A Clear Vision for the Minneapolis Public Schools

This is our vision for the Minneapolis Public Schools >>>>>


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Teachers of highest quality shall impart an excellent education to all students of the Minneapolis Public Schools, with the purpose of sending graduates forth to lives of cultural enrichment, civic participation, and professional satisfaction.  


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In articulating this vision, we give the following definition of an excellent education:


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An excellent education is a matter of excellent teachers imparting a knowledge-intensive, grade-by-grade curriculum in the liberal, technological, and industrial arts to students of all demographic descriptors throughout the K-12 years.


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We give the following definition of an excellent teacher:


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An excellent teacher is a professional of deep and broad knowledge with the pedagogical ability to impart that knowledge to all students.


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And we establish the purpose of an excellent education as follows:


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The purpose of a strong K-12 education in the liberal, technological, and industrial arts is to provide maximum probability that students will graduate with the likelihood of living lives of cultural enrichment, civic participation, and professional satisfaction


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Following these definitions, we will do the following in matters of curriculum and teacher training:


Curriculum


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We will define specific knowledge and skill sets that teachers will impart to students at each grade level.


At grades K-5, teachers will emphasize instruction in these key subject areas for a strong liberal arts education:


>>>>>   mathematics, natural science, history, economics, literature, and the fine arts (musical and visual).


At grades 6-8, teachers will instruct students according to their specialties in the liberal, technological, and industrial arts, so that students receive instruction in the following subject areas:


>>>>>  mathematics, natural science, history, economics, literature, and the fine arts (visual and musical); world languages; computers and technology; and industrial arts such as auto mechanics, plumbing, carpentry, construction, and electrical wiring.


At grades 9-12, teachers will instruct students according to their specialties in the liberal, technological, and industrial arts, so that students receive instruction in the following subject areas:


>>>>>   mathematics, natural science, history, economics, literature, and the fine arts (visual and musical);  world languages;  computers and technology;  and industrial arts such as auto mechanics, plumbing, carpentry, construction, and electrical wiring.


Since students will have received such a knowledge-intensive education at grades K-8, students will enter high school (grades 9-12) ready to take Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses and specialized courses in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Much attention will be given to writing and research, with proper citations (footnotes, endnotes, or internal citations) given in all research papers.




Teacher Training


>>>>>   We will at the level of the locally centralized school district of the Minneapolis Public Schools embrace the responsibility of training K-5 teachers as professionals of deep and broad knowledge in those subject areas of mathematics, natural science, history, economics, literature, and the fine arts (musical and visual) for which they will be providing instruction to students.


 >>>>>   We will require that each teacher at grades 6-8 holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field of specialty (no degrees in departments, colleges, or schools of education will be accepted).
 
>>>>>     We will require that each teacher at grades 9-12 holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field of specialty (no degrees in departments, colleges, or schools of education will be accepted), and we will encourage each high school teacher either to enter our classrooms or to acquire in the course of her or his career a Ph. D. in the field of specialty (no degrees in departments, colleges, or schools of education will be accepted).


Before presiding as teacher in a classroom of the Minneapolis Public Schools, each prospective teacher at grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 will serve a full academic year internship under the guidance of the best available teacher and will serve as practice teacher for at least two months during the spring season of internship.