Destined for failure

"What I can't figure out is this. In this somewhat blue state, this very blue city, we are creating an underclass by accepting benign neglect in our education system."

I have said this many times before. Today, I am going to say it again. We are screwing some of our children. And screwing them good. Maybe for life. How? Some people get angry when I say this. We have a broken education system in Minneapolis. Not just a little broken, I mean off the tracks broken.

A Washington D.C. think tank, an education group, recently looked at the graduation rates of 50 of our largest cities. And how did the City of Lakes come out? Dead last. The study found that less than 50% of the students in Minneapolis graduate in 4 years. In addition, only 4% took ACT or SAT exams. That is a dreadful statistic for present year success.

The Minnesota Education Department was quick to respond. "Nonsense!" (My word). They believe the Center for Reinventing Public Education has a bias towards charter schools. That would taint their findings on public education. Besides, the data they used was flawed - it was not homogeneous in all 50 cities. Now the center admitted that the data they took from the 50 cities sometimes dissimilar, so that was taken in to consideration. They do however, stand behind their findings.

My gut feeling is this - where there is smoke there is fire. Even if the data was a bit flawed, there was probably also a whole lot of truth contained therein. I have read other reports in previous years which show the achievement gap to be real and growing. Where we have "thrown in the towel" (so to speak) on a segment of our kids. As an example, a couple high schools, which are located in area of town with higher poverty, have graduation rates in the 30 to 40 percent range. That is simply outrageous - and grossly unfair. 

What blows me away the most is that just about everyone in Minneapolis from the Mayor down to the dogcatcher is a Democrat. It is a very, very left leaning city. And yet they are flushing these kids down the drain. The teaching and learning in some schools is too bad that even if a kid can graduate, the depth of learning is very shallow. Translation - these kids don't know much.

I am hopeful in 2016 we can elect people who have the ability to think outside the box in education. Right now, that skill is a rare commodity. In 2018, we need to elect a Governor who understands positive change. A maverick. A person who can cut the cost of our bloated education system while improving the quality and results and the same time.

Right now, if you are in the proper district, you can receive a good education. An education which will prepare you for the today's world. However, If you live in the wrong part of Minneapolis - good luck. Your chances of success are slim. And to make matters worse, help is NOT on the way. Hey Mayor Betsy - how does this fit in with your "Brag Minneapolis" campaign?