Striking out in MN

"What are we really seeing here? The slow death of public education. Dying under its own weight. Charter schools, Montessori schools, private schools, home schools, Catholic schools and so forth. They are all waiting in the wings to pick up the slack."

Good title, eh? Sounds a bit like our delayed baseball season this year. However - it is not. It is about the most selfish organization on Planet Earth. Education Minnesota. How they have taken a wrecking ball to government education in Minnesota. And they are at it again. How so? Follow this...

This week on the national news, it was reported that the United States has 400,000 fewer government school educators now, than before the pandemic started. For a profession which was already fighting diminishing numbers, losing an additional 400,000 members is jaw dropping. The number of teachers are so low in many areas of the country, some schools are only going half days. In other districts, the National Guard is being called in to teach. Meanwhile, the kids are coming out of this pandemic, less educated, and way less ready to progress. 

What are the good teachers of Minneapolis and St. Paul going to do to help? Well, go on strike of course. In the old days, the districts could call in temporary teachers to keep some classes going. Not this year. There is no water at the bottom of the well. If the teachers really do go out on strike (and the numbers in the vote say this is almost a certainty), the kids can kiss spring and summer vacation good-bye. So long as the strike is going on, classes will not be held. Meanwhile, the nation's largest achievement gap, will continue to grow in Minnesota. The teacher union's response? Meh...

What are we really seeing here? The slow death of public education. Dying under its own weight. Charter schools, Montessori schools, private schools, home schools, Catholic schools and so forth. They are all waiting in the wings to pick up the slack. Why use one of these types of schools instead of government schools? Why you ask? Time and time again, many of these schools have proven they can do it better and cheaper. AND (this is a big one) - unlike Education Minnesota, these non-government schools actually care for the kids. Duh!

Get set parents. You are coming up on unscheduled time off with your kids. Unlike distance learning, this will be no learning. Just sitting around, eating a hot dog. To Education Minnesota, I say this - well played. You have once again shown your true nature. And it sucks. I am sorry kids. You deserve better. So, so much better.