Tag Archives: education reform

Mark Schauer tells me over beers, “I’m going to beat Rick Snyder whether or not the minimum wage ballot proposal is before voters or not”

By Mark | May 16, 2014

Yesterday evening, after work, one thing led to another and I found myself locked in the basement of Arbor Brewing along with with Mark Schauer, the Democratic candidate for Governor of Michigan. Fortunately, I had a camera with me, and captured a good deal of our exchange on the subjects of K-12 education and the […]

Posted in Education, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged budget cuts, dismantling of public education, Education, Emergency Manager, for-profit charter schools, Headstart, Mark Schauer, Mosaic, Muskegeon, public education, Raise Michigan, retirement tax, Rick Snyder, virtual charters | 14 Comments

Charter schools are putting both our children and our democracy at risk, says former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch

By Mark | April 6, 2014

A few days ago, education historian Diane Ravitch, a former Assistant Secretary of Education under the first President Bush, was interviewed by Bill Moyers on the subject of school privatization. In the interview, Ravitch, who was once a staunch supporter of No Child Left Behind, talks of her ongoing research into the $500 billion K-12 […]

Posted in Detroit, Education, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Arne Duncan, Bill Moyers, charter schools, Democrats for Education Reform, Diane Ravitch, dismantling of public education, EAA, for-profit charter schools, hedge funds, no child left behind, privatization, public education, Race to the Top, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools, threats to public education, virtual charters | 12 Comments

With Snyder’s EAA going down in flames, the EMU community urges their administration to sever ties

By Mark | February 19, 2014

On Thursday, February 20, at 10:00 AM, members of the Eastern Michigan University (EMU) community opposed to the ongoing association between their university and the Snyder administration’s troubled Educational Achievement Authority (EAA), will be gathering in Welch Hall to “demand” that all connections be immediately severed. Following is my discussion with EMU College of Education […]

Posted in Detroit, Education, Michigan, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged BUZZ, charter schools, defunding public schools, Detroit, dismantling of public education, EAA, Eastern Michigan University, Education, Educational Achievement Authority, Eli Broad, Ellen Cogen Lipton, EMU, EMU College of Education, failing schools, for-profit charter schools, House Bill 4369, House Bill 5268, Jase Bolger, John Covington, Lisa Posthumus Lyons, MEAP, Michigan Education Assessment Program, MIke Flanagan, public education, Rick Snyder, Susan Martin, Teach for America, teachers union, threats to public education, union busting | 20 Comments

Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interview: Johnny Lupinacci

By Mark | August 25, 2013

A few weeks ago, shortly after earning earning his PhD from Eastern Michigan University, local Ypsilanti activist John Lupinacci packed up all his belongings and headed west to begin his new life as a academic. Fortunately, though, I was able to track him down and force him to submit to an exit interview… Here are […]

Posted in Detroit, Special Projects, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged activism, adjunct faculty, Alfredo Martini, anarchy, anti-consumerism, beer, Beezy's, black bloc, blue-collar scholar, Bona Sera, Bona Sera Cafe, Boots Riley, Brite Idea Tattoo, Cafe Ollie, Capitalism, coffee, Coffee Bean, community, community schools, Cross Street, curriculum, Derrick Jensen, Dreamland Theater, Eastern Michigan University, EMU, exit interviews, grimy, Growing Hope, Hamtramck, Huron River, Ian MacKaye, Idaho, Jeffree St. John, Johnny Lupinacci, living systems, Moscow, Moscow Food Co-op, mutual aid, North Huron, Occupy Ypsilanti, One Word Cafe, organizing, paranoia, Paul Horvath, Plymouth, political organizing, Pub 13, Pullman, rebellion, Riverside Arts Center, Riverside Park, Sean Fitzgerald, Smarty Catz, Social Foundations of Education, social justice, Target, teaching, Thomas Blondi Salon, Ugly Mug, urban chickens, urban farming, Washington State, Washington State University, Washington Street, wine, Woodruff's, working class, yoga, Ypsi Food Co-op, Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interviews, Zapatismo | 11 Comments

Michigan… come for the great lakes, stay for the corporate oligarchy

By Mark | May 7, 2013

According to the Detroit News, our Governor’s secret education privatization task force, nicknamed the Skunk Works, was just the tip of the iceberg. Apparently, in spite of Snyder’s pledge to bring unprecedented transparency to Lansing, a great deal of the legislation coming out of the Capital these days seems to be the product of corporate […]