Date: March 29, 2004
Subject: Anti-Yecke folks have no case

Rep. Jeff Johnson (R-Plymouth) authored a commentary in yesterday's Strib that makes some interesting points about the opposition to Cheri Pierson Yecke's confirmation as commissioner of the MDE:

A recent letter to the editor in the Star Tribune hit the nail on the head. The writer was disparaging Yecke (along with other female appointees of Gov. Tim Pawlenty) as incompetent, but she strayed from the DFL script in the end and admitted that the real problem was not competence, but that Pawlenty “has appointed women who share his political agenda, and many of us don’t share it.”

Amen, sister! That’s the bottom line. DFLers don’t have a case against the commissioner’s competence, and they aren’t attacking her because of the social studies standards, the Student Survey, the state quarter or her secret plot with the president to “destroy public schools.” They simply despise the thought of a strong, articulate woman who shares the governor’s conservative philosophy leading our state’s education establishment, which has been dominated by liberals for years.

The point is that confirmation hearings are about qualifications and competence, they are not a partisan litmus test (or at least shouldn't be). It's a Republican administration, so of course its appointees will reflect the party line. A DFL administration would appoint commissioners whose agenda I would not share (as did the previous, third party administration). Commissioner Yecke is well-qualified and should be confirmed.

Date: March 25, 2004
Subject: Back to the Future II

At this point, the bigger question is the process, not the content. Love 'em or hate 'em, the second draft of the social studies standards is the result of a public process. The Senate's alternative standards are a result of a largely unknown process by a few elites comfortably out of public view, as was the Profile of Learning. They seem to be designed to give the education omnibus bill conference committee the power to set aside the Academic Standards Committee's work and essentially re-write the social studies standards, or to table the standards until after the '04 House elections. In the latter scenario, Commissioner Yecke's confirmation is key to both sides of the issue, because the Commissioner will appoint the next Academic Standards Committee, unless the Legislature specifies some other process.

See the SCSU Scholars blog for ongoing frank commentary on the alternative standards.

Date: March 24, 2004
Subject: No bones about it

My all-time favorite metaphor for extreme political pressure prior to a legislative vote comes from Third District Congressman Jim Ramstad. He once said that the arm-twisting persuasion to vote in favor of a bill was so intense that "you could hear bones breaking."

If I am not mistaken, Rep. Ramstad was referring to the pressure on House Republicans to vote in favor of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. Yesterday before lunch, Minnesota Senate Republicans must have gained a new appreciation for what Ramstad, who voted no on NCLB, must have felt. U.S. Department of Education Assistant Deputy Secretary Ken Meyer testified before the Senate E-12 Budget Division in support of NCLB, just before the committee voted to pass SF 1921, which says:

The consolidated state plan submitted by the state of Minnesota to the federal Department of Education on implementing the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and any other Minnesota state contract or agreement under the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, shall be nullified and revoked by the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education on June 1, 2004, unless legislation specifically affirming the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is enacted before that date.

All of the Republicans on the committee voted no, except for the bill's Republican co-author Sen. Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwater), with Assistant Deputy Secretary Meyer looking on. The bill passed out of committee with the unanimous support of the majority party's senators.

The House version of this language was amended to the bill that contains the social studies and science standards, which passed the House last week. The "affirmation of NCLB" provision will be negotiated in conference committee, along with everything else, in the omnibus education bill.

Date: March 23, 2004
Subject: Back to the future

Alternative standards for social studies were presented in three parts at Sen. Steve Kelley's (DFL-Hopkins) Senate Education Committee hearing last Thursday. They represent the work of Lisa Norling, Ph.D., a professor in the University of Minnesota Department of History, and other unnamed teachers and professors.

On its web site, MAPSSS conveniently has it both ways, stating on the one hand that,

MAPSSS will remain non-partisan and not prematurely endorse any one of the Senate’s alternatives...Considering there has been little publicity about these 3 new alternative drafts offered by Democrats and that there will be very little public feedback prior to the Senate committee vote, we continue to be concerned that this process is not and will not provide adequate opportunities for public feedback with a goal of getting high quality social studies standards for Minnesota...

and on the other hand,

...they ALL are much better in their own ways than the seriously flawed standards recommended by unconfirmed Commissioner Yecke and passed by the House of Representatives.

Well, their name is their agenda: Minnesotans Against Proposed Social Studies Standards. This is also apparently the agenda of the DFLers in the Senate.

As presented, Alternative 1 seems to be the most serious proposal, with a detailed introduction and table formatting that mirrors that used by the Academic Standards Committee. Alternative 2 is titled "Sample Social Studies Standards." Alternative 3 is marked "March 1, 2004 DRAFT." Perhaps there was a cover letter that accompanied these documents, but the authors were not identified in the drafts themselves (although all three apparently were created in Microsoft Word by "lindas").

After the repeal of the Profile of Learning in 2003, EdWatch warned that in 2004 we could very well end up with the Profile of Learning in another name. Read the alternative standards: it's deja vu all over again. The process used to create Sen. Kelley's alternative social studies standards resembles that used to create the Profile of Learning in that the public was not involved, nor will they be involved. Sen. Kelley would set aside the months of work of the citizen Academic Standards Committee and MDE staff, which was subject to unprecedented public oversight, in favor of the partisan tweaking, in a few conference committee meetings at the Capitol, of proposals submitted by a few elites in the education establishment. Sounds familiar!

Alternatively, Senate DFLers may simply vote "no" on the social studies standards, blocking their passage either prior to or after a conference committee meets. The majority caucus in the Senate appears to be the gatekeeper of the education agenda again, with no reelection pressure looming this year.

Date: March 17, 2004
Subject: As seen on TV (well, in the PiPress anyway)

My web site was mentioned in John Welsh's article today, "Web sites praise and pillory Yecke," which the AP also picked up. I was not interviewed for the article. Had John called me, I would have pointed out two details (which I e-mailed to him):

The article says: "Organizers of dueling Web sites on the issue say they might not be
able to vouch for each of the 4,000 electronic signatures on their online petitions..." This is not the case for my petition, because full verifiable street addresses are being collected along with every signature online and on hardcopy forms.

John also missed a third online petition at http://www.truthineducation.net/, created by Pat Igo of Minneapolis, who ran for state Senate as a Republican against incumbent John Marty in 1996.

But I give John points for featuring two web petitions supporting Yecke, and for citing your favorite ed reform web site along with its URL!

Date: March 17, 2004
Subject: Mob scene in 15 Capitol

The Senate Education Committee will meet all day in the circular Room 15 Capitol to hear the science and social studies standards, and Sen. Kelley will introduce an alternative set of standards that would keep us closer to the repealed Profile of Learning. Presumably these standards are backed by the education establishment, supported by research, are impeccably multicultural, and will have zero fiscal impact in school districts, since they would use Profile-compliant curriculum already in place. You can review these alternative standards on the Senate Education Committee home page.

Although I have seen Sen. Kelley enforce orderly proceedings in his Ed Committee hearing, even rebuking laughter from those opposing the draft standards, it is shaping up to be a mob scene at 7:00 pm for the social studies hearing. There should be some good visuals and sound bites for the media, and the hearing may even extend into the 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm local news shows ("we now go live to the Capitol where our political reporter is covering a contentious hearing over Cheri Pierson Yecke's controversial proposed academic standards"). I am all for lively debate, but the aggressive behavior of certain (not all) teacher groups at past academic standards hearings more closely resembled a mob than orderly testimony, undermining some of their otherwise legitimate arguments.

Researcher Mike Chapman has published some of the best arguments for the significance of the Declaration of Independence I have ever read. His title, "Assault on America" will turn off liberals and many so-called moderates, but I challenge you to look past it to the fruits of his original-source research for some clue as to why conservatives have such a jones for the Declaration as the founding document of our nation, and why it received such a prominent role in the second draft of the social studies standards (which I still support as the last "citizen" draft).

Date: March 11, 2004
Subject: Get Yecke

In case you haven't noticed, Cheri Pierson Yecke is in the DFL crosshairs. She has been attacked at every conceivable turn, for her leadership on the new Academic Standards, blamed for the fallout from the new U.S. Mint rules governing the state quarter dollar program, and chastised for a technical error on setting cut scores for the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs). With Education Minnesota's vote of no confidence this week in the MCAs, the stage is being set further for a bitterly partisan flogging of the Commissioner during her confirmation hearings in Sen. Steve Kelley's (DFL-Hopkins) Ed Policy Committee.

Carrie Lucking, a teacher and department chair of the social studies department at Hopkins High School, has circulated an online petition under the flag "Alliance to Block the Confirmation of the Commissioner." The opposition forces have successfully mobilized their base to do what grassroots activists are supposed to do: sign the petition and contact their legislators with a unified message.

In response, I decided to circulate my own online petition to support Yecke's confirmation. (Thanks to King at SCSU Scholars for the promo.) The Taxpayer's League of Minnesota posted a similar petition on their web site, EdWatch issued a press release in support of Yecke's confirmation, and the Republican Party of Minnesota has encouraged their activists to support the Commissioner.

In response to this response, Lucking recently told her network in an e-mail:

It’s time for a second round of calls and letters! Although we have over 2600 signatures on our petition, groups are beginning to mobilize in favor of the confirmation of Cheri Pierson Yecke. They have created a counter-petition. This week, EdAction and EdWatch have asked their members to call or write their State Senator in favor of confirmation. We MUST counteract these contacts.

The disconnect or irony here is that commissioner confirmations are customarily fairly nonpartisan. The recent and future DFL attacks on Yecke amount to meddling in a popular governor's ability to govern as mandated by the voters who elected him. On a recent installment of "At Issue," the Sunday public affairs show with Tom Hauser on KSTP Channel 5, former DFL Governor Wendell Anderson commented that the Senate should confirm a governor's well-qualified appointments, and that the governor should be held accountable for his policies by the voters. The problem for the DFL is, right now Governor Pawlenty is very popular. So one way for the party out of power (in the House and governor's mansion) to stick it to the party in power is to block some appointments, especially a certain high-profile appointment.

The Governor and the Republicans in the Senate are solidly behind Commissioner Yecke. Her resume and list of achievements in 2003 show that she is an obviously well-qualified and engaged commissioner — whether you agree with her (i.e. Gov. Pawlenty's) policies or not. When the DFL began attacking the Commissioner, Gov. Pawlenty suggested that as an alternative they should "try winning an election." Knowing that Gov. Pawlenty was personally responsible for Yecke's accepting his appointment over a similar offer from Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, the stakes will be high over this confirmation. Sen. Kelley's committee may recommend to not confirm, but the final decision will hinge on a dramatic vote on the floor of the DFL-controlled Senate. If the Senate votes to deny the confirmation, two things will be immediate: the end of Yecke's term as commissioner, and a careful examination of the roll call vote by the governor.

Most of the teachers I talk to are not into politics. They just want to teach. They are fed up with the partisan back-and-forth over the standards and education in general. They wonder whether Minnesota should go back to a state board of education to "depoliticize" the appointment of the education commissioner. Sounds tempting, but recall that the state board of education was disbanded in 1999 because it was "too apolitical," in other words, out of touch with the public. That was before the increasing influence of the federal government in education very much changed the role of the Commissioner of Education into what it is today.

Date: March 5, 2004
Subject: Memo to Homeland Security

In his article for the Strib, Norm Draper quoted Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL-Winona) at yesterday's House Ed Policy Committee meeting, during which the social studies and science standards were passed out of the committee:

"Pelowski drew a comparison to Robespierre and his fondness for putting his opponents on the guillotine during the French Revolution in the 1790s.

"'Are we going to be cutting off students through testing?' Pelowski said. He likened testing, which has increased dramatically in recent years, to 'a new tool of terror.'"

Someone put Tom Ridge on alert. Forget unleashing chemical weapons on the Kurds, Cheri Yecke may want to unleash social studies tests on our own children!

Date: March 1, 2004
Subject: Strange bedfellows

History was made yesterday on KSTP-TV Channel 5's "At Issue" public affairs program with Tom Hauser. Dave Thompson, KSTP AM 1500 talk show host, wowed Hauser and across-the-ideological-table mate Ember Reichgott Junge with his natty bow tie. But more than that, Thompson stayed intellectually and ideologically honest by agreeing with Junge — and disagreeing with President Bush, Governor Pawlenty, and Commissioner Yecke — about how "broken" the No Child Left Behind Act is. Hauser remarked that he never wants to see Thompson and Junge agree like that again!

Thompson was unapologetic. He took Junge's objections further, saying that while Junge thinks the federal role can be fixed, he believes that the federal government has no place in education at all, that it's a state responsibility. A self-styled "recovering attorney," Thompson knows his constitutions, U.S. and state. His conservative "bona fides" are bona fide.