East Jordan teacher Matt Hamilton has been selected as one of only five teachers nationwide to receive this year’s Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence, one of the highest honors in public education. Hamilton, a teacher at East Jordan Middle/High School in Charlevoix County, is the founder and leader of the school’s renowned “Shoe Club.” […]
By Chandra Madafferi, Michigan Education Association President and CEO I began my teaching career as a special education teacher, a deeply rewarding experience filled with joys and profound connections hard to match in any other profession. One of the most heartwarming aspects of my job was witnessing academic and personal growth among my students, many […]
MEA members gathered this week to boost their energy and resolve for doing what’s necessary to win in the final five weeks before the Nov. 5 election – with some special guests and prize drawings as extra enticements adding to the fun. Participants at the virtual “Game On For Our Students” rally bid on silent […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Democracy relies on active-duty armed forces to be guided by a non-partisan ethos. For that reason Elissa Slotkin remained apolitical across her high-level career in national security and three tours of duty in Iraq alongside the U.S. military. She served under presidents from both parties: in the National Security […]
By Jessyca Mathews Carman-Ainsworth High School “Ms. Mathews, why don’t we have Black History courses here?” I’ve heard this question often over two decades of teaching. In fact I asked the same question as a student at the same building – Carman-Ainsworth High School (C-AHS) in Flint – where I now work. For many years, […]
MEA member Jessyca Mathews teaches her students to find their passions and bring individual strengths to bear in shaping their world. Like all great educators, she lives her values and continually stretches her talents toward achieving big goals. Mathews is widely recognized for the senior English class she teaches at Carman-Ainsworth High School (C-AHS) in […]
Whether we like it or not, every decision about education—from school funding and academic standards to educator pay and certification requirements—is a political decision made by elected officials. It’s challenging to think of many other professions in which who’s elected to office matters more. We cannot watch from the sidelines — we need every educator [...]
Daniel Vosovic is a Lowell High School grad and winner of the reality TV show Project Runway who went on to found The Kit – a New York City company focused on sustainably made fast fashion. Vosovic and others at The Kit honored their favorite educators with new clothing to start off the new year […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor As a professor of organizational psychology, MEA member Amy Scrima knows it’s not simple willpower that prompts people to do difficult tasks. It’s hope. “When we human beings know there’s a path forward—a path toward accomplishing big, important things—nothing will get in our way of doing the hard work […]
Laura Shattuck has come to be known fondly as “Grandma” by some students at Grant Middle School in Newaygo County where she’s worked as a custodian for 28 years. The name has stuck ever since she befriended a troubled boy who first tossed it as an insult. Ignoring his intent, Shattuck began paying the […]
