MAAP Conference — Feb. 18 – 20, 2004

Have you ever wondered what schools would look like if we started over and designed them without thinking about Thorndike, Skinner, industrialization, and the assembly line? what would schools look like if we could structure them with consideration for variation in student learning and individualizing programs and how the brain worked and students learn? This […]

FBI special agent Coleen Rowley on the Patriot Act

Sunday afternoon in Wabasha, The River Cities Alliance for Peace invited FBI special agent Coleen Rowley to speak about the Patriot Act at the Wabasha Mittel Schole. She focused her comments on a paper she had written last May, seeking “a better balance between our protection from further acts of terroroism and our Constitutional rights […]

Charter Schools and Public Schools – Proper Funding is Essential for Success

Representative Cox blogged about a recent Star Tribune article that mentions Northfield’s three Charter Schools, which raised the positive aspects of Charter schools and also concerns that traditional educators have about them. This is especially important in the present mood to under-fund traditional education and the difficulty public schools face, given lack of funding, in […]

Why I am running

I am running for the House of Representatives for District 25B, the seat currently held by Ray Cox. In the last election, he won by 20 votes, 44 in the recount, and that close vote is hardly a mandate. In this election, I will work for a decisive win that shows the commitment of this […]

Wellstone Action

Last Thursday evening I attended the Wellstone Action meeting at River City Books to discuss former Senator Paul Wellstone’s book “The Conscience of a Liberal“. It was a sparsely attended meeting, but the discussion was vigorous. I was unfortunately late, having attended a meeting with folks from the DFL House Caucus about my campaign. I […]

Legislative Watchdogs

If you want to keep an eye on certain issues as they move through the legislative session there are some great tools out there. The Center of the American Experiment has developed a very easy to use website that provides readable brief descriptions of every bill, floor amendment, and roll call vote in theIntroduced to […]

No Child Left Behind Salon

Last Friday I had the pleasure of joining a Salon discussion at Molly and Bill Woerlin’s house about the ‘No Child Left Behind’ Legislation. It was a wonderful evening talking about a full range of educational topics. Many of the participants had been teachers and professors themselves with many years of experience and their perspective […]

Rock Your Party: Finding Our Voice in the DFL

Saturday I attended the Minnesota Young DFL event, “Rock Your Party: Finding Our Voice in the DFL” at Hamline University in St. Paul. The morning Keynote speaker was Gregory Gray, who, MDFL notes, was the “6th African American to ever serve in the Minnesota legislature (1999-2002), and the 2nd African American to receive the endorsement […]

Key Holds Silent Auction

Monday night at Hogan Brothers the ‘Key,’ that is the Northfield Union of Youth, held a silent auction fundraiser. Among the items on display were Pat Lampe woodcuts, Adirondack chairs handmade by Union of Youth members, hand made frames, gloves, Teddy bears, and a variety of gift certificates and miscellaneous items. The event was accompanied […]