[Mpls] Apologies!

[Socialist2001 at cs.com]

In a message dated 5/29/2004 2:07:02 PM Central Daylight Time, Annie Young 
writes:

<< Regarding my support of DFLers, etc. - Good grief, Doug more DFLers than 
Greens continue to re-elect me to office - Everyone in this city is my 
constuient - no matter their party. And the last I looked I thought that one of the 
ways to develop political acumen and garner votes was and is: Win friends and 
influence people.
 
When one is elected to office it is wise to build coalitions and garner 
partnerships... >>

I am for building a coalition to make a quality public education accessible 
to all through changes in school policies and practices. I am not for building 
a coalition to wield political power on any other basis. And I am not 
interested in being part of a political network that is more about personal loyalties 
than advancing the cause of human rights.

How can it be that the Minneapolis school district has a bigger racial 
learning gap than most of the other big city school districts? Just about all of the 
whites in this town say they are not racist, or that they are racists who are 
unlearning racism. I suspect that many are lying, if only to themselves. I am 
also convinced that a large majority of people of all colors would like to 
see the racial learning gap closed, but don't see how the schools can do much 
about it, and that many are complacent because their own children of doing OK, 
and / or the schools their children attend are fairly well run and seem to be 
doing a pretty good job of educating most students.   

In my opinion, the biggest obstacle to closing the racial learning gap is a 
misinformed school community and electorate. For over 20 years we have been 
bombarded by misinformation about the public schools. Back in April of 1983 we 
were warned of a rising tide of mediocrity that threatened to destroy the 
foundations of our public school system. And that message has been endlessly 
repeated. Class and racial learning gaps were being closed in the 1970s and early 
80s, but there was no evidence of a rising tide of mediocrity, i.e., that the gap 
was being closed at the expense of the high achievers. A major shift in 
educational policy during the 1980s and 90s was supported by propaganda about a 
"rising tide of mediocrity" in much the same way that the invasion and occupation 
of Iraq was initially justified by weapons of mass destruction that no one 
can find.

-Doug Mann, King Field
Mann for School Board
http://educationright.tripod.com
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