Remember
that members of the Alternate Universe Board of Education and I will be
operating from a philosophical stance that defines an excellent education, the
excellent teacher, and the purposes of K-12 education as follows:
An excellent education is a matter of
excellent teachers imparting a knowledge-intensive, skill-replete curriculum in
the liberal, technological, and vocational arts in grade by grade sequence to
students of all demographic descriptors throughout the K-12 years.
An excellent teacher is a professional of deep and broad knowledge
with the pedagogical ability to impart that knowledge to students of all
demographic descriptors.
The three major purposes of an excellent K-12
education are cultural enrichment, civic preparation, and professional
satisfaction.
Thus, all
staff and community members should understand that the Minneapolis Public
Schools constitutes a locally centralized school district that considers the
duty of providing students with a knowledge-intensive education to be
paramount. All other considerations must
serve that ultimate goal. We want our
students to go forth across the stage at graduation with brains full of
knowledge in the liberal arts areas of mathematics, natural science, history,
economics, psychology, high quality literature across the world and of many
ethnicities, and fine arts across a similar human spectrum.
We will
deliver the same curriculum to all students during the K-5 years, also
providing during those years daily hour-long sessions giving opportunities to
explore personal interests and to meet personal needs via academic enrichment
and remediation (tutoring) as appropriate.
During the
grades 6-8 and 9-12 years, students will continue to receive the same rigorous
and engaging curriculum in the liberal arts areas given above. All students will continue to be challenged
and engaged with curriculum in the areas of mathematics, natural science,
history, economics, psychology, high quality literature across the world and of
many ethnicities, and fine arts across a similar human spectrum. All students except for those facing truly
unusual learning challenges will prepare throughout their years in the
Minneapolis Public Schools to study through to Advanced Placement Calculus,
Biology, Physics, English, World History, and American History. And expectations for those students facing
significant learning challenges will also be very high.
At the
grades 6-8 and especially at the grades 9-12 levels, there will be abundant
opportunities for students to take specialized courses in the given liberal
arts areas, world languages, other social sciences, the technological arts, and
the vocational arts. Thus, in addition
to mastering the same rigorous curriculum, students will have a range of
electives in courses such as Chinese and other Asian History and Literature,
Latin American History and Literature, African American History and Literature,
and Native American history and Literature, and language courses in Spanish,
French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic.
They may opt for courses such as computer technology and design, graphic
arts, auto mechanics, welding, and plumbing.
Given the now prevailing circumstance that students at all levels K-12
will be given a knowledge-intensive education, students will be well prepared
to continue a commonly challenging curriculum and to meet personal interests via enrichment
experiences at K-5 and specialized course at grades 6-8 and grades 9-12.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
According
to the philosophical direction of the Minneapolis Public Schools as articulated
by alternate Universe Superintendent Gary Marvin Davison, there will be no
reference to shibboleths common to education professors and those members of
the education establishment whose intellects they have demeaned. There will be, for example, no reference to
critical thinking, lifelong learning, and social and emotional learning. The latter will be assumed and subsumed in
our five-point program for knowledge-intensive, skill-intensive replete
curriculum; knowledge-intensive teacher training; academic enrichment and remediation; outreach to families of all demographic
descriptors; and great trimming of the
central bureaucracy at the Davis Center (1250 West Broadway). Critical analysis, love of learning, and deep
respect for all human beings will be
embedded deeply in our system and culture, rather than mouthed as mere excuses for
failure to provide an excellent education.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Knowledge
attainment will be our paramount goal in the Alternate Universe Minneapolis
Public Schools led by Superintendent Gary Marvin Davison. This is the philosophical clarity that you
will never get from MPS Superintendent Ed Graff in the conventional universe but
that you will get from me, time after time.
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