The Senate Education Committee at its Tuesday meeting discussed bills that would change the standards schools use to evaluate the performance of teachers and school administrators.
Thirty-nine ISDs have created the “talent together” partnership to offer solutions to make it easier for Michiganders to become educators. This is the largest education collaboration of its kind in state history, serving students in 63 counties statewide.
Republican members of the Michigan Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee voted on Tuesday to advance legislation that education officials said is dividing parents and teachers and would silence teachers attempting to discuss race and racism.
The Department of Justice has directed the FBI to meet with local governments and law enforcement to discuss strategies for dealing with increasing threats to teachers and school board members spurred by a conservative backlash against discussions of race in public schools.
Doug and Alek are joined by Justine Galbraith, an English teacher who recently penned an op-ed titled ‘I’m a teacher. Why am I considered expendable?’ for Michigan Advance. Galbraith shares the fear, frustration, and anxiety she has experienced as an educator amid a global pandemic, while Alek and Doug serve as a two-man hype team for teachers, listing their favorite fictional educators, and lamenting over the lack of Capri Sun, trail mix, and pizza parties they’ve experienced since reaching adulthood.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday that Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), Head Start, adult education and young adult special education classroom teachers are now eligible to receive up to $500 grants under a new expansion of the MI Classroom Heroes COVID-19 grant program.
Teacher Justine Galbraith writes, "Who are we to you? If we’re indeed essential, tasked with propping up our entire society: Pay us. Care about our health. Value our LIVES over a few months of your kid’s education. If we’re what we suspect – expendable, disposable – be ready for more of us to walk out the door. Many of us already have one foot out."
WSV Columnist Steph Hightree writes, "Most of all, I have learned I never want to be a teacher, and that teaching is a thankless profession. We really need to give these teachers a little more grace and credit than we are giving them in this unprecedented time. Teaching in a normal environment is hard enough but teaching remotely during a pandemic? It’s nearly impossible."
This school year has been challenging for students, teachers, parents and administrators for a long list of reasons, ranging from technology issues to struggles with mental health, some of which are universal across the board this year and some are unique to the individual classroom dynamics and communities. One thing is clear: Educators across Michigan are feeling burned out.
"I miss my children’s teachers. I miss the joy of dropping my children off at school knowing they were in the best possible hands for the day. I miss packing my son’s lunch. I miss the stress of attempting to wake my 12-year-old up in the morning so she has enough time to look presentable before school. I miss the arguments and rushing out the door trying not to be late. I miss it all."
A NOTE FROM OUR EDITOR
Become a monthly donor today
A monthly donation of $5 or more can make a difference.
