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I celebrate the accomplishments of the Minnesota Legislature this session. Here are a few highlights close to a teacher’s heart:

• More money for education. I know what a difference smaller class sizes make. I remembering in years past scrambling at the last minute to find desks and books for 33 or 35 students in a room meant for 30. In addition, the Legislature finished on time and indexed funding to inflation. This will help schools to plan better and more effectively educate our kids.

• More money for coordinating and implementing preschool education. After retiring, I volunteered as a “reading buddy” in a kindergarten classroom. I learned that some kids start kindergarten ready to read while others don’t know their letters. Better pre-k will ensure that all our kids will get a good start in kindergarten.

• Prescribing a reading program using phonics. Research has determined what some of us already knew, that students need to learn phonics to be skilled readers. The Legislature passed a bill requiring schools to use an effective reading program that includes phonics instruction.

• Requiring civics education. As a teacher I sometimes used articles from the newspaper as a reading “warm up” activity. I discovered that many students were woefully ignorant of our country’s founding principles and even our basic freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Our democracy stays strong if our young people are educated on how our government works.

To be clear, I am not trying to minimize the other accomplishments of the legislative session, such as the money allocated for the Fountain Lake dredging and waste treatment plant.

And I certainly don’t agree with Rep. Bennett when she says the legislative session will transform Minnesota into “the economic and crime-ridden desert of a third world country.” Rather, I think I think the session is best described by Sen. Paul Wellstone’s quote,” We all do better when we all do better.” Well done, Minnesota!

Mary Hinnenkamp
Albert Lea