Don’t mock Mississippi, learn from it
The Ciresi Walburn Foundation, whose mission is to promote educational and equitable opportunities for all Minnesota children, launched a new billboard campaign last week that misses the mark. The ad reads: “Minnesota Nice. Mississippi Smarter. Let’s teach kids to read!”
There’s no denying the problem the foundation seeks to highlight. Reading proficiency in Minnesota has dropped sharply since COVID-19. Today, only about half of students are reading at grade level. High school proficiency is at a decade low, and Minnesota has slipped in national rankings. Even more troubling are the persistent achievement gaps: Black, Hispanic, and American Indian students are far less likely to meet reading standards than their white peers. These inequities demand urgent attention.
But mocking Mississippi is not the way forward. Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the nation and has the highest percentage of Black residents. Suggesting it’s somehow “embarrassing” that Mississippi students outperform ours carries racist undertones, as if the state’s demographics should automatically predict failure. That message is not only offensive — it’s wrong.
Decades of research show that race and poverty are not destiny when it comes to achievement. Mississippi has made real progress by investing in evidence-based literacy instruction and teacher training. Their students are improving because of intentional policies, not in spite of who they are. Rather than belittling them, Minnesota should be learning from their example.
We cannot afford to waste energy on stereotypes or smug comparisons. Our children deserve real solutions. That means facing the data honestly, closing opportunity gaps, and adopting proven practices. If we truly want every Minnesota child to read at grade level, we need leadership and investment — not billboards that punch down on other states.
Charlie Braman, Edina
Ukraine attacks. too
A headline in Wednesday’s paper, “Before diplomatic meetings, Russia keeps bombing,” shows the liberal bias and leaves us with misleading information unless you read the entire article. Yes, Russia continues to bomb, but you have to get to the second-to-last paragraph to see that Ukraine has also “escalated attacks”. It only makes sense that if you are negotiating, that you continue your current position and operation.
Ron Wobbeking, Hastings
Appeasement
We just witnessed one of the most embarrassing acts of appeasement and capitulation since Neville Chamberlain allowed Hitler to annex part of Czechoslovakia leading up to WWII. For the tough-guy image Donald Trump likes to portray, he looked like a flabby lap dog next to the strutting Vladimir Putin.
We watched as a murdering, kidnapping war criminal and dictator received a red-carpet reception on American soil. Let that sink in. Our president just welcomed a former KGB officer turned dictator who murdered several of his opponents, kidnapped Ukrainian children, and ordered the bombing of civilian targets, with all the lavish hospitality and courtesy of someone deserving of our country’s honor and respect.
This international pariah, whose goal is to destroy American democracy and the NATO alliance, just outmaneuvered our president at every level and regained legitimacy on the world stage at our nation’s expense. I was embarrassed for our military personnel who had to stand by while our president humiliated himself and our country before America’s number one adversary.
Greg Kvaal, Mendota Heights
The value of a single human being
The picture of a woman holding her severely malnourished daughter at a hospital in the Gaza Strip (Aug. 15) is heart-breaking beyond words and epitomizes the horrors and utter madness of the conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere around the world that victimize the most innocent among us.
Is this what life is all about, an unending struggle for basic human needs amidst a constant barrage of bombs, bullets and the acrimonious threats and accusations from the powers that be?
With daily stories giving updates on the deaths, injuries and destruction, it’s easy to become numb, even indifferent, to the carnage and suffering from the raging conflicts. But seeing the picture of that sweet girl clinging to her mother with a look of haunting sadness makes us realize the value of a single human being.
English poet John Donne famously wrote, “Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”
Louis DiSanto, St. Paul
An homage to Coach Thole
On Aug. 6 legendary Stillwater Area High School football coach George Thole passed away. Coach Thole came to Stillwater in 1971, and to the then-quaint, small St. Croix River town community he brought a whole new attitude and approach to high school athletics.
Prior to George’s arrival, the Ponies had enjoyed modest success in several sports … golf, tennis, swimming, to name a few, but wins on the gridiron had always been elusive. Coach Thole, along with assistants like Coaches Foley, Meyer, Drommerhausen and Klancher, immediately instilled a new work ethic in the team … along with then-relatively-new weight training, and the famous “Bayport Veer” offense, which was taught to area youngsters coming up in the program to develop the continuity required to operate it once they became varsity players.
Coach Thole also had high expectations for each new team he welcomed in the fall, and made sure his team shared those high expectations. Hard work and winning weren’t just hoped for, they were expected. Coach Thole and the Ponies won their first of four state championships just four years after his arrival in Stillwater, beating Richfield High School at Parade Stadium on a surprise halfback-option pass involving players Butterfield and De St.Aubin, and suddenly Pony football was on the map. What to do on a fall Friday night in Stillwater was no longer in question, and crowds of upward of 5,000 fans would pack Miller Field. It was a regular occurrence when the Ponies played an away game for the home team to be dramatically outnumbered by the traveling Pony faithful.
As the Stillwater football team began its dominant run, other school sports teams seemed inspired, and under coaches like Christiansen and Podolske in track and field, Olson and Johnson in soccer, Luke and Madeline in swimming and diving, Pavlovich in softball, Parchetta in skiing , Michels in baseball, and Mutschler in basketball, conference and state titles have been won.
Coach Thole has been inducted into several sports Halls of Fame, he has left a lasting impression on those he coached, and his record will be difficult to surpass. To this writer, however, one of his most significant accomplishments was how through his coaching and teaching he managed to raise the level of self-esteem of an entire community. So proud to be a Stillwater Pony.
Mike Miller, Lakeland
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