By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When Sue Ziel returned to her classroom this school year, it was the Romeo Education Association president’s first time setting foot on school district property in 15 months. She didn’t know how it would feel to come back after spending that time fighting tenure charges her district had brought […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Given all of the political upheaval of the past several years, Rochester Education Association President Doug Hill knows it has become cliché to say an upcoming election is the most important one in our lifetimes. But when it comes to local school board races that sentiment is true, Hill […]
For more than 20 years, Betsy DeVos has tried to enact school vouchers in Michigan to drain tax dollars away from public schools toward private and religious schools. The only problem was she couldn’t get her plan past voters, who shot it down by a 69-31 margin in 2000. Now DeVos thinks she’s figured out […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Follow Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at campaign and speaking events, and you quickly notice one way she likes to introduce herself: “as a product of public schools and the mother of two daughters who attended public schools…” Whitmer makes clear in how she talks to and about educators that she’s […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 5 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) For those who didn’t hear the important news in late July, MEA member Anthony Pennock wants it noted the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that individuals cannot be fired, evicted or otherwise discriminated […]
by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 4 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) When veteran educator and local MEA leader Cathy Murray married her wife in December 2015, six months after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, she was surprised to learn several others from […]
by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 3 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) MEA member Owen Bondono remembers well-meaning advice he got from a professor when he came out as transgender in college: either don’t transition or don’t become an educator. He would go on to […]
by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 2 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) In the summer of 1995 life was good for Gerry Crane, a young music teacher in west Michigan who had turned around a struggling high school program, earning awards and a glowing evaluation […]
by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 1 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) Michael Woods has been a teacher in Florida for 30 years, but a new state law left him uncertain of what he could and could not say to students when he returned this […]
By Corban Van Dam High school is a time when young people explore different interests and begin to work out what they want to do with their lives. This crucial developmental exercise requires a diverse array of learning experiences and educators to guide that journey. Unfortunately, the crushing teacher shortage is weighing on every aspect […]
