EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
105 Peavey Rd, St 116 
Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931
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July 29, 2003

CC: Office of Governor Pawlenty
Office of Commission of Education, Cheri Pierson Yecki

The MN Academic Standards Committees for Science and Social Studies have been appointed. The first meeting is this Thursday, July 31st. Meetings are open to the public We encourage you to attend if you can. Details are listed at the end of this e-mail.

Creation of new standards in Minnesota will be a sobering effort. The Profile of Learning was repealed last Spring. The Profile was made up of both process and content.

We are disappointed in the fact that, in spite of the overwhelming public and legislative groundswell to repeal the Profile, many of the appointed members of the academic standards committees are advocates for Profile-type content requirements. Some of them are actually national leaders in the effort to implement the radical federal curriculum.

The election of 2002 was, among other things, a referendum on the Profile of Learning repeal.

The Governor was endorsed, campaigned, and was elected on that platform. Legislators across the state were elected based on their promise to repeal the Profile. A new Commissioner was appointed with a promise of adopting academic, knowledge-based learning. The House first passed the repeal 118-10 in February, and then 125 to 9 in the final days of the session. The Senate voted for its repeal 64 to 3.

In spite of this, some high profile proponents of the new federal curriculum have been appointed to write Minnesota's new standards for social studies and science. Does an election mean anything at all? Does the clear directive of the legislature to REPEAL the Profile mean nothing?

The battle we are facing now in the committees that have been appointed was described by the words of John Fonte in "Policy Review" of December, 2000 (pp. 15 & 31), when he said:

"Beneath the surface of American politics an intense ideological struggle is being waged between two competing worldviews. [The traditional view favors] the transmission of the American regime [values], [the other camp favors] its transformation."

If you care about what your students and our children will be required to know, pay close attention. The work of the standards committee will play a central role in determining whether Minnesota students will be learning basic knowledge. Will they be taught about our country, our history, our government, and real scientific knowledge? Or will they be indoctrinated with the anti-American worldview of those who wish to "transform" our nation?

Will they learn that the purpose of government is to protect our unalienable rights? Or will they be taught that government's decisions have a higher priority than human rights, as in the case of nations who violate those rights?

Will they learn that the role of the courts is to settle disputes based on law, especially the Constitution? Or will they learn that the courts are to reinterpret the Constitution so that it is "relevant to the times." (The new civics calls this the "informal method" of amending the Constitution.)

Will they learn about the separation of powers between the federal government and the states? Will they learn about the powers delegated to the federal government and the powers reserved to the states and the people? Or will the 10th amendment to the Constitution be out of sight and out of mind?

Will they learn that the basic principles of our government are laid down in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution? Or will they learn the radical new view that the only constant is change, that our government simply evolves, and that all of our fundamental principles are now up for grabs?

Will they learn to promote and preserve the self-evident truths that has made our country free? Or will they learn instead that these were simply "ideas" from the 18th century, "notions" that were relevant only for that culture and era?

That is, will our students be taught a pro-American or an anti-American worldview? That is what the standards-writing process is all about.

The process begins this Thursday.

Minnesota Department of Education
1500 Highway 36 West
Roseville, Minnesota 55113-4266
Information: (651) 582-8200

7:30 am is the meet-and-greet over coffee and doughnuts time. The official program starts at 8:00 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 5:00 p.m.

Each area has four subcommittees, divided by grade level. They are: k-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12. The purpose of the committees is to create content standards. Regardless of the age, the content strands will ultimately be consistent throughout kindergarten to 12th grade.

The subcommittees will decide their meeting times at Thursday's meeting. They will meet during the month of August.

Please notify us if you are interested in following the progress of any of the individual subcommittees by attending their meetings. Meetings will take place at the Department building in Roseville.

View appointments. The members include 41 Science Standards Committee members and 44 Social Studies Committee members.

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