po·lit·i·cal – /pəˈlitikəl/ – adjective: of or relating to the government or the public affairs of a country Updated with video of Rachael Siemen asking her question. Yesterday at a forum at the Michigan House Office Building, the Mackinac Center brought in a representative from another notorious corporatist front group, The Heritage Foundation, to spew propaganda regarding the raising of […]

NOTE: Updated to clarify the restriction on unions using official school emails to conduct business. NOTE 2: This post has been updated HERE. The anti-union corporatist group the Mackinac Center is using public school email systems to encourage teachers to leave the Michigan Education Association, one of two major teachers unions in the state. I have confirmed that at least […]

Last week, a vicious fight broke out between two students at the Education Achievement Authority’s Pershing High School. With a non-functional walkie-talkie and no other adults around to help, teacher Tiffani Eaton had to act fast as the two brawling boys thrashed around the room, punching each other, and knocking over desks. She grabbed a broom handle and whacked one […]

One of the recurring themes in the conversations that I have had with various teachers and administrators who work or have worked for the Education Achievement Authority is that when financial benefactors or members of our state government came to visit, the entire school transformed. Schedules were altered, often on the fly, to accommodate the visitors’ schedules. Kids ate lunch […]

Yesterday, I wrote about the activities planned for teachers at the Arts and Technology Academy of Pontiac (ATAP), a for-profit charter school run by Mosaica. These “Teacher Appreciation Week” activities featured a variety of what can only be described as humiliating activities planned for the teachers to raise funds for the school. They included: MANDIVA – Our 3 favorite male […]

Teacher humiliation for fun and profit Mosaica Education, Inc., a self-described “for-profit education management organization”, runs eight different for-profit schools in Michigan: Arts and Technology Academy of Pontiac Bay County Public School Academy Bingham Arts Academy Edgewood Elementary School Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School Mosaica Online Academy of Michigan Muskegon Heights High School Muskegon Heights Middle School In fact, […]

As Gary notes below, this post will be his last at Eclectablog. It’s been a joy to have him writing for the site and sharing his wisdom and insight into the world of an educator who is on the cutting edge of science-based education models and who understands both the benefits and perils of the use of technology in the […]

Many Eastern Michigan University faculty and students, particularly those in the College of Education, have been pushing the EMU regents to immediately end their partnership with Governor Snyder’s failed experiment with Detroit students known as the Education Achievement Authority. Professor Stephen Wellinski has created a petition which you can sign HERE to show your support. Dr. Wellinski has put together […]

Today’s interview is with a teacher who wishes to remain anonymous because they still work within the EAA. Like some of their colleagues in the EAA, veterans who are certified teachers with experience educating kids, this teacher sees the model as flawed. More importantly, they describe the system as run by administrators who do not know what they are doing. […]

Residents of Coldwater in Branch County braved the frigid temperatures last Friday to let voters of their town know a bit about their U.S. Congressman Tim Walberg. At a time when all eyes are on education, especially here in Michigan, these hearty souls wanted to draw attention to Walberg’s failed record of support for Head Start. The even took place […]

As technology has evolved to the level of mobile computing and web-based apps, the popularity of educational technology has soared. Demands for workshops on apps, interactive whiteboards, and mobile devices has never been greater; however, the classic model of professional development for teachers has not been able to keep up. Sending teachers to a specific place at a specific time to learn in […]