Deliverance: Charter Schools, Political Payback & Union Busting
by Warren Liverance
OUR LEGISLATURE AND governor set their sights on the reform of the public education system. According to a Free Press article “more than 50 percent of high schools have fewer than 10 percent of their students…
GOP Leaders Teach That Educators Are Costly Parasites. Are Americans Really Uneducated Enough To Believe It?
by Chris Savage
TO SAY THAT Republicans are on a mission to destroy unions in this country is not an understatement. Across the country, and particularly in the Midwest, Republican legislators and governors have spent the past three…
A2Politico: The New Jim Crow
by P.D. Lesko
MY TWO SONS have been, at various times, advanced in social studies, reading, mathematics and science, according to their scores on the MEAP tests. During the past two years, their overall proficiency scores dropped…
Emails Reveal Editor of Local News Site And Council Member Crossed Ethical Lines With Communications
NO THEY’RE NOT exchanging racy comments. However, a Freedom of Information Act request uncovered 130 pages of emails between David Askins, the editor of a local news site called AnnArborChronicle.com, and Ward 1 City Council member Sabra…
Urban Exile: Food Stamp Cuts Hurt Children, Education and the Economy
by Michael J. Brennan
MICHIGANDERS ARE feeling the sting of a slow economic recovery — especially throughout Greater Detroit — and the lingering effects of the Great Recession are hitting families each night around the dinner table. As…
America’s Dumbest Idea: Creating A Multiple-Choice Test Generation
A FEW YEARS ago, I met with my former high school social studies teacher to catch up over drinks. “Miss F” was one of my favorite teachers and we hadn’t seen each other in about 12 years. As we reminisced about our field trips, my other…
The Number Of Rapes and Forcible Fondling Complaints At The University of Michigan Rose Sharply In 2012
THE NUMBER OF forcible rapes committed on the University of Michigan’s campus and/or reported to the University’s police dropped from a high of 75 in 2005 to a low of 8 in 2010.
Between 2011 and 2012, however, the number of forcible…
Let the Polling Begin: With 1 Year Until Governor’s Election, Pundits Weigh In
ON NOVEMBER 8th, Huff Post Politics writer Ashley Woods posted a piece titled, “Michigan Governor Poll Shows Close Race Between Rick Snyder, Mark Schauer.” In her piece Woods writes, “The contest for Michigan’s governor’s race may be closer…
Harder Teacher Tests in Michigan Spur Debate
JUST 22 PERCENT of candidates passed a beefed-up version of Michigan’s basic-skills tests, up from more than 80 percent under the previous iteration.
The plummeting passing rates are due to the state’s overhaul of all of its…
What’s Behind ‘Grain Brain’: Are Glutens and Carbs Wrecking Our Brains and Our Health?
by Ari LaVaux
CELIAC disease is widely known to cause digestive problems. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, according to the book Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar--Your Brain’s Silent Killers, by David…