Michigan school opinions

A GOP bill allowing college students to teach in a classroom for a year without supervision feels like just another strategy to weaken and compromise public education by further de-professionalizing teaching.

The children and families we serve have already borne the brunt of the pandemic. If we truly care about those most in need, we must act.

When the dust settles and the laughter subsides, come May, I’ll find it hard not to be an alumnus embarrassed by the University of Michigan.

Many of us can’t imagine our four-legged friends being subjected to the brutality that is routine at Wayne State, and we shouldn’t ignore it because it’s done by people in white coats.

I invite our elected officials to come into the classroom and see what these drills are really like. Help us create plans to barricade the doors, decide what items could be used to throw at a shooter.

The expertise and knowledge are there to fix the state’s mental health crisis. What is missing is political will.

Repealing compulsory schooling would allow parents whose child is struggling with mental health issues to withdraw their child from school, to focus on improving the child’s mental health, without worry of jail time.

Oxford High officials are under the microscope for not sending Ethan Crumbley home before a shooting rampage. If we want different decisions in the future, schools need different mandates and guidelines.

Bills now in the Legislature would allow Michigan community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing, something that’s needed to address the healthcare staffing shortage.

Child care creates long-term public good that is too often subsidized by those who can least afford it: families and care providers.

In rereading a text thread with my daughter who was in Oxford High School during the shooting, I realized how many times I said "teacher." Heroes, every single one.

An overhaul of the Michigan Competitive Scholarship is one of the best possible uses to make a transformational change in our state’s trajectory.

We need a major investment to incentivize Michiganders to join, and remain in, Michigan’s classrooms.

It is time we value those who touch and teach our children at arguably the most important point in their lifelong learning something consonant with their work and worth.

Many states have a history of placing financial burdens on local governments. Few have been so brazen, devious and destructive as has Michigan

It is time that the state met the childcare needs of working families and the business community while promoting stronger educational outcomes for the next generation of workers.

We can have both protections against COVID-19 and the benefits of in-person learning if we are willing to take common sense measures in Michigan’s schools, including wearing face masks.

Providing students with non-academic resources like food and child care is the most practical way to increase academic success.

Michigan’s Republican Senate Majority Leader argues that mask mandates are a ‘solution in search of a problem’ and inconvenient facts about COVID-19 are ignored by policymakers and public health officials.

Michigan’s school superintendent writes that critical race theory isn’t taught in public schools, but “to chose to ignore race and racism in our teaching is to … erase history.”