A couple of teachers at a high school in the suburbs of Minneapolis, MN decided that they’d seen enough of their students fail and not go on to college. Instead of letting their students get by with low test scores, they decided to do something about it.

What’s most important here, isn’t that the teachers gave a darn. (Although that is important in and of itself) The truly important part is that the students are being held to a high standard and are excelling where once they weren’t. Over the years, we’ve let our standards lapse so that none of the students feel left out or “stupid” and so that they all get that ever important diploma. All that’s accomplished is a decrease in the level of education that our students receive. Our students test grades, when compared to other countries, have been steadily declining. Why? Because we’ve let our standards go. No child left behind right?

Push.

Cunningham said some of her [classmates] don’t realize the importance of those high expectations, because “once you get put into that category, you just live up to it.”

Push.

“Sometimes you need someone to push you,” Davis said.

And it’s popular.

Originally, the course was scheduled for three days a week, but [Susan] Barnard works with up to 20 students every school day.

I wonder why 20 students a day would volunteer for a “hard” class like that?

My congratulations go out to the teachers in charge of this program. Assistant Principal Gerald Sakala and English/Special Education teacher Susan Barnard have taken the future of their students into their own hands and directed it to a much brighter place.