The following opinion editorial was written by Cayley Winters, the West Michigan Communications Organizer for Progress Michigan. She is from Battle Creek and shares her perspective on Donald Trump and Mike Pence holding a rally there today, in the Congressional District of Congressman Justin Amash, an ardent opponent of Trump who left the Republican Party over his opposition to Trump’s […]

Attending the recent Public Education Forum in Pittsburgh last weekend was a wonderful experience in many ways…getting a chance to hear what many of the presidential candidates had to say about public education; meeting some of my favorite education reporters bloggers, and activists; and finally seeing public education receive the attention it deserves as one of the most important issues […]

“The partisan divide in the country was on stark display Monday as U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin explained her decision to support the impeachment of President Donald Trump. A small contingent of Trump supporters chanted, hollered and booed throughout the entire town hall, making it difficult to hear any of her explanation. The majority of the audience, however, was in Slotkin’s […]

I just got home from Pittsburgh where Chris Savage and I were covering the Public Education Forum for Eclectablog, and have been looking forward to sharing my thoughts on what transpired. Before we get to the candidates’ performances, I want to make sure to congratulate the organizers of this event, especially Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, and […]

The GOP gave up on elections when they saw how well stealing Florida in 2000 worked Consider three stories from this week: 1. Georgia closed 214 polling places from 2012-2018. That prevented between 54,000 to 85,000 people from casting ballots, finds new @ajc investigation. Stacey Abrams missed runoff by 21,000 votes. Black voters 20% more likely than whites to be […]

Given that education consistently ranks among the top issues for voters in most public opinion polls, with the vast majority (82%) of parents of school-aged children reporting that they are either “somewhat” or “completely satisfied” with their child’s education, one could be forgiven for being flummoxed by the near-absence of questions about teachers, schools, or education in general at any […]

“I feel sorry for you…I wish you weren’t missing out” “So like…what do you do for fun, then?” “So were you forced to wear the hijab? Do you have to keep it on when you get married? Oh and do you have a say in your marriage or are your parents going to decide for you? Cuz I know how […]

I keep hearing that this impeachment is “baseless” because it has not been a “bipartisan” process. Let’s be clear: Many, if not most of the “fact witnesses” who have testified were appointed by and have served Republican administrations, and although our intelligence community is ostensibly politically neutral, there has been an acknowledged conservative ideology apparent in the FBI and CIA […]

The GOP is clinging to its assault on Medicaid expansion despite the costs and dangers Republican leaders have rejected Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s request to suspend implementation of the bureaucratic burdens placed on Medicaid expansion by the last legislature and governor pending the results of lawsuit — a move that would save taxpayers $1 million immediately. Virginia, Montana, and Indiana — […]

Let’s lead in Wisconsin and flip state legislatures and then see if we have any money left April 7, 2020. That’s the date of the Wisconsin primary. It’s also the date of the next Wisconsin Supreme Court election. If you pay close attention to Badger State politics, you may be still be having night terrors revolving around the last Wisconsin […]

Way back in September–which feels like 10 years when measured in teacher years–I shared my disappointment with my sophomore foundations class that so many of them no longer understood references to the classic teen coming of age movies of the 1980s, like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” Snippets from these films, like the ones below… […]