Suppose you were governor of Michigan and you really truly hated public education. Suppose you thought of public schools not as a beloved community institution, but as a government monopoly that must be smashed. Suppose you believe that the free market always knows best.
Suppose further that your earnest desire to get rid of public education was blocked by the state constitution.
Why, you would do exactly what Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is doing. You would have some of your top aides work with a reactionary “think tank” and come up with bold ideas to circumvent the state constitution.
You would say the project was private, and not subject to state open meetings laws. You would hope to rush the new ideas into law while your party controls the legislature.
Does it smell bad? Dors it smell like a skunk? So what. Call the project Skunk Works to mock your powerless critics.
Democratic procedures? That’s for chumps.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The things discussed behind closed doors are rarely in the best interests of children. If they were they would have at least 1 educator present to add input. Do they ever consult with educators when making decisions about education?
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Kinda reminds you of the recent gathering at the white house Obama had with the governors….and said, “After we get rid of the press, we can go in and have our meeting.” Not exactly the thing you want to hear from the guy who preached about “government transparency.”
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Again, Michigan is stuck. A Governor and his people meeting to decide the fate of Michigan’s educational system. When was the last time the people left the secret meeting and visit a classroom? Not just walk through the halls waving and shaking hand, but sitting with students of all ages, status, and ability and talking education. Have they met with local administrators or teachers about what concerns the people on the front line? No. Snyder is not right for Michigan.
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I propose any state legislator with his/her hand in educational policy needs to be a substitute teacher for a week. That is, a “real” substitute teacher. Think “Undercover Boss,” where the workers have no idea the guy working next to them is the owner of the company. Same thing. The kids wouldn’t know the “substitute” is really a state senator, since there would be no bullsh*t horse and pony show. It’s just “Mr. Smith” substituting. For the week, “Mr. Smith” would have to substitute in all three levels of education (elementary, middle, and high school) in various demographical settings (so they are not just subbing in the rich, white schools).
This should be mandatory.
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I think they should sub in the EAA state takeover schools-undercover like you said. I think they’ll be surprised at what they find.
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At least two weeks. And have to deal with parents, plan lessons, grade hundreds of essays, etc. None of this “guest speaker” stuff–they REALLY have to teach.
For years my mom has said that anytime an education law is passed, that two should be repealed. Sounds good to me.
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Suppose you had John Kasich for a “governor” in Ohio? Same thing. Or Scott Walker in Wisconsin? Same thing. I have watched our “governor” disrespect every public employee, devalue their worth, recommend reducing their salaries, advocate for privatization of prisons, toll roads, schools, protective services, and then smile and lie in his state of the state address that Ohio is a “model” state. Model for what? Losing good paying jobs? He even made claims that he was going to “fix” the funding problem in Ohio, but when asked why so many districts were losing money, he said that he couldn’t deal with “details”.
This is my paraphrase of what has been happening, but these problems are prevalent. Not only Ohioans are suffering from the “for profit” model of commoditization of necessities.
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Education and healthy living
Each steudenten and Schuler hate right university education is for everyone is probably familiy. many people say, we who protect the public education. course services Need illness away from Kunkurz and Public Krankenhaus.Kinder have legal right to build future euine erfülgrichen selbs, and tools I need access laying thoroughness. if familliy have the right to access child behänderte service. every child’s right famille hearing problems, homeless, voiceless, health, and indeed petagogische behandelungen care prodektive vouch zuerhalten! besundres familliy chases alone erzire and separeted parents and children as psychichen care access problems haben.etwa the geschichte.nicht for familliy always stay secret distribute other schools. the Jareliche geundheit free trial familliy for Everyone expects that’s right everyone can use. this is normal and every child steudenten posting a website and blog for all Familliy about their children or steudenten to help. wonder where are the other not more than 25% of schoolboys from high school in four jahreabsolvierten niche for America and Spanish steudenten this number is nearly 40% stadbürge customer! are einvertel U.S. steudenten language beherchende the verbesern! Although the 22% prüfürorganisation set! U.S. Classroom and Steudenten how can one hope here’s choking everyone approves reached about Rubicon? Here’s where everyone matters bad teaching! wrum children and Steudenten not learn well! getrofen may be bad ihneren of Familiy and teaching! Parents do not waste your control
micht under lop their children! But the Mittele not follow your kids sondre they go other school because the arms are Eötern is Lee County schools in the tax structure, the ramen Milyarderen which should give more rich, weill Outer Join and export eport verdint and many have very low tax bezalt.das a response from the familiy why some Qeule get malaria, always remained arm. rich rich again!
Ahmad Hesam
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I worked at the real “Skunk Works” on the SR-71 when it was still top secret. These fools do not operate like the old Kelly Johnson “Skunk Works.” There creativity was honored and appreciated into the shop. There knowledge and education was honored. Creativity was King. This is the opposite of what is being betrayed in Michigan. The U-2 and SR-71 would have never worked with them in control they would have all crashed. Did you know that the U-2 came in under budget and ahead of schedule? In fact he gave back money and gave them 6 free aircraft. The SR-71, in spite of all the technology being new, came in on schedule and on budget. Can you imagine that today. When using the term “Skunk Works” use caution when using it to compare to these nutjobs. One thing Kelly Johnson was not is a nutjob. Some did not like him but he always produced at a level no one could imagine. If we only had someone like that leading education.
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Thank you George for your service to our country. That must have been an exciting project.
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The politicians on the right sense that the country is shifting back to the left, and that their time in office is limited. Nervous that they will disappoint their puppet masters, they are rushing tons of misguided and damaging legislation through the “voting” process in Michigan before their time is up. This is a daily occurrence in our state, and it will take years to repair the damage this pack of marauders is creating.
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Exactly.
Those of us who do not wish to end public education must continue to fight and educate, but do not forget to save the date: November 4, 2014.
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This is good:
The group had one educator, Paul Galbenski, an Oakland Schools business teacher and Michigan’s 2011 Educator of the Year, but he left the group.
“It really kind of looked like for me that they were discussing a special kind of school being created outside of the Michigan public school system,” Galbenski said. “That’s when I started questioning my involvement.”
It’s probably important not to give them the cover of Michigan Educator of the Year. This thing has to appear “educational” to the public, instead of a purely commercial activity.
I don’t think anyone outside that room will buy the libertarian lawyer’s reasoning, where he doesn’t need teachers when creating a public school.
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In any organization….(be it government or otherwise)….you’ve got leaders, followers, do-nothings, and administrators. It’s a constant battle to advance the ones with promise and weed-out the ones who’ve continuously failed through bad decision making. Having politics enter into the equation, it pretty much poisons the well.
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Now that the skunk work project is out in the open-it has become a REAL project now. It was given to our State Supt. of Ed. Seems like now it is not a skunk project-but a rat has been thrown into the mix http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2013/04/skunk_works_rick_snyder_mike_f.html#comments
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Awesome story Shyster! I’d like to charge one bottle of odeur de choix on my EduCard please! What is wrong with these loons??
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This is just so incredible (read story below)! I wonder if the DPS loan violates the Michigan Finance Authority’s regulations/statute? I can’t believe that a district laying off teachers and cutting services would be making such a loan – This is what happens when there are conflicts of interest inherent in the EM Roy Robert’s role on both organizations! The business-ethics here leaves one wondering! SC
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130426/SCHOOLS/304260365/1409/rss36
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Steven C. Camron
1210 Meadowbrook St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734) 213-8377 (home)
Steven.Camron@gmail.com
scamron@emich.edu
(734) 487-2473 (office fax)
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I hesitate to give Gov. Rick Snyder “credit” for all this. He’s not an ideologue – I’m not sure that he believes anything strongly other than that businesses deserve a huge tax cut (done) and that we need to improve infrastructure so that business can thrive (not moving, since it actually costs money).
He is, on the other hand, surrounded by people whispering in his ear about this and that, including some very powerful, well-funded, forces who have been working to get vouchers (and, generally, faith-based publicly funded education) for decades in Michigan. And it doesn’t hurt that the main vehicles for all these “choice” plans – charter schools (especially fully online charters) – are overwhelmingly managed by private for-profit companies in my state. These are the folks that our governor, former CEO of Gateway, feels most comfortable around. So: an educational free market, lower prices, private profits – what’s not to like? A kid can probably learn more from an online video than from a union teacher, right?
Snyder was elected with the Tea Party wave in 2010, but was not part of it. As a result, he did not control the agenda – the newly resurgent right that dominates the state legislature did. Now that he has permanently burned his “moderate” credentials, he is even more dependent on the right wing of his party to get any of his priorities acted upon and to win reelection in 2014.
Perhaps his only display of moral courage was to veto a bill from late last session that would have allowed those with concealed carry permits to bring their guns into schools, university classrooms, places of worship, and elsewhere. The bill passed just days before the Newtown tragedy, and I’m not sure what would have happened to it otherwise. (And can I say how eerie it is to be standing in the lobby of the state House next to a man, speaking with a legislator, who has an assault rifle slung over his shoulder? Guns are allowed in our State Capitol.)
Strange days, indeed.
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This commentary is a dead-solid perfect assessment of what is going on in Michigan.
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Gov. Snyder has lied so many times that his act has grown stale. I think Gov. Snyder does want to weaken the public schools. His actions have showed that. I don’t think it is just some super wealthy members of the party wispering in his ear. He doesn’t seem to be remotely concerned about the quality of education in the state of Mich.
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Indiana is worse.
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A Little Bit of History Regurgitated — ¤ urp ¤
Daily Kos • Snyder’s Kickapoo Joy Juice — A School Voucher By Any Other Name
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