education

By Nancy Flanagan

12/03/2009

So--I spent Tuesday up in Lansing, attending the annual conference of the Network of Michigan Educators and I also got to shake the Governor's hand. I admit that I acted like any other garden-variety citizen meeting a Big Famous Person: I smiled and made inane chit-chat with the gov. Here is the sum total of that conversation (bear in mind that we were instructed to tell Governor Granholm why we were members of the Network):

Me: How do you do? I'm Nancy Flanagan, and I was the Michigan Teacher of the Year--umm, well, a long time ago.

education, education policy, Governor Granholm

Why Are Teachers So Greedy? Part I

By Nancy Flanagan

10/26/2009

I should probably kick off this blog series by declaring that teachers—with a few notable exceptions—are my favorite people on the planet. Most people have encountered a couple of teachers that they wish had chosen real estate instead—but on balance, teachers almost always begin their careers as the kind of people you want to live next door to: idealistic, community-minded, excited about their disciplinary specialty and working with kids.

education, School Funding, teachers

Down and Out in Florida

By Nancy Flanagan

10/21/2009

We’re on vacation in Florida, a sunny respite from the parade of bad news in Michigan. Nice to get away from double digit unemployment and the foreclosure-next-door syndrome. Except that bad news has followed us here. Recent news item, in USA Today: Everybody’s leaving Florida, in even bigger numbers than they’ve been abandoning Michigan. Things suck all over.

economy, education, jobs

Learn or We'll Hurt You

By Nancy Flanagan

10/16/2009

I belong to the Teacher Leaders Network, a national online community of teachers who like talking about Big Ideas in Education--stuff with a little more substance than "who has lunch duty today?"

education, learning, schools, teachers

Anatomy of a Budget Buster

Bill Nowling

10/02/2009

Since I am already on the Labor-Has-Too-Much-Political-Schwack jag I figured why not just lay blame for the blink-of-an-eye brief government shutdown this week at the feet of the Michigan Education Association -- the teachers' union?