I was honored to be giving a talk on education policy at Wayne State University today (thanks for the invite, Drs. Wendy Matthews and Abby Butler!) during the Senate vote on Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education. While it was painfully ironic for all of us when Ms. DeVos was approved–by the closest vote for a Cabinet […]

Without the Affordable Care Act (ACA), staying well could have wiped out his savings — making it much harder to get back into the workforce. Living with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder can be challenging enough under the best of circumstances. But having to manage these mental health conditions while trying to find a new job is even tougher […]

Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee reminds Governor Rick Snyder and others that without the Affordable Care Act, there would be no Medicaid expansion. At the moment, the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, is anyone’s guess. Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump promised to repeal the law on the President’s first day in office … but that obviously didn’t […]

It’s a common refrain among the reformer Illuminati whenever they experience any push-back against their anti-teacher, anti-union, anti-public education, anti-Motherhood-apple-pie-and-hot-dogs agenda. You can bet your bottom privatization dollar that as soon as these edu-tourists hear any reasonable, evidence-based rationale refuting their radical positions on teacher evaluation, tenure or the use of Value-Added Measures, they will inevitably blurt out the one […]

I’ve been seeing lots of posts lately about how the fight against Betsy DeVos and the “school reform” movement in general is “all about the kids.” But it’s not all about the kids. And it shouldn’t be. I’m a career teacher and have been a teacher educator for about 20 years now. I love kids, and have my own children […]

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired on students, killing four of them and wounding nine, one of whom was paralyzed for life. The crime for which they were murdered was, for some of them, peacefully protesting the invasion of Cambodia. For others it was simply being near the protest. 29 of the 77 guardsmen present […]

The Monday after he was sworn in as Pr*sident, Donald Trump met first with CEOs of large corporations. Then, later in the day, he met with union leaders. The “Daily Guidance” issued by the White House the night before described the meeting as a “listening session with Union Leaders and American Workers.” A revised schedule sent around 10 a.m. on […]

Billionaire philanthropist and “education reformer” Eli Broad has come out forcefully in opposition to billionaire “education reformer” Betsy DeVos to become the U.S. Secretary of Education. This is a battle that pits Broad, a staunch supporter of charter schools against DeVos, a staunch supporter of religious schools. Broad is largely seen as an enemy to public education since the charter […]

In the world of handshakes, there numerous different types. One well-known one is the “Yank and Pull” handshake designed to manipulate and demean its recipient: Yank and Pull: This handshake is considered a power play, as it’s when a person decides to grab your arm and pull you in close towards them and inside their territory/personal space. There are three […]

Last night, the White House sent out another of its amazingly odd press releases that more closely resemble a commercial for a new reality television show or a review of a new alt-right book about the merits of white supremacy in America than they do any sort of serious, professional communication about what our federal government is doing to spend […]

This past weekend, I joined thousands at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) for the protest against Trump’s most recent inhumane decision, his temporary Muslim ban. As usual, it felt exhilarating to be among so many people with similar views on humanity. And as usual, I felt the familiar sense of deflated adrenaline when our protest came to an end after 2 hours of pre-planned […]