[Mpls] How Media Lies about Public Education

[Michael Atherton]

Today there was an article in the Tribune,
"Minneapolis classrooms are losing battle of the budge."

Implicitly this article demonstrates how the media 
helps distort the publics' view of educational issues.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1592/5738327.html

If you're aware of the 2000 referendum in which voters
approved funding smaller class sizes you might also
remember that one of the "promises" was that smaller
class sizes would increase student achievement.  What's
notable about today's article is that there is no mention 
what-so-ever about achievement.  Somehow we are to
implicitly assume that large class sizes are bad and
that we need to reduce them.  What the article fails to note
is that student achievement has been raising regardless
of class sizes.  So possibly, class sizes are not the
quite the evil they are made out to be.  It has always
been my contention that class sizes are more important for
the numbers of union members that they result in and not
how they benefit students.  Voters should think twice
before once again accepting an increase in funding that
does not increase student achievement and also fails to 
reduce class sizes.

Michael Atherton
Prospect Park