Nobody asked me, but, there are statements I don’t hear in the discussions about “seniority” and “tenure” for K-12 teachers.

Here are a few of the things I haven’t heard anyone say:

“The longer teachers teach, the better they get; right up to their retirement day”.
“Every veteran teacher is more effective at reaching kids than one with fewer years of experience”.
“There is no good reason a less experienced teacher should be kept over a more experienced one”.

Nobody asked me, but since it is still African-American History Month; I thought I’d take a crack at some of the myths about slavery and slaves.

The movies like to depict the great plantations with their verandas and columns and rows of slave quarters way out back. Clearly, those places existed. But 80% of slaves were held by men who owned 5 or fewer. So, there were far fewer “house Negroes” than you may have thought. And, in the main, white southerners worked and lived “with” their slaves.

Republicans have carefully analyzed where the votes that elected President Obama came from. They are systematically working to prevent that from happening again.

The only significant voter fraud perpetuated in the U.S, in recent memory, was carried out by the Governor of Florida when his brother George W was first selected President. Despite this, republicans all over the country, including here in Minnesota-nice, are working to change laws, state constitutions and voter registration drive regulations in an effort to drive down participation in the voting process by the folks who turned out in huge numbers in 2008.

There are some young brothers and sisters at MCTC that are doing some terrific things. They have founded a chapter of Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB). I believe it’s the first in Minnesota.

I hope to come to know a lot more about SAAB, and these remarkable young people, in the months to come. What is already clear to me is that they are working together toward their joint success there.