William Renner knows technology evolves at about a three-year rate, so the goal in his middle school computer science classes is not for students to learn the ins and outs of any particular software. Instead, “I want to teach them how to figure out the software,” he says. That distinction may sound like semantics, but […]
It’s not about perfection, and it doesn’t move in a straight line. But it’s what we do as educators—always developing new ways to reach and teach our students. Given the freedom to try a different approach, we learn what works and what doesn’t and constantly hone our practice to prepare the kids we serve to […]
Thousands of public school supporters from across the state repeatedly broke into thunderous chants accompanied by banging noise makers and waving homemade signs at two June #RedForEd rallies at the Capitol to press for adequate state funding of public education. In these pages, soak up some inspiration and resolve to join the fight! At press […]
MEA member Matt Cottone has been on a roll lately, and he wants other educators to know they can be lucky too. The NEA Foundation announced in June that Cottone—a sixth-grade World Studies teacher in Rochester—has been selected as a NEA Global Learning Fellow for a one-year course of study and a nine-day field study […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Robert Lurie feels a special connection to Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager whose diary became a classic of world literature after she perished in the Holocaust. Lurie’s father was a Jewish American soldier who fought in World War II to liberate Anne and others, and his 90-year-old […]
By Nicole Droscha Third-grade teacher Mason Public Schools “We are a team, we stick together. We are here to help everyone learn and grow in our classroom.” I can still hear those words being spoken by my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Frank, nearly 34 years ago. She had no idea how powerful her words would be […]
It was nearing the last day of school in June, and second graders in MEA member Sally Howell’s Saginaw-area classroom patiently awaited a special unveiling. With their classroom full of dignitaries and unfamiliar visitors, the youngsters listened patiently as various speakers talked excitedly of what was about to happen and why. Bridgeport-Spaulding Superintendent Mark Whelton […]
By Cara Lougheed Michigan Teacher of the Year 2019-20 “I know there’s been a lot of advice against going into education these days, but I have to say I feel a little sorry for people who don’t get to hang out with teenagers on a regular basis. They are lovely & funny & life‑renewing & […]
Center Line math teacher Robert Boccomino retired on June 14 after a 25-year career in education, but that didn’t stop him from showing up at the Michigan Capitol four days later to fight for the future of new and aspiring educators coming up behind him. “I’m doing this for the younger teachers, because now by […]
Over the past 18 months, MEA member Nicole Haney has been heart-broken by images of immigrant children in detention – including those separated from their parents for no good reason – so she attended a rally at the state Capitol to make her voice heard.
