After the disasterous Profile of Learning was finally repealed after several years of effort, everyone wondered "what's next for EdWatch?" The answer: The Profile of Learning for preschoolers.
EdWatch has informed its members that several "early childhood" initiatives are on the legislative fast track in Saint Paul. They call it "the Nanny State," I would call it "socialized parenting."
- Kindergarten Readiness Assessment - i.e., the Profile fo Learning for preschoolers. According to EdWatch, the evaluation is not a specific, objective, or valid measurement of our children. In other words, it's the Profile all over again.
- Minnesota Early Learning Foundation - a post-democratic public-private partnership, to implement and control a state-defined rating system over private and religious child care, based on the use of the Early Childhood Indicators (a diversity training curriculum for toddlers).
- Psychological screening for babies - the notion that psychological screening should be done by age three is getting so much pushback from parents and medical experts that the Senate author of SF 906, Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Plymouth) removed mandatory screening of "all children at least once by age three" from the bill. Yet EdWatch reports that advocates of mental health screening are receiving pharmaceutical industry funding and federal tax dollars to implement this system. "This vague, unscientific screening does lead to false labels, unnecessary special education placement, and drugging with dangerous, ineffective psychiatric drugs," says EdWatch.
For complete background information, including legislative testimonies, see the EdWatch web site. Years from now, when it takes a village to raise a child, but not parents, this is where you can read how it happened.
* Dr. Robert Ley (see "From Cradle to Grave")
EDUCATION
