The following post was written by an elementary school teacher. This person could be your neighbor…a friend…a family member…or just someone you know on social media. This teacher hasn’t shared how they feel with anyone outside of their family, because there is so much pushback from persons in their community, and angry demands that teachers “get back to work!”   […]

A friend of mine made a post on social media last night saying that she “wasn’t angry about people thinking schools should reopen,” and while I admire the measured tone and spirit of cooperation she displayed in her commentary, that sentiment left me feeling uneasy. Because I AM angry about people demanding schools reopen ASAP. I get the frustration, and the […]

Republicans would like you to believe they are the party of “national security”–except when it’s the security of the nation’s Capitol… “House Charges Donald Trump With Impeachment for ‘Inciting an Insurrection’” Republicans would like you to believe they are the party of “fiscal responsibility”–just don’t look at the national debt too closely… “Trump Will Create More Debt Than Obama”   […]

In the aftermath of Wednesday’s attempted coup attempt by the sitting president of the United States, one thing is abundantly clear: There needs to be a major reckoning, and those responsible must be held accountable. We can’t function as a society if we have people among us who are so easily misled and hoodwinked.   People who believe that our […]

I wish I could find more satisfaction in something I’ve hoped would happen for 4 years. But as usual, Ms. DeVos did the absolute least she could do (resign), well past the time when it could have made a difference (with 13 days left in her lamest of all duck terms), and is probably only doing it to avoid doing […]

The inestimable Ron French is out this week with a terrific article in Bridge on the exploding Covid crisis in Michigan’s schools, and the situation is indeed dire. Readers across the state must be wondering how we got here. “Kids don’t catch the virus!”, they said. “And if they do catch it, they don’t get sick!”, they said. Even if […]

It’s been 8 months now that many of us have been teaching and learning virtually, and I thought it might be time for a little reflection on what has worked out better than we may have expected, what is still a disaster, and everything in between. So, without further ado, I present The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of […]

In the aftermath of the most consequential election in our lifetimes, I thought I’d take this opportunity to offer some free advice for state Democratic parties interested in attracting even more new voters and turning more red state legislatures blue: Let’s put a lot more focus on two issues that are critically important to building a stronger, more informed voter […]

Democrats… You supported Amy Klobuchar, or Pete Buttigieg, or another “more centrist” candidate in the primaries; now voting for Biden… You consider yourself a moderate; thoughtful, empathetic, perhaps fiscally conservative yet socially liberal; you were attracted to the intelligence of Pete, or Amy’s “seriousness”, but believe that at this point, they would want you to vote for Biden, too.   […]

As the last days of the longest summer in history mercifully wind down, we enter the teeth of the “silly season”–that time every 4 years when the thoughts of many are consumed by campaigns, debates, and elections. And with the stakes being higher than ever before, the silliness has never been more ridiculous. Case in point: Pundits from across the […]

I got an email from our school’s business manager on Friday at 5:11pm with an “emergency request” to complete a new required training module. The deadline for completing this module? The following Monday morning. As usual, the “system” didn’t allow me to even start the training module–some sort of IT glitch I assume–so I called the business manager, who was […]