May 11, 2020

Article #2 in a Five-Article Series >>>>> Replacement Plan for the Academic Portion of the Comprehensive District Design As I Take the Minneapolis Public Schools Apart Piece by Piece for Reconstruction >>>>> Grade by Grade, Logically Sequenced Knowledge-Intensive Curriculum

The replacement plan for the academic portion of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Comprehensive District Design features first and most importantly a knowledge-intensive, skill-replete curriculum for impartation by teachers trained to deliver such a curriculum in logical sequence, grade by grade, throughout the preK-12 years.

 
Students of all demographic descriptors will receive the same core curriculum. 
 
Subject areas studied in mathematics, natural sciences, socials sciences, history, world literature, English usage, music, and the visual arts will be the same for all students in grades preK-5 (elementary school).  All students at grades 6-8 (middle school) and 9-12 (high school) will continue to receive the same core curriculum, with increasing access to additional course options (electives) in the liberal, technological, and vocational arts;  and in world languages.
 
Considerable curricular detail is offered in the paragraphs below
 
Grade by Grade, Logically Sequenced Knowledge-Intensive Curriculum
 
Developing and projecting a model of K-12 educational excellence for the locally centralized school district in the Minneapolis Public Schools begins with the establishment of a rich curriculum in the liberal, vocational, and technological arts.

Curriculum for Grades K-5

At the K-5 level, students will focus on the key liberal arts areas of mathematics, natural science (geology, biology, chemistry, and physics), literature & English usage, history & economics, and fine arts (music & visual arts).  In mastering such a rich curriculum, students graduating from Grade 5 will acquire knowledge of mathematics through introductory algebra and geometry. They will have knowledge of the earth’s formation and defining qualities; the chronological emergence and defining characteristics of plant and animal forms;  fundamental facts concerning subatomic particles, the structure of the atom, molecular structures, and the array of elements found on earth;  and the basic laws of gravity and motion, especially as contrasted in the work of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.  Students will graduate from Grade 5 having read widely in classical literature, including Western classics, world literature, and literature specific to a multiplicity of ethnic groups. Students at K-5 will gain detailed overviews of United States and world history (necessarily including the history of many ethnic groups); and they will master the fundamental concepts of microeconomics and macroeconomics.  Students will graduate from Grade 5 having mastered a great wealth of information pertinent to the theory and forms of the visual and musical arts, and they will learn how to play at least one musical instrument.
 
Graduates from Grade 5 will have a mastery in these informational realms that exceeds the knowledge and skill level evidenced by many high school graduates today.  These knowledge and skill sets will continue development in middle school (grades 6-8) so as to solidify student academic foundations for very advanced study in high school.

Curriculum for Grades 6-8
               
Curriculum at the level of the middle school (grades 6-8) will follow logically from the knowledge and skill base established during grades K-5.

Students will emerge from Grade 8 with knowledge of mathematics through Algebra II and in functions, statistics, and trigonometry. They will gain advanced understanding of all major concepts in biology, chemistry, and physics.  Students at grades 6-8 will continue to read at ever rising level of sophistication the great works of classical literature, including Western classics, world literature, and literature specific to a multiplicity of ethnic groups, and they will write expositional and argumentative essays.  Grades 6-8 students will also build highly sophisticated knowledge bases in United States history, world history, political science (including United States political processes, United States Constitution, and world governmental systems), microeconomics and macroeconomics--- and gain foundational knowledge in psychology, sociology, and anthropology.  As they graduate from Grade 8, students will have an enormous knowledge base pertinent to the visual and musical arts, mastery of at least one musical instrument at each student's maximum possible level of skill, and opportunities to participate in choral, band, and ensemble musical groups.

During the grades 6-8 years, students will assiduously study at least one foreign language.  Students will take physical education at each grade level, 6-8.  They will be given opportunities to acquire skills in vocational trades (including the skills of the electrician, auto mechanic, and the carpenter).  And they will acquire strong foundational knowledge relevant to computers and other devices of contemporary technology.

Graduating from Grade 8 with mastery in these informational realms, students will possess knowledge and skill sets that exceed those evidenced by many high school graduates today.

Curriculum for Grades 9-12

At the high school (grades 9-12) level, then, students can proceed to acquire knowledge that we associate with mastery at the level of first and second year university students, and at two-year
colleges of both the liberal arts and technical type.  All students (except those facing genuine learning disabilities, who will be given the most challenging instruction possible) in grades 9-12 will take sequential courses in calculus as preparation for Advanced Placement.  They will take Advanced Placement courses in biology, chemistry, and physics;  in American and world history;  and in English. Students will pursue options for study in specific geographical and topical areas of world history (e.g., history of the Roman Empire, dynastic China, Africa, African America, Latin America, medieval era, early modern era, contemporary [recent] history).  They will take courses in classical English and world literature, and they will opt for specialized courses similar in geographical and topical focus to those given for history.  All students will take college preparatory courses in economics and psychology, and they will have elective course options in sociology and anthropology.  And all students will continue to develop skills in the visual and musical arts, with opportunities to participate in choral, band, and ensemble musical groups.

All students at grades 9-12 will study a world language through the second year college level.  Students will take two years of physical education and have various physical education options beyond two years.  High school students will select from various courses in the vocational and technological arts.  
 
Thus, all students will be well-prepared for study at either liberal arts or technical colleges, and at universities, upon high school graduation. No student will be tracked for either of these options; rather, each student will graduate with the confidence that she or he has the preparation for pursuing post-high school courses of study of either type.

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The replacement plan for the academic portion of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Comprehensive District Design shares with the district’s original plan an enthusiasm for the definition of a well-round education in accordance with the following from the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): 
 
ESSA Definition of a Well-Rounded Education
 
>>>>>    MPS supports the federal definition of a well-rounded education
 
>>>         …..  courses, activities, and programming in subjects such as English, reading, or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, global languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, career and technical education, health, physical education, and any other subject, as determined by State of local educational agency, with the purpose of providing all students access to an enriched curriculum and educational experience.
(Every Student Succeeds Act: S. 177-298)
 
The discussion above offers strong indication of the curricular details and an approach that gives teachers very firm directives as to what is to be taught.  The curriculum indicated in the discussion above fulfills and goes far beyond both the ESSA definition and the Minnesota State Academic Standards.
 
Students who are given the knowledge and skill sets established in the logically sequenced curriculum for delivery throughout the preK-12 years will walk across the stage at graduation with brains teeming with broad and deep knowledge in the liberal, technological, and vocational arts, fully prepared to go forth as successful post-secondary students, active citizens, and fulfilled human beings.    
 

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