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Zharmony matches pages 6-7
Study abroad programs page 4
Students, faculty, and Link Crews offer mid-year perspective on Advisory, Flex Leading the way: Senior Link Crew Leaders Ian Klein, MK Sipes, and Anna Karos meet with their Crew during Thursday advisory.
I Tide PODS controversy page 4
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Cecilia Orth page editor
n the fall of 2017, Edina High School rearranged its weekly schedule in order to accommodate its first-ever freshmen class. Now, a typical week consists of three seven period days, one odd period block day, and one even period block day, which includes advisory and Flex time. The new advisory and Flex times have experienced various successes and challenges. Advisory was once only a middle school class, but the EHS administration saw value in bringing an advisory program over to the high school, especially as a way to bridge the gap between the middle and high school experience. Each Thursday, students are required to attend a grade-level advisory and participate in activities such as academic
check-ins, postsecondary planning, and discussions about upcoming school events. Many students believe that while advisory was useful in the beginning of the school year, it has started to recycle the same information. “It seems in the beginning, I did gain valuable knowledge. But we end up repeating a lot of the same things over and over again,” junior Elena Elie said. A potential alternative to face-to-face advisory that is an appealing prospect to many students is for the school administration to send out the information through email or Schoology. However, with that approach, there’s no guarantee that students would read or listen to these messages. Elie argues that some students won’t listen either way. “Whether you sit us in an auditorium, people are always not going to listen. You send out an email,
people aren’t going to read it. You have the same kids not listening either way.” The social studies department recently brought up another idea for a compromise: EHS should have advisory in order to relay information about college applications, Naviance, and Senior May Term, but advisory doesn’t need to meet weekly. “I do support advisory but our department at least feels like sometimes those minutes could be better allocated to time in the classroom with teachers, getting help,” social studies teacher Betsy Nimmo said. Nimmo and her department colleagues suggest that on weeks when there wasn’t advisory, the Thursday afternoon schedule could instead consist of two Flex blocks: Flex A and Flex B. (continued on page 10)
Grade 10 English curriculum being evaluated following criticism and indoctrination accusations
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Isha Konety staff writer
ver the past few months, Edina High School has faced criticism from parents and various news organizations over the perceived “liberal indoctrination” of students and marginalization of conservative students within the Edina Schools system. This tension culminated most notably in the lawsuit brought against the district by the EHS Young Conservatives Club, but the controversy has also resulted in the creation of various discussion groups to address community concerns. Many right wing media outlets such as Fox News, Breitbart, and the Minnesota think tank The Center of the American Experiment have condemned the school’s teaching practices, educational outcomes, school culture, and, most specifically, its 10th grade English curriculum. The Pre-AP 10 English curriculum has come under scrutiny because of its heavy focus on cultural diversity and colonization. The class pushes students to step out of their comfort zone by reading books from multiple genres and analyzing them through various critical lenses relating to race, class, and gender. Although the teachers’ class structures are not identical, many students are required to read books such as ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi, ‘The Girl Who Fell From the Sky’ by Heidi Durrow, and ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe, many of which focus on the narratives of people of color, immigrants, or colonized peoples. The curriculum states that the class will cover topics such as “growing in the face of adversity,” “exploring global issues,” “humanity in the face of war,” and “culture and critical thinking.” Issues surrounding the curriculum appeared to start after the publication of the fall issue of “Thinking Minnesota,” a magazine published by the Center of
the American Experiment. According to Katherine Kersten, the author of the fall issue’s cover article ‘Whose Values? Educational Excellence threatened by ideology in Edina Schools,’ “The focus [in English classrooms] goes beyond racial issues to an angry, male-bashing feminism and a smorgasbord of left-wing ideological hobby horses. Students hear repeated calls for social justice, activism and resistance from many of their English teachers.” According to the US News website, EHS is currently the fourth best public high school in Minnesota; citing previous ranking reports, Kersten’s article attributes EHS’ drop from first to fourth place over the course of four years to the school’s renewed focus on multicultural learning. Although the US News website does not provide evidence to support Kersten’s claim, her article asserts that by teaching students about racism, colonization, and gender inequality, teachers deprive their students of skills such as critical thinking, causing a drop in educational proficiency. Soon after the magazine’s publication, many other news sources picked up Kersten’s commentary. Websites such as Breitbart and Fox News began to report on the supposed liberal indoctrination of EHS students, citing Kersten’s article as evidence. Shortly after the controversy surrounding liberal indoctrination began, the Edina Schools Director of Teaching and Learning Randy Smasal organized a forum, alongside other district coordinators, with the goal of revisiting the Pre-AP 10 English curriculum. Smasal selected five students and a handful of parents to participate in the forums, two of which have already taken place; some EHS alumni were also invited to take part, but most were unable to attend. The first meeting was held on Dec. 14, 2017 and the second meeting was held on Feb. 6, 2018. During the meetings, the participants discussed the factors that led to the creation
of the discussion group, including recent news, a tense political climate, and the rigor of the 10th grade English class. According to a student participant, who wished to remain anonymous, moderators hired by the district to facilitate the discussion started the first meeting by asking “What do you want to see in the Edina English program?” The student participant told the group they were looking for a “diverse selection of literary works, consistency across all teachers, different rigorous options, and more applicable writing skills such as how to write an email or a job application.” In contrast, many of the parent participants advocated for changes that included “less social justice” and “less focus on the cultural aspect and more focus on the literary merit of texts.” According to two 11th grade participants, many students on the panel disagree with perspectives put forth by parents during the meetings. With the perspectives of parents and former 10th grade English students clashing, it has proved difficult to keep the focus on the structure of the class rather than the content of the books. “I think that the mediators do a fairly good job of trying to pull us away from [politics] and getting us to focus more on the structure of the class since we don’t get to chose exactly what texts are presented,” one 11th grade student participant said. The final of three forums is scheduled for late February. After the sessions are complete, any final decisions reached by the assembled committee will need to be ratified by the School Board before being put into action. The committee expects to address concerns by either advising changes in curriculum or ruling in favor of the current curriculum. (Full story avaliable on edinazephyrus.com)