Metro Detroit Times has just published an extraordinary expose of the software-based curriculum that was imposed in 2012 in 12 Detroit, Michigan schools.  These were the bulk of schools in Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s new Education Achievement Authority (EAA), a state agency created to take over Michigan’s schools with the lowest test scores.  “In all, about 10,000 students—largely poor, predominantly African American, often lagging years behind in terms of academics—would be the test subjects.”

According to the report’s author, Curt Guyette, an investigative reporter with the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Snyder’s state school takeover was intended to originate with a number of low-scoring schools in Detroit and then take over so-called failing schools across the state; however, the legislation to expand the Education Achievement Authority beyond Detroit never passed in the legislature.  Snyder is known to have modeled his idea on the Louisiana Recovery School District, that took…

Susan Sadlowski Garza talks to her neighbors at last night’s meet-and-greet in the 10th Ward.

I took a drive to the 10th Ward last night.

I could have taken the Dan Ryan to the Skyway and gotten off just before Indiana.

But I took my old route. South Lakeshore Drive and then followed US41 through the east side to South Chicago.

I drove past the what used to be U.S. Steel’s South Works.

Back in the 70s I worked in the 96″ plate mill.

11,000 steelworkers once had jobs in the various mills that made up South Works.

It’s empty land now. Just prairie.

There is talk of condo development. That talk has been going on for years.

I drove to 108th and Avenue J where there was a meet-and-greet for Susan Sadlowski Garza. Susan is running for 10th Ward Alderman.

She is a school counselor and a south side leader…

It has become a tradition for parents and townspeople to gather in the schoolyard as students arrive for their first day at the  two room Ashley Bryan School. Everyone is there to wish them well, to see who the new students are, and to feel good about our special island school and its community support.

The crew from Great Cranberry arrives by boat and begins the short walk up from the dock. There are 6 students from Great Cranberry and one teacher and one aide who travel by boat every morning. This morning there were also all of the teachers for Art, Music, Phys. Ed and French. The principal was there too. It made for a solid group of educational energy surrounding the school. The inter island students were all happy to reconnect after a busy summer. All around the school yard  parents of students, and other community members  want to celebrate…

CP train blocked in Toronto, March 12, 2014.

Trafficking report found a deep distrust of the police among many aboriginal women and girls

By Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press, Sept 19, 2014

Aboriginal women and girls are easy prey for human traffickers because they are more likely to suffer from poverty, drug addictions and mental-health problems, says a newly disclosed report.

This is about our children and generators to come.

What kind of world do we want to leave for them?