I know that what is happening to me has happened to others, and I know that this is going to come across as very "poor, poor, pitiful me," but I am going to write it anyway.  I grew up in a middle class family, and I remained middle class.  I married a good man with a good job at Ford Motor Co., but not an executive.  I taught school for a few years after we got married and was lucky enough to be able to stay at home and raise my kids for thirteen years.  We did not live high off the hog, but we didn't want for anything.  We enjoyed a very moderate lifestyle.  I returned to work at a time when my kids were all in school, and I was looking to be someone other than a wife and mom.  It was also a time when our financial state needed a bit of a boost, because kids are expensive.  My income did not provide us with luxuries but it enabled us to maintain a moderate lifestyle, and not want for anything.  Throughout those years and until now, while some years were definitely better than others, we never felt poor.  I remember saying to a friend, that we would be all right in retirement because we didn't need much.  I always thought we would be all right.  So here I am today with a job that I always thought was a good job.  I actually have loved my job and have been very good at it, and it has provided us with an income that has allowed us to continue to live a moderate lifestyle, but no more.  I now find myself in a profession that is reviled and more difficult to do effectively than ever before.  With all of the changes that will happen due to budget cuts I will not love my job, but more than that I won't be able to do it well.  I will be given more work to do, my resource to complain about unfair and unsafe working conditions will be taken away, and I will be making much, much less.  Making much, much less will impact how we live.  My husband is retired, my pay cut and paying 20% for my benefits will take us from middle class to poor.  We never over extended, but we did count on what we had still being there near the end of my working life and into retirement, but it is being snatched away by the greed that runs this state and this country.  Now I know that others are far, far worse off, and I know that those who are now worse off will be more devastated, so that bodes these questions;  Why doesn't anyone care?  Why are there people so unaware?  Why are those in office allowed to steamroll legislation through Congress that so impacts the lives of  so many, and those affected and unaffected are doing nothing?  Why is all of what is happening in the state legislature even considered legal?  Why are those upper class  people, living very cushy lifestyles so very happy with this administration?   I could go on and on, but by now I hope you get the point; we are being screwed and guess what?  We just keep turning over. 

Rosemary

With thanks to Dr. Suess.

I do not like that Snyder man.
I do not like him Sam I am.
I will vote for whom I can,
it will not be that Snyder man.

All those friends of Snyder man?
I do not like them Sam I am.
I will vote for whom I can,
It will not be friends of Snyder man!

I do not like that Snyder man.
I do not like him Sam I am.
His balanced budget is just a scam
cuz he owns a business, Sam I am!

He doesn't like the you and me,
but he sure likes the wealthy.
He takes and takes from you and me,
and gives it all back to the wealthy!

No, I do not like that Snyder man.
I do not like him Sam I am.
And all those friends of Snyder man?
I do not like them Sam I am.

He seems to know just what to say
to make the people believe his way,
but he throws figures all about
and they're all wrong I want to shout!

And all those friends of  Snyder man?
All their heads are in the sand.
They talk and talk like they know,
and they put on quite a show.

So if you're poor or middle class
and think he's good, then your an ass.
You should not like that Snyder man.
No, they should not, Sam I am

Perhaps it will not come to pass
that another vote will be cast
for Snyder man or his friends
That's what I'm hoping Sam I am.

Please sign and pledge to recall
recall, recall, recall them all!
They are not good, they are not wise
they want to hurt us little guys.

Please, please understand
why I do not like that Snyder man.
He talks about shared sacrifice
but he has me sharing thrice.

I get to give up salary
and pay more to stay healthy.
And one day when I can retire?
My pensions taxed, so I'm for hire.

No I do not like that Snyder man.
I do not like him Sam I am.
The poor will suffer under his plan
more than now, that's just insan....ity!

And all those friends of Snyder man,
the ones that back all his plans?
I do not like them Sam I am
and so I will not, can not vote for them.

One more thing needs to be said
before I put this poem to bed.
We have good schools, and they serve all
Snyder man would see them fall.

Who is Snyder man listening to?
It isn't me, and it isn't you.
So down in Whoville, we are scared
cuz the smallest ones will not be spared.

I do not like that Snyder man
I do not like him Sam I am. 

Rosemary

Rick Snyder, the self proclaimed "nerd" received three degrees from the University of Michigan by the age of 23.  He went on to become a millionaire and he now owns his own investment company, Ardesta LLC, which invests in small, start up businesses. I can't believe that this intelligent businessman could not find a way to increase the employment opportunities in Michigan and balance the budget without devastating the working poor, the unemployed, the elderly, and the public sector workers.  Will his company benefit from the new tax breaks for businesses?  Will his family lose income?  What's wrong with this picture?

Rosemary

Gov. Snyder's Education Reforms

I have been trying to digest all of the ideas that our new governor has when it comes to improving the educational system here in Michigan.  There are many trying to make sense of his plan, trying to help others see the merits of his plan, and others trying to help the public understand what is wrong with his plan.  I watched him on FlashPoint today, and my goodness but he sounds calm and reasonable!  I can see why many believe him to be a visionary and on the right track to improve our "broken system."  I have some information that I believe is important for the public to know.  We keep hearing that only 16% of our students are ready for college, and that this is based on the ACT scores of Michigan's 11th graders.  The ACT is given as part of the Michigan Merit Exam and all juniors in Michigan high schools must take it.  It used to be that only those students who intended to go directly from high school to a four-year college took the ACT exam, obviously these students were motivated to do their very best as their score would play a major role in getting into their college of choice.  Many students would take the exam more than once in the hopes of achieving a higher score on subsequent tries.  Today the only students exempt from taking the ACT are a percentage of students with cognitive impairments and some of the students with autism.  Students with severe learning disabilities take it, as well as students who are limited in English proficiency.  Medically fragile students who miss many days of instruction must take it as well as students who are not present for instruction daily for other reasons.  My point is that using this one score as the basis for determining how many Michigan students are ready for college upon graduation is unfair and very misleading.  As in the past, those students very motivated and planning to attend a four-year college immediately after graduation, take the ACT more than once, however, how they score on subsequent tries will not be included in the state's data.  Now, I hear some of you, probably the Gov being one, saying "Well why aren't all Michigan eleventh graders planning to go to a four-year college immediately after graduation?"  Many can't afford it or don't know what they want to do so they plan to attend a community college first, and personally I think this should be encouraged.  This brings me to the next comment we keep hearing that needs to be addressed.  Governor Snyder wants it known that too many of Michigan's graduates need to take remedial courses at community colleges after graduating from high school.  This is a sad fact.  Today we have the Michigan Merit Curriculum, it is "rigorous" and it is the only curriculum available to those wanting a high school diploma.  While this sounds good and right, what it means is that too many students are sitting in Michigan high school classrooms receiving instruction that is meaningless to them, they can't access it and we can't remediate them, or their career needs require a vocational track that is being squeezed out.  When we are compared to other countries you need to know that not ALL of the students in the country attend the high schools designed to produce college ready students.  Most countries separate and offer different educational options to students after middle school.  We do not do that, we offer a FREE education to ALL of our children.  Are there areas of the public school system that needs reform?  Yes, of course there are, change needs to be a regular and anticipated fact because we are evolving, but let's be careful when we look to see where the problems really lie, and then let's be careful what we wish for.

Rosemary

This Land Is Your Land...

I am very worried about the future of education in our state and in our country.  I am very worried about my job as an educator and the compensation I receive for doing that job, but I also have other worries.  After reading an article in the NY Times about the push in states to deregulate the environment, I got so angry and knew I had to say something, but I just didn't know how to put my disbelief and disgust in words.  Last night I went to see Peter Yarrow in concert at the Ark, and now I know what needs to be said.

Governor Paul LePage in Maine, put away your 63-point plan to cut environmental regulations and open up three million acres of your North Woods to development because

This land is your land, this land is MY land
From California, to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and ME.

Governor Rick Scott of Florida, take back your proposal to eliminate millions for land conservation and millions more cut from restoring the dwindling Everglades because

As I was walking this ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was mad for you and ME

To the Republicans in North Carolina, take back your proposed budget that would cut operating funds to the state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources by 22 percent because

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and ME.

To the Republicans in Washington who have been fighting hard for rollbacks to the Environmental Protection Agency, clean air and water regulations renewable energy and other conservation programs, may I remind you,

This land is your land, this land is MY land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and ME.

What is the reason for slashing the funds that protect our land?  Well, according to Governor LePage it is the working families and small businesses in Maine who are endangered and need to be defended  with the same vigor as the tree frogs and Canadian Lynx!  You see, all of these regulations are just too burdensome to business interests and are apparently keeping people from being able to find work.  Did you know that Republicans made it clear last November that reducing all government was important, but cutting environmental regulations was a priority?  Why?  (For some of us a rhetorical question).

To New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie, please rethink your statement that the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, which preserves more than 800,000 acres of open land that supplies drinking water to more than half of your state's residents is an infringement on property rights.  Your desire to shift power from planning boards to administrative judges who will favor the interests of developers is just not right because

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
the fog was lifting a voice was chanting
this land was made for your and ME.

In Florida, Governor Scott has asked to cut staff members to 40 from 358 at the Department of Community Affairs, which regulates land use and was created to be a control on unchecked urban sprawl.  These cuts according to one of the Gov's spokesman, will enable businesses to grow again in Florida.  Now get this statement he made; "the governor does care about the environment, but feels it is more important to get people back to work."  By cutting 318 people from the Dept. of Community Affairs?  What? 

If you don't get what is happening think about the last verse of Woody Guthrie's song

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

Rosemary

letters@freepress.com

 Normally, if the Free Press is considering publishing a letter to the editor they send an email stating that within a couple of days.  Since I haven't received that email, it looks like the FREEP is again not wanting to print facts in contradiction to their misconceptions.  Shame on them.

I wrote a response to another editorial in the Free Press two months ago that did not get printed.  Your article, Mr. Henderson, is very much like that editorial so I am responding again.  Please, educate yourself.  You are incorrect in what you think is wrong and how to fix it.  It is only fair that Free Press readers get the facts, so please print my response this time.  I thank you in advance for presenting both sides of this issue. 

Mr. Henderson,
You say our standards aren't good enough.  If you read Michigan's standards and benchmarks at each grade level I think you will find that they are quite "good enough", in fact many are extremely "rigorous."  If certain school systems in our state are not considering these standards and benchmarks in the lessons they teach to their students that is a problem, but it is not a problem with our standards.  If certain students in our state are unable to internalize the concepts being taught, that is a problem, but it is not a problem with our standards.  So to say that Michigan schools are failing because our standards are not high enough, is simply, not true.  As for your MEAP and NAEP comparisons, and the data you freely throw around, let me clear some things up for your readers.  The MEAP is given to all of the students in a certain grade level.  The NAEP is given to a sampling of students in that grade level.  You say in 2009, only about 35% of Michigan 4th graders did adequate work on the NAEP which makes it sound like they tested far below the national average which isn't so.  For 4th graders the scores in mathematics were just slightly lower, in reading they were practically even as they were in science, and only slightly below in writing.  I find it ironic that on Jan. 25th of this year, in your paper, an article was written titled "Michigan students outpace U.S. national average on the NAEP exam!  Let me also clarify something about standardized tests.  There is something called a score spread that is necessary in order for the test to produce comparisons.  The makers of these tests want a wide range of difference in the scores.  Questions that produce the most score spread are ones that only about half of the test takers can answer correctly.  Now get this, the questions on these tests that can be answered correctly by half the population tested are linked to the students' socioeconomic status.  Can you guess which half answers correctly?  Another fact, standardized tests were never meant to determine successful and failing schools.  One more fact, those that produce these tests are making loads of money.  Although non-profit, in 2007 ETS made 94 million, ACT took in 35 millions and CollegeBoard, 55 million!  These company leaders support politicians.  While there may be much wrong with some districts in Michigan, there is much right with many others, and how a student scores on a standardized test is the least telling factor in what is working and what is not. 

97.1 Friday morning, it made my blood boil

I don't usually listen to 97.1 in the morning, but on Friday while driving to work, that is what I had on.  The discussion was centered around the 10% pay cut forced on teachers in West Bloomfield by their school board.  By the time I got to school, I was so mad I could have spit as my dear mother would say, and my blood was boiling.  I was just glad that I was not able to pick up the phone, or send an email with my comment, because it would have been a rant of epic proportion.  Now that I have calmed down, I need to clarify a couple of things for the morning crew of 97.1.  While the hosts seemed to truly be in support of teachers, the one kept asking in regards to why the teachers' pay should not be cut, "but where are they going to get the money?"  They of course being the schools.  How about from the school aid fund?  It is not broke, but the Governor plans to take about 900 million, from K-12 and give it to community colleges and 15 public universities, that's why he says Michigan needs to cut 470.00 per pupil from the budget. No Gov, you don't.  The money in the fund belongs to the K-12 educational system, and the Governor can not just use it as he pleases.  It is also my understanding that in the past this fund has been borrowed from and it has not been paid back, so Gov. Snyder is not the first to steal from Michigan's children.  This brings me to another misconception the morning crew at 97.1 have.  If the students of Michigan suffer because of the lack of educational funding, it will not be the fault of the teachers.  IT WILL BE THE FAULT OF THE GOVERNOR AND HIS PEOPLE IN LANSING!  Again, the one host was getting upset that teachers would stop showing up for school events, on their own time, or basically stop doing "work" beyond the school day.  "This only hurts the kids."  He said this over and over again, and he couldn't understand how, good and dedicated teachers could do this.  Here is what teachers have heard for years, "You make an awful lot of money for only working 6 hours a day, 9 months a year."  Too many people believe this, and now with this assault on teachers, how can anyone expect that there won't be that desire to show the public what a six hour day would look like?  So if it looks like the students in Michigan are going to be hurt by all of the changes that will be taking place as school districts cut upwards of twenty million from their budgets, and the students will be hurt by this, don't get mad at the teachers, get mad at your legislature and then help us do something about it.  Call them, write them and tell them you don't like how Governor Snyder is reinventing Michigan, and tell THEM to stop hurting kids.
Rosemary