Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganPart of the beauty of Morel hunting in northern Michigan is the opportunity to enjoy the woods in spring. Usually this means looking at spring flowers, plants, trees budding and perhaps the glimpse of an animal. Usually humans make enough noise to warn wildlife it’s time to disappear.
Such was the case with this little fawn. Hiding behind a downed tree and laying still. This is an amazing sight every time it happens, and the best thing to do is consider yourself very lucky and move away. Mom’s out of sight and watching.
But as rare as it is to see a newborn fawn in the woods, something even more rare can happen, like as soon as you turn around, a twin sibling appears, and they think you are mom.
This little baby is still wobbling on his legs, so not very old at all.
This is not a good thing, because the fawn is still young enough to think everything bigger that moves close to them in the woods is mom.
Sooooo cute. But standing still because you can’t believe this is really happening seems to encourage the fawn to move even closer. Close enough to sniff your foot and realize you’re not mom.
The fawn knows he has made a mistake, and this automatically triggers the baby deer alarm system.
MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! MAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
You jump in shock from something so small making noise that loud. This also informs the Morel hunting companion 20 yards away that you’re having a close encounter with a newborn fawn.
The fawn has had enough. He goes back to his hiding spot and you get out of there as fast as you can
And find some nice, big white Morels.
The rule in this situation is never touch newborn fawns found in the woods, enjoy the rare sight and move away quickly. Unless you get ambushed by their twin.
Another Public Education Hit Piece Courtesy of Bill Gates and MLive.com: Education Trust Edition
Wednesday , 20, May 2015 Section 16 1 Comment
Kyle Feldscher tells a tale of horror and woe about to befall public education in Michigan if something isn’t done about it right now. According to his article, “Michigan risks falling behind traditionally low-achieving states in public education” a report shows Michigan’s children are achieving so poorly in public schools the state’s ranking could possibly slip to Arkansas levels of bad.
The 48 page report, which offers no real data about anything remotely happening in Michigan’s public schools, instead insists that Michigan is not only failing poor black and Hispanic kids, Michigan’s schools are failing white kids too. Nothing will put the fear into parents faster than the idea that even white kids are at risk of falling behind. Why are Michigan schools failing? According to the report, because we’re not testing enough yet and fully holding teachers accountable.
Kyle Feldscher’s source for his article is a group called Michigan Achieves, who are under the umbrella of Education Trust. If you’re not sure who Education Trust is, they’re the people public schools have to thank for No Child Left Behind; that great plan to make schools go through high stakes testing to show annual progress or get their funding cut, because it makes perfect sense if a school struggles to pass a test, then the thing they will need to improve – funding – should be cut.
One of the main problems according to Education Trust’s report is that Michigan still isn’t punishing teachers enough for not doing better on a test that evaluates nothing. More than once the fact that Michigan hasn’t fallen into line with using VAM, or value added measures, to evaluate teacher’s progress is stated in the report:
While Michigan has taken some steps to improve its teaching quality, it has been slow to establish systems to improve teaching practices and elevate the profession, including a statewide system of educator evaluation and support that would give teachers the targeted feedback and data to know where they are and what they need to do to reach their goals – the kind of system that was instrumental to improving early literacy in states like Tennessee and Florida. This means that four years since the passage of tenure and evaluation reform in Michigan, almost all teachers in the state are told they are “effective” or “highly effective” no matter how much their students are learning – and many of them are not getting what they need to improve. The Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan Legislature have both continued to stall on this issue – by failing to adequately implement and invest in a statewide educator evaluation and support system.
Despite the overwhelming evidence that VAM in no way accurately measures a teacher’s performance in the classroom, here is a seemingly authoritative report scolding Michigan for not implementing it already.
So now Michigan Achieves Education Trust is launching a program to improve Michigan’s schools by encouraging the state to adopt more of their recommended polices – meaning more testing, and more corporate-driven education reform to dismantle public education in the state.
The issue everyone’s forgetting is this is the same group that came up with NCLB, and NCLB failed. Why is any newspaper publishing this bunk story about a group that wants to fix Michigan’s schools, but they’re the source for Michigan’s schools doing so bad, or that their plan to fix Michigan’s public schools are more of the same failed policies?
Bill and Melinda Gates, that’s why.
The usual billionaire funders are behind Education Trust. There is a lot of money in education. Money that was just being used to fund schools and educate kids. This of course is a grievous sin to any proper capitalist. Tax payer money being spent on children, and no one profiting from it? That must stop right away! This is why organizations like Education Trust suddenly appear out of thin air to pay reporters to write horror stories about how Michigan schools are failing.
It appears that the corporate education reformers are ramping up their efforts to continue to degrade Michigan schools until only for-profit testing factories remain. That’s just the way Bill Gates wants it. Scaring parents into demanding the state do something about these failing schools – which if they’re right, are failing because the schools already implemented the program that failed from the same people, is lower than low when it comes to “reforming” anything. But it’s the kind of sleazy thing we’ve come to expect from the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates.
This is the view looking west toward the capital on Michigan Avenue as you pass by Omar’s strip club. The capital dome is getting a shiny coat of paint and repairs to the tune of $6.4 million. The last time expensive renovations happened at the capital was when Republican Governor John Engler was in office. It was some time after all the state hospitals were closed down and our mental patients ended up in prison instead.
Lansing has some hellish roads. Just saying.
Gary Glenn Ignores The Reason Our Founding Fathers Decided To Have Three Branches of Government: Whines Over Supreme Court Legalizing Gay Marriage
Sunday , 17, May 2015 LGBT Rights, Same Sex Marriage Leave a comment
It’s clear from watching Gary Glenn on the most recent episode of Capital Report on PBS (And what is Gary Glenn doing on evil socialist Public Television funded by private property theft i.e. tax dollars?) that he doesn’t think too highly of the Founding Fathers or the U.S. Constitution. In the first fifteen minutes of the program he insisted that the people of Michigan have more power than the Supreme Court of the United States, and that he thinks there is no 14th amendment question the court needs to rule on. With contempt in his voice he repeatedly referred to the justices who are expected to rule in favor of allowing same sex couples the same civil rights opposite sex couples have in the United States as “five unelected judges” who think they know better than two million Michigan voters.
When a ban on same sex marriage was enshrined in the Michigan constitution (a ban written by Gary Glenn) in 2004, it was not a reaction to anything happening in the federal government in Washington, but rather that provinces in Canada were legalizing same sex marriage. Glenn admits the 1995 ban was enshrined in the state constitution (or as Glenn likes to pronounce it, ‘caahhnstitution’) in 2004 to make sure same sex couples living in Michigan couldn’t go to Canada and get married. Not only does Glenn think that this ban works for same sex marriage, but also includes banning domestic partnerships and civil unions.
Glenn complained about the Supreme Court throughout the 15 minute interview, referring to the court as the “least accountable branch” of government, and how they’re “reaching up into thin air” to make a ruling about same sex marriage. The state representative repeatedly whined this ruling “threatens the best interests of society and the safety of future children.” He even goes on to speculate on what floodgates might be opened and allow other “special interest groups” to demand the right to legally marry – like people who practice polygamy.
Since same sex marriage has become the civil rights issue of our time, people like Gary Glenn have made political careers obsessing over what consenting adults do in private. He’s also spoken out whenever government does something he doesn’t like, even demanding that lower branches of government ignore federal government rulings when they go against Gary Glenn’s personal bigotry.
Gary Glenn knows what’s coming, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Five unelected judges of the least accountable branch of government are going to reach up into thin air and rule in favor of granting same sex couples their civil rights. They have the supreme law of the land, the U.S. Constitution, backing them. Gary Glenn has his ignorance and hate.
There’s always the possibility it won’t be five unelected judges. It could be six.
Tea Party Charter School’s Pasquale Battaglia
Friday , 15, May 2015 Section 16, Tea Party Charter School 2 CommentsStill on the internet. Stay classy, Pat.
Also still hawking classical education, even telling one person his plans to open a hundred of them – each YEAR.
Michigan Public School Teacher Laura McDonell Pushes M-STEP For Teach For America Front Group
Friday , 15, May 2015 Section 16 6 Comments
Yesterday a very curious editorial appeared in the Lansing edition of MLive.com. Laura McDonell, an English teacher for St. Clair Middle School, wrote the brief guest opinion where she scolds parents for choosing to refuse the new M-STEP exam for their children.
Our children mean so much to us, and we want to protect them. Wanting to take an active role in your son or daughter’s education is one of the things that make you a great parent.
But when you choose to opt your child out of a learning experience like taking a test you are actually doing a disservice to your son or daughter.
McDonell goes on to describe all of the terrible, traumatizing things that will happen to those children because selfish parents decided they didn’t want their child taking the test. Things like:
- Your children will now somehow be educationally behind the rest of the class, because they need the “opportunity to be challenged and fail forward.”
- The embarrassment of being isolated from their peers and destroying classroom bonding.
- Staring at a computer screen for weeks and clicking radio buttons is a rewarding learning experience.
McDonell ends her editorial with a quote from Superintendent Mike Flanagan and repeats the lie:
While we support parents in making choices for their children, there is no allowable way in state or federal law to “opt out” of assessment, and students who are not assessed will count against their schools’ participation rate.
So here is a piece where a Michigan public school teacher attempts to persuade her audience by guilt tripping them into thinking they’re depriving their students of a learning opportunity. M-STEP is not a learning opportunity, it prohibits teachers from providing more learning opportunities for their students.
Right now all over the state of Michigan, teachers face the problem of not having all of their students in the classroom every day because there are always some taking the test instead of learning in the classroom where they belong. This means students are being deprived of real learning experiences they will need to be successful next year. Some school districts are so desperate to keep students from refusing to participate in M-STEP testing they are telling parents their child will not be allowed to take advanced placement classes, like Chippewa Valley Schools for example. This is illegal, and if your school district has told you something similar, just know they are desperate and scared enough to lie to you. You can legally opt out your child from the test.
But back to Laura McDonell. This public school teacher belongs to an organization called Michigan Educator Voice Fellowship. The group contains members from public schools, for-profit charter schools, and even teachers from the Education Achievement Authority. The fellowship is part of a larger national organization called America Achieves. America Achieves was founded by two men, Peter Kannam and Jon Schnur. Both are very active with this 501(c)(3) organization, and enjoy funding from well known names in corporate ed reform. Kannam and Schnur were both introduced into education through Teach For America.
So the truth of Laura McDonell’s admonishing editorial addressed to Michigan parents of school children is clear. She’s doing her part to promote the corporate takeover of our public schools through her involvement with an organization funded by corporate education reformers and operated by TFA members. Mrs. McDonell has the choice to support people who are driven to eliminate her job. We have the choice to not listen to her, and instead fight to restore our public schools.
Grand Traverse Academy 6th Graders Win Third Prize Tracking a Bear
Thursday , 14, May 2015 DNR, Dr. Ingersoll, Section 16 Leave a comment
After over a year of negative news about Grand Traverse Academy, it’s probably a welcome respite to have some positive news about the for-profit charter school currently in need of an accountant and an attorney. That good news arrived today with the announcement that Mr. Lazur’s 6th grade class won third prize for their report on a Michigan black bear they tracked through the school year. The prize includes $250.
A Year in the Life of a Bear is a program designed for middle school students to track and report on a radio collared Michigan black bear. It’s available to any school in Michigan provided the teacher who wants to sign up their class must do so by August 1. Other requirements include:
Educators will need to have access to a computer lab and the Internet for the students to be able to use the mapping application to follow the bear. Educators also will need to be able to access the Internet (YouTube) in their classrooms. An Educator Guide with activities and video lessons is provided to participants.
That might be difficult for teachers in public schools, where months of the school year are now spent testing students, or even if they have computers available for their students to participate. Tracking a bear sounds like fun, except there are no standardized test questions about bears, and standardized test prep is a priority for public schools.
Winning $250 will be a nice distraction for GTA, what with problems finding and keeping qualified people to work for the school, as well as closing school board meetings to discuss legal issues with their for-profit charter school authorizer. Perhaps the 6th graders could use their new bear tracking skills to track down qualified people to work for them?
Congratulations to Mr. Lazur’s 6th grade class. You worked hard and deserve your prize.
Michigan Natural Resources Commission Won’t Ban Deer Hunting In The UP: Climate Change Will Eventually Make That Decision For Them
Wednesday , 13, May 2015 DNR, Environment, Upper Peninsula Leave a comment
A committee of the Natural Resources Commission last week decided not to cancel deer season in the Upper Peninsula this year. The committee is searching for solutions to halt declining deer populations in Northern Michigan. Sever winter weather has reduced the deer herd as much as 40% in some parts of the U.P.
Completely banning deer hunting in the U.P. would severely hurt the local economy, which relies on hunters coming north during archery and firearm deer season. Alternatives to helping the deer herd recover discussed by the committee included doing nothing, or not allowing hunting of does during archery season.
The past two winters in the Northeastern United States and Great Lakes have been especially harsh with below normal temperatures and above average snowfall. The Polar Vortex Michigan has experienced the past two winters is created by arctic ice melting at the North Pole and exposing more water for warming. This warming weakens the jet stream, and the blast of polar air slips south. Climate change caused by human activity will continue to have an impact on the environment in Michigan, and that includes the survivability of our deer herds. Climate change affects the deer population. Fewer deer means fewer hunters, and that means businesses that rely on deer hunting season will suffer.
The Natural Resources Commission can struggle with the problem of declining deer numbers by banning hunting in certain areas, and the DNR can raise hunting fees so astronomically high many hunters can’t afford to hunt in Michigan any longer, but these are all band aids on a much bigger problem. Our changing environment due to human activity and a warming planet may put an end to one of the most popular seasons in Michigan – deer hunting season.
It’s Happening! First Republican Primary Debate Scheduled For August 6 In Cleveland
Tuesday , 12, May 2015 Candidates, Presidential Primary 2016 Leave a comment
Much like people who go through withdrawal when football season is over and they longingly dream of the next season to begin, presidential primary debates for political junkies are much worse. They only happen during a presidential election, which happens every four years. They were magical, providing some of the craziest stuff witnessed yet coming from the Republican Party. For instance, the infamous LET HIM DIE moment when Republicans cheered to allow a hypothetical 30 year old man die of cancer. There was also the magical moment when Republicans openly booed an American serviceman when he told the audience he’s gay. And of course, one of the best moments ever was when Rick Perry had problems with short lists. Oops.
After four years of opportunity to figure out what they’re doing wrong and why the only people willing to vote for their presidential candidates are rich, old, white people, the Republican party so far have put forward candidates who have no interest in changing their message to be more inclusive at all. If anything, they’ve tripled down on the ideology of the GOP, which is all they have left. On August 6, 2015 everyone gets the opportunity to witness the obtuse, hate-filled bigotry that symbolizes everything the Republican party we know today.
Fox News will host the first debate in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Quicken Loans Arena. Really can’t imagine a more fitting venue for Republicans to debate. This is also the venue for the 2016 Republican convention.
If you think the current crop of candidates are pretty hilarious on their own, just wait until they crowd a herd of them onto one stage, with cameras and audience. It takes an iron will and plenty of strong alcohol to withstand the concentrated crazy. If your liver can survive, it’s totally worth it.
2016 won’t be like 2012 unfortunately. The GOP decided to slash the number of primary debates by more than half this time round. Only nine are confirmed, but there is a possibility of three more being added to the roster. In contrast, the Democratic Party plans to only hold 6 primary debates. There will be a lot less crazy to wonder in awe at however. The real disappointment will be if they don’t invite Bernie Sanders to participate.
So stock up the liquor cabinet and get ready for the first night of cognitive dissonance in Cleveland on August 6. The 2015 NFL season starts on September 10.
