Education
NOT A DEMOCRAT . . . . A HUMBLE OPINION
As the dust settles on the November elections and the Democrats assess the damage, one thing seems increasingly clear. . . it is no longer clear at all just who or what is a Democrat. Given the apparent identity crisis, a process of elimination may be in order. . .
If you are not willing to openly fight the historic wealth inequality that has replaced democracy in America, you are not a Democrat.
If you are not publicly advocating the breakup of “too big to fail” Wall Street banks, you are not a Democrat.
If you do not rigorously support criminal prosecution ...
“Ask the Candidate” – Issue Specific Questions
The Middle Wisconsin Editorial Board is excited to share with its readers a compilation of issue specific candidate questions. We are hopeful that these questions can be utilized as a guide during a dialogue between citizens and candidates on some of the issues which face communities throughout the state of Wisconsin. We encourage anyone using these questions to relay back to us some of the answers given by candidates so we may publish them on our website.
The importance of an active citizenry is more important today than at any other period in our history. A ...
Supporting Public and Private Sector Workers
Wisconsin communities benefit from the crucial work done by Wisconsin's public employees and private sector employees. Our neighbors, families, and friends work together to build thriving, caring communities.
One of my grandsons lists public school personnel as his friends: the ladies in the lunch room, the playground supervisors, and the school secretary. He knows these people care about him.
Public school teachers work more than 50 hours a week teaching and preparing lessons to meet the diverse needs of our children while maintaining high quality public schools. ...
Mary Burke Speaks at Wausau Women’s Network
Mary Burke spoke at a meet-and-greet with the Wausau Women’s Network on Thursday, September 4, at the home of Dr. Bart and Lila Hobson. Donna Seidel asked Burke several pointed questions regarding the gubernatorial candidate’s standpoint on such areas as job creation, education, women’s rights, healthcare reform, and more.
While she addressed each of Donna's questions in detail, Burke also stressed that the platform she’s running on is built on 3 overarching themes:
Putting the needs of the PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN over the needs of SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS...
School Bells Ring: Local Schools See Fewer Dollars While Private “Voucher” Schools Win Big
The following article is a reprint of a recent news release by Senator Kathleen Vinehout to the people of Wisconsin. Middle Wisconsin feels strongly that the citizens need to be aware of the harm being done to our public schools and our children by the transfer of tax dollars to private institutions.
School Bells Ring:
Local Schools See Fewer Dollars While Private "Voucher" Schools Win Big
by
Senator Kathleen Vinehout
“How is it possible that private voucher schools can receive almost four and a half times the state funding per student as our public ...
ON THE BOOKSHELVES…“A FIGHTING CHANCE” by Elizabeth Warren
“This is a story about what’s worth fighting for, and how sometimes, even when we fight against powerful opponents, we can win.”
- Elizabeth Warren, author of A Fighting Chance
Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts has told us again and again that the system is fixed. The banking system is fixed to benefit the wealthy and the powerful. The economic system is rigged to benefit the rich. The rich have many loopholes by which to evade paying taxes.
Senator Warren also has said, “What are you going to do about the fixed system? Either you can ...
Imagine Your Community Without a Public School
I grew up in a small Finnish community in northern Wisconsin. My mom finished eighth grade and went to work to help support her family. Her immigrant parents were farmers on cut-over land. My dad, the story teller, said he was kicked out of school after the first grade. He probably quit after third grade because he too had to go to work to help his immigrant parents who were also subsistence farmers.
Like the Norwegians who believe in “Books Before Bread,” my grandparents and parents were readers. We couldn’t afford many books, but we always had plenty ...
Wisconsin Leading the Way in State Cuts to Schools?
The following article is a reprint of a recent news release by Senator Kathleen Vinehout to the people of Wisconsin. Middle Wisconsin feels strongly that the citizens need to be aware of the harm being done to our public schools and our children by the transfer of tax dollars to private institutions.
Wisconsin Leading the Way in State Cuts to Schools?
by
Senator Kathleen Vinehout
“Hard to believe we are in competition for last place!” said Pepin Superintendent Bruce Quinton. This is hard to believe indeed.A recently released study of state budget cuts to local ...
Moral Monday – – – The Immorality of “Rocketship Education”
The educational immorality called “Rocketship Education” being imposed on the children of Milwaukee is the product of years of deliberate, calculated transfer of wealth out of inner-cities all across America. It is a well-researched fact that poverty is the single most important factor in any failure of our public schools. As stated in a report from the Economic Policy Institute:
“Decades of studies have affirmed that the single most important factor affecting educational achievement are inequalities of wealth and poverty. Since the inception of testing under No ...
Rocketship Is Not Rocket Science
A chain of charter schools called Rocketship started in California and has now come to Wisconsin. Rocketship Southside Community Prep opened in Milwaukee in August 2013, and Rocketship plans to open seven more schools in the city with 4000 students by 2018 according to the organizations website http://rsed.org/ . In the next five years, the company plans to open eight school-chains in seven cities and expand enrollment to 30,000.
Rocketship is a low budget operation “that relies on young and inexperienced teachers, that reduces curriculum to near-exclusive focus on ...
