Tag Archives: John Engler

5th grade charter school teacher Mika Yamamoto, fired from Michigan’s Renaissance Public School Academy, where she was the only teacher of color, claims she was told by her principal, “The community is not ready for your voice.”

Since this past November, when I interviewed the mother of Josie Ramon, the 12 year old Royal Oak Middle School student who taped classmates chanting “Build the wall” at her and other Hispanic students, I occasionally get notes from people, asking that I help get the word out about similar things taking place within Michigan’s […]

Posted in Education, Michigan | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 149 Comments

Is the charter school industry paying off Michigan politicians to avoid oversight?

There’s a coordinated attempt afoot to dismantle America’s system of public education, and Michigan Republicans, for the past several years, have been at the forefront, passing laws to weaken our traditional, neighborhood public schools, while, at the same time, clearing the way for unaccountable for-profit charter schools to move in. While I don’t hold out […]

Posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 58 Comments

I am disappointed in you, my fellow Michiganders

The people of Michigan had their chance yesterday to remove Rick Snyder and his administration from office. And, much to my surprise, they chose to given him four more years instead. I would have thought, given our state’s history relative to organized labor, and the conversations I’ve had with folks over the past several years, […]

Posted in Mark's Life, Michigan, Politics, Rants, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 67 Comments

Michigan’s failed experiment with for-profit charter schools gets national attention

It’s nothing new for us. We’ve been talking for years about Michigan’s failed experiment with for-profit charter schools. Now, however, it would seem that word is getting out to the rest of the country. The following clip comes from today’s Washington Post. Charter schools were originally conceived as centers of experimentation and innovation where educators […]

Posted in Education, Michigan | Also tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Emergency Manager takeover of Michigan, and how we allowed it to happen

I had the good fortune a week or so ago to attend the Netroots Nation conference in Detroit. Among the people that I met while there was attorney Alec Gibbs, who, in recent years, has been keeping busy representing retired public employees left without adequate insurance in the wake of the Emergency Manager takeover of […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Corporate Crime, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

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