so smart. S-M-R-T!

Well, this just seems like bad teaching: When the boy wrote a report on Ben Franklin, Cleveland allegedly said before the entire class that the boy had a “thing for older men.” Another teacher, Walter Filson, said in front of other students that the boy “enjoys wearing women’s clothes.” When the boy decided to report on Abraham Lincoln, Filson allegedly said, “Since you like your men older …” the Human Rights report said.

Cost the Anoka-Hennepin School District $25k to settle it as well.

An educator in Maplewood has started an online high school for LGBT teens. The PiPress explains: The online nature of the school allows it to reach young people wherever they have Internet access — especially in rural areas, whose smaller populations makes a physical version of his school impossible, [founder] Glick said.

The school has raised some concerns among other educators, though: David Johnson teaches social psychology at the University of Minnesota. Johnson says it would be much better to have those students in a regular high school setting.