EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
105 Peavey Rd, St 116 
Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931
http://www.EdAction.org
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April 29, 2001

Protest Rally Report

A beautiful Minnesota springtime Sunday afternoon (April 29th), when everyone is aching to be raking their yards after a very long winter, but down on the Capitol steps in St. Paul between 1200 and 2000 people converge instead to be seen and heard: Repeal the Profile of Learning / Stop School-to-Work! Before it is too late!

Master of Ceremonies was Tom Marsland from KKMS radio. Brannon Howse led us in the National Anthem. Senator Bachmann described her Repeal the Profile amendment offered on the floor of the Senate last week and the ensuing spirited debate. Rep. Kielkucki presented his teacher's view of the Profile -- a lowering of standards. He expressed great encouragement to see people turn out to oppose the Profile. He and others need to see that! They are told parents and teachers like the Profile of Learning!

Evelyn Eubanks, a parent from north Minneapolis, spoke powerfully and eloquently about the impact of the Profile and STW on the inner city children. Parents cry out for solid education for their children, but it is denied them. And the performance of minority students in Minneapolis continues to decline under these standards.

Rachel McKay, a teacher from Minnetonka, expressed the distress teachers face over implementing this new system that dumbs down the curriculum. Josh Robinson, a student from Forest Lake, told us how the students have figured it out: Take a "1" and run. That is all it takes in the new system and there are no high academic achievement requirements.

Tom Prichard from the Minnesota Family Council gave us the example of one family's experience with the Profile, as families anguish over it in their homes. Michael Chapman gave a brief overview of the federal mandates of STW and the central planning workforce system by waving before the crowd the state documents that have signed Minnesota's compliance with the new system.

Finally, Renee Doyle rallied us on. She urged us to contact our federal Senators and Representatives about the new education legislation now before them that continues the federal Goals 2000/School-to-Work mandate! She urged us to contact federal, state and local public officials. She gave us an example of how one parent made a difference in revealing the Minnesota Student Survey to the rest of the state and the controversy that has created.

Brannon Howse led us in closing with America the Beautiful.

Buttons continue to be available for sale, 3 for $1.00. They are beautifully redesigned buttons, valuable at any and all occasions.

The urgency of putting on a protest rally cannot be overstated. Since the media buries reporting of opposition to the new education system, the public has no way of knowing that people reject the new system if we do not publicly display our opposition. The TV coverage tells the story, even when the coverage to some extent minimizes our efforts and counters it with equal time for the Commissioner's misrepresentations.

The Star Tribune slyly reported "more than 500" present — not untrue, but entirely misleading. The number was picked up by other sources to mean that only 500 were present. But the bias of the news coverage was especially revealing in the Pioneer Press, who did not see fit to even write up a story! Obviously, there is a huge double standard in covering rallies, as handfuls of protesters routinely receive newspaper coverage.

People repeatedly reminded us how important the rally is for them to gain support and encouragement from each other. Thank you to those who made last Sunday a success.

EdAction - 105 Peavey Rd, Ste 116, Chaska, MN  55318 
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