Tag Archives: threats to public education

Elizabeth Warren gives a preview of the DeVos confirmation hearing in a scathing 16-page open letter to Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education

By Mark | January 9, 2017

Apparently, it’s not just Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow that’s decided to come out aggressively against Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, in advance of the Amway billionaire’s Wednesday confirmation hearing. Earlier today, Senator Elizabeth Warren, who sits on the Senate committee that will be considering Devos’s nomination, sent the candidate a scathing 16-page […]

Posted in Education, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Betsy DeVos, conflict of interest, Debbie Stabenow, dismantling of public education, Elizabeth Warren, ethics, Secretary of Education, Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions | 11 Comments

We should have stopped Betsy DeVos when we had the chance

By Mark | November 27, 2016

On behalf of the people of Michigan, I apologize… Not only were we one of three states credited with making Donald Trump, the least qualified presidential candidate in American history, our President-elect, but, as it turns out, we might also be responsible for ending public education as we know it. You see, we, the people […]

Posted in Church and State, Civil Liberties, Corporate Crime, Detroit, Education, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged Acton Institute, Amway, Betsy DeVos, child labor, dismantling of public education, Donald Trump, education reform, HB 4052, Lily Eskelsen García, literacy, Michelle Rhee, minimum wage, MLM, multi-level marketing, National Education Association, NEA, Newt Gingrich, opportunity gap, privatization, public education, pyramid schemes, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, right-to-work, school vouchers, schools of choice, Secretary of Education, The Act to Enhance Access to the Workplace for Minors, virtual charters | 102 Comments

The Michigan director of the Trump 2016 campaign, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District superintendent… on this weekend’s episode of the Saturday Six Pack

By Mark | October 13, 2016

This is going to be a heavy weekend on the Saturday Six Pack, so I’m going to do something unprecedented. I’m going to introduce the beer of the week now, so that you can stock up in advance and drink along at home. [Given everything we’ll be talking about, from the twists and turns of […]

Posted in Michigan, The Saturday Six Pack, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged 1914, bells, Brandon Dillon, Christmas truce, debates, dismantling of public education, Donald Trump, Michigan Democratic Party, Proposition A, public education, Scott Hagerstrom, Scott Menzel, Two Hearted Ale | 14 Comments

John Sinclair on his efforts to bring down the U.S. government, superintendent Ben Edmondson on the state of Ypsi schools, and musician Cash Harrison on the inspirational power of heartache… on episode 49 of the Saturday Six Pack

By Mark | September 19, 2016

The last episode of the Saturday Six Pack is now available online. If you’re so inclined, you can either scroll to the bottom of this post, where you’ll find the Soundcloud audio embedded, or just click over to iTunes, were you can download it in podcast form. I know it doesn’t mean much coming from […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Education, History, Politics, The Saturday Six Pack, Uncategorized | Also tagged 1960's, 1968, 1969, 1971, Alan Haber, Albion College, Beach Boys, beatniks, Benjamin Edmondson, Bill Haley and His Comets, black Muslim, Black Muslims in America, Black Panthers, black separatism, Bleak house, bombs, Brendan Toller, Buick, Cash Harrison, Charles Dickens, Chick Berry, Chris Sandon, Chuck Berry, CIA, class, communes, cops, Danny Fields, Danny Says, Dave Valler, Davison, Detroit Riot, dismantling of public education, Domino's, Domino's Pizza, Down Beat, dropouts, drug fiends, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Elijah Mohammed, Flint, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, fucking, Grande Ballroom, greasers, guns, hippies, hipster, hipsters, Huey P. Newton, Iggy and the Stooges, Iggy Pop, James Osterberg Jr, Jazz, John Lennon, John Sinclair, John Sinclair Freedom Rally, Leni Sinclair, Malcolm X, marijuana, Maybellene, MC5, Miles Davis, Mothers of Invention, Muhammed Speaks, music, Nation of Islam, panties, Patrick Elkins, police, pot, poverty, President Dave, prison, prison reform, Psychedelic Rangers, public education, punk rock, Pussy Riot, R&B, race and poverty, racism, revolution, rhetoric of violent revolution, rhythm and blues, Rob Tyner, Rock and Roll, SDS, Shaka Senghor, Students for a Democratic Society, Tanya Bowman, The Eagles, Tom Hayden, Trans-Love Energies, University of Michigan, White Panther Party, Xavier Small, YCS, Yoko Ono, Ypsilanti Community Schools | 7 Comments

What a difference a few miles makes… Stanford data shows sharp division between educational outcomes across Washtenaw County following race and class lines

By Mark | September 12, 2016

This past April, folks at the New York Times, using data collected by the Center for Education Policy Analysis at Stanford, created an online tool allowing users to explore the correlation between money, race and academic success across America’s school districts. Following are two screen captures. The first shows where the Ann Arbor school district […]