This is a blog-site about Michigan education and K-12 public schools…and it’s for those who want to know more about both.
It presumes that folks are interested in schools. That they care about them. Common sense and research says they do. The public after all has a big stake in them. They pay for them, vote on them and most parents send their children there, so it only stands to reason that folks want to learn all they can about them.
Most people however already know something of schools. Maybe from experience as parents or students, volunteers or voters. And while they may not know a lot more about schools than that; local communities and the children they serve would likely be better off if they did.
Over the past two decades, Michigan’s K-12 education system has been made dramatically different: Charter schools, Cyber Schools, Magnet Schools, Schools of Choice; State Graduation requirements, Merit tests, Merit Curriculum, Common-Core Curriculum and on and on. Given the enormity of the changes and the impact they foretell on children’s lives, its increasingly important the public know about schools.
A 2010 Brookings Institute National Opinion Survey about ‘Education News” found that only 1.4% of all U.S. news coverage dealt with Education, while 70% of those surveyed said they wanted more education news. Of those, three-in-four said the primary source of their school news was ‘family and friends.’ It was also the source they trusted most. It’s likely that people want other sources as well.
That said, it seemed that a Blog-site where folks could learn more about schools and public education in Michigan, might be worth a try. A place for parents and other busy people to better understand the practical side of schools in order to make sense of it all. You can decide if it does.
We’ve called it: School Angles: A Place for Common Sense Talk about Education.
The blog was my wife’s idea. The topics & opinions are mine. Other school experts will contribute too. We hope you enjoy it.
HB
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1. Broullette, Matthew J., School Choice in Michigan: A Primer for Freedom in Education. Mackinac Center July 16, 1999
2. West, Darrell M., Grover J. Whitehurst, and E.J. Dionne. “Americans Want More Coverage of Teacher Performance and Student Achievement.” Brookings Papers on Education Policy (2010): n. pag. Print.
School Angles 