Iowa
12-15-2015, 09:00 PM
It was a lesson aimed at teaching students what to think, not how to think.
A high school teacher in West Fargo, North Dakota, tasked his students with writing letters to state lawmakers urging them to vote for higher taxes on tobacco products. Students were not given the option to write against higher taxes.
On Friday, Fargo-based television station WDAY reported that a group of senior government students had partnered with a freshman health class to pen the letters.
“For our state we have very strict laws as far as tobacco in public buildings, but as far as tobacco tax, we are one of the lowest in the nation and that’s what we are trying to deter,” Sheyenne High School teacher Tim Kirchoffner told WDAY.
An inquiry about the assignment made to Sheyenne High School was redirected to West Fargo School District spokeswoman Heather Konschak. She said the assignment sparked from an educators’ conference held over the summer.
“The idea for this project originated at the State SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) Conference in Mandan this summer,” she said. “One of the presenters was from the American Lung Association. The teacher took the idea, involved upperclassmen, and ran with it.”
But after Watchdog’s inquiry it seems teachers aren’t running with it any longer.
“The teachers involved in the project decided not to send the letters to the lawmakers,” Konschak said via email. “Rather, they will use last week’s project as a collaborative learning activity with the focus being on writing a persuasive letter based on the information that was provided.”
Konschak said students were not presented with any data or viewpoints opposing a tax increase, and that no students wrote letters in opposition to a tax increase.
“The project was about writing a persuasive letter in support of raising the tax,” Konschak said.
That may change in the future, with students being allowed to develop their own viewpoints.
“This was the first time that Sheyenne HS has attempted a project of this nature,” Konschak wrote. “At the completion of the assignment last week, teachers debriefed the project and came up with a list of strengths, as well as areas of improvement, for doing a project like this in the future. One of the areas discussed was that students should have been allowed a greater opportunity to form their own opinions on this matter. For future projects, it will be our instructional protocol to allow students to develop their own perspectives and views.”
Watchdog reported in March that tobacco tax increases in Minnesota has created an opportunity for smugglers.
State lawmakers defeated two proposals to increase tobacco taxes during their 2015 session earlier this year. House Bill 1421, introduced by Rep. Jon Nelson, R-Rugby, would have raised the per-pack tax on cigarettes by about 250 percent, from $0.44 per pack to $1.54. Senate Bill 2322, introduced by Senator Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, would have raised the per-pack tax on cigarettes to $2.00 per pack, a 354 percent increase.
Both bills were defeated.
http://watchdog.org/251477/west-fargo-taxes/
A high school teacher in West Fargo, North Dakota, tasked his students with writing letters to state lawmakers urging them to vote for higher taxes on tobacco products. Students were not given the option to write against higher taxes.
On Friday, Fargo-based television station WDAY reported that a group of senior government students had partnered with a freshman health class to pen the letters.
“For our state we have very strict laws as far as tobacco in public buildings, but as far as tobacco tax, we are one of the lowest in the nation and that’s what we are trying to deter,” Sheyenne High School teacher Tim Kirchoffner told WDAY.
An inquiry about the assignment made to Sheyenne High School was redirected to West Fargo School District spokeswoman Heather Konschak. She said the assignment sparked from an educators’ conference held over the summer.
“The idea for this project originated at the State SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) Conference in Mandan this summer,” she said. “One of the presenters was from the American Lung Association. The teacher took the idea, involved upperclassmen, and ran with it.”
But after Watchdog’s inquiry it seems teachers aren’t running with it any longer.
“The teachers involved in the project decided not to send the letters to the lawmakers,” Konschak said via email. “Rather, they will use last week’s project as a collaborative learning activity with the focus being on writing a persuasive letter based on the information that was provided.”
Konschak said students were not presented with any data or viewpoints opposing a tax increase, and that no students wrote letters in opposition to a tax increase.
“The project was about writing a persuasive letter in support of raising the tax,” Konschak said.
That may change in the future, with students being allowed to develop their own viewpoints.
“This was the first time that Sheyenne HS has attempted a project of this nature,” Konschak wrote. “At the completion of the assignment last week, teachers debriefed the project and came up with a list of strengths, as well as areas of improvement, for doing a project like this in the future. One of the areas discussed was that students should have been allowed a greater opportunity to form their own opinions on this matter. For future projects, it will be our instructional protocol to allow students to develop their own perspectives and views.”
Watchdog reported in March that tobacco tax increases in Minnesota has created an opportunity for smugglers.
State lawmakers defeated two proposals to increase tobacco taxes during their 2015 session earlier this year. House Bill 1421, introduced by Rep. Jon Nelson, R-Rugby, would have raised the per-pack tax on cigarettes by about 250 percent, from $0.44 per pack to $1.54. Senate Bill 2322, introduced by Senator Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, would have raised the per-pack tax on cigarettes to $2.00 per pack, a 354 percent increase.
Both bills were defeated.
http://watchdog.org/251477/west-fargo-taxes/