DFL Bills Promote Mental Health Curricula, Continue Child Care Takeover and Micromanage High School Counseling

Continuing the big government trend to spend money that neither the state nor federal governments have for ideas that are not only not at all needed, but are actually intrusive and harmful, a trio of bills will be heard in House education committees this week:

1. HF 664 (Welti)/ SF 1531 (Torres Ray) heard in the House Education Policy Committee on 2/17 at 8:30 AM – This bill as introduced required the commissioner of education to establish a model mental health curriculum for grades 7-12.  The proposed substitute amendment instead encourages districts to develop these curricula and demands that the Minnesota Department of Education provide support based on the national health education standards and a bunch of Minnesota developed benchmarks that are not even easily available for public review.

This is a bad idea for numerous reasons.  First, national and international groups like the World Health Organization, the US Surgeon General, and authors of psychiatry’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual all admit that the definitions of both mental health and mental illness, especially in children and adolescents, is difficult to uniformly describe and is based on ever-changing societal and cultural norms.  Secondly, this is further psychologization of curriculum open to political indoctrination and labeling.  Thirdly, it is a diversion from academic curricula when math and reading scores are stagnant and there are large achievement gaps between poor students often from single parent families and middle class students.  Finally, neither cash-strapped districts nor the state department that is subject to further budget cuts from the governor’s proposed budget balancing plan can afford this. Continue reading »

Archeological Research on Vikings Disproves Global Warming

Recent archeological discoveries on the Viking settlements in Greenland, along with various historical records, disprove the theory of man-made global warming. This information is of utmost importance as Congress considers sweeping legislation intended to combat global warming supposedly caused by human activity.

The Vikings settled Greenland in the 980’s AD. Archeologists estimate that three to five thousand Scandinavians lived in three main settlements there at the height of the colonies’ success. Over 400 farms in Greenland have been excavated along with the remains of eleven or more churches.

The colony was so successful that in 1126 a Catholic diocese was founded at Garðar, Greenland (now Igaliku). The Catholic Church sent several Bishops and a number of priests to Greenland to serve the congregations there.

The Greenland settlements at that time could be successful because the climate was far warmer than today. Archeological excavations have revealed extensive birch woodlands with birch trees up to 6 meters high in the area around the inner parts of the Tunuliarfik and Aniaaq fjords, the central area of the Eastern settlement. Excavations and various written records have also shown that the hills grew lush grass and willow brush. This vegetation was due to the Medieval Climate Optimum, an extended period of warm climate that made Viking-style life in Greenland feasible. Continue reading »

Obama Administration To Impose Liberal UN Curriculum by: Allen Quist

On July 24, 2009, the U.S Department of Education (DOE) announced that the “centerpiece of the Obama administration’s education reform efforts” in its “$4.35 billion Race to the Top,” will include “adopting internationally benchmarked education standards.” These will be national standards, said the press release, keyed to international standards and will be incentivized to the states with federal “stimulus” dollars.

By the term “education standards” DOE means content standards; meaning curriculum-the content schools must teach. By “national education standards” DOE means that schools in all 50 states will teach the same content. This will create a de facto federal curriculum The Department of Education will financially reward those states that teach what DOE wants taught. The Department can be expected to insist that the values taught in the national curriculum conform to the very liberal ideology of the Obama administration.

According to the announcement, this federal curriculum will consist of “internationally benchmarked” standards. The only extant comprehensive “internationally benchmarked” education standards are those developed by UNESCO, the UN’s education arm The UNESCO website clarifies that its education standards conform to the treaties and agreements of the UN. This means that its curriculum includes, for example, the requirements of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which says, “Education shall . . . further the activities of the United Nations” (Art. 26:2). Continue reading »

2009 EdWatch Education Policy and Budget Priorities: Strong Families and Academic Excellence

As the new Congress and President and all fifty states begin to address their budget priorities during this serious economic recession, EdWatch believes the following principles are building blocks for educational success as well as prudent fiscal management.

STRONG FAMILIES

Studies demonstrate a high positive correlation between strong families and academic success, including even erasing the achievement gap. The family is the most basic unit of government, and intact families are the most effective social programs. Therefore, rather than implementing invasive, ineffective, and expensive government preschool, home visiting, and child mental health programs, legislation should address policies that strengthen families, such as: Continue reading »