Although the children on her bus can’t see her smile through the face mask, MEA member Julie Ingison makes sure they can hear the smile when she greets them by name each day. They also can feel her love through the huggable gift she crafted for each child over the winter. The 22-year U.S. Air […]
Ferris State University Professor Chris DeFraia has experienced many of the same effects from the global health crisis as other educators. For one, the MEA member misses sharing advice, encouragement, and friendship with colleagues. In addition, his genetics and biology students have seemed less engaged as the pandemic and mitigation measures to contain the virus have […]
MEA member Eric Hudson loves being surrounded by his orchestra students in Kentwood as each one contributes a musical puzzle piece to a mosaic of sound that becomes melody, harmony, rhapsody, symphony. It’s also a fitting metaphor for the 37-year-old educator’s decision to join a clinical trial of a newly developed vaccine against COVID‑19 last […]
The pandemic hit MEA member Sally Purchase’s AP art students in Muskegon especially hard as they were interrupted by the sudden closure of buildings last March in the final stretch of completing a multi-media art exploration on a personal theme. “We didn’t know they weren’t coming back, so here are these kids in their homes and no […]
A group of aspiring educators from Michigan State University hopes strength in numbers will help to amplify their message of concern about the equity, accessibility, and sustainability of MSU’s fifth-year internship program for gaining teacher certification. The members of MEA’s aspiring educator wing—Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM)—have organized a movement, Empowering Spartan Educators, to press for […]
In college, Isaac Perry realized architecture wasn’t for him. Instead he recalled his seventh-grade teacher saying he was a strong writer—which grew into an English teaching career. As English department chair at Huron Valley’s Lakeland High School, he is loved by students in his… computer science classes? Wait, what? How did computer science enter the […]
Last month Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package to provide critical funding for public schools, create and support jobs, cut child poverty in half, make health care more affordable, and put this pandemic behind us. The passage of the historic economic relief package is proof that when we […]
By Robyne Muray The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be an event of catastrophic proportion. Its aftermath can be seen in the breakdown of economic, health and political structures that navigate society. However, in terms of scholastic instruction, communities across the nation have gained a greater appreciation of the importance of public school systems. As parents have […]
Because she’s 75, retired educator Pam Kellar was able to get a COVID-19 vaccine quickly. Yet she still spent weeks on the phone and internet scheduling appointments for others. Kellar, president of the MEA-Retired chapter in Warren, helped both active and retired educators from the area get vaccinated. The former elementary school teacher navigated three hospital systems […]
Time for reflection can be hard to come by in the midst of a crisis, so let’s take a moment to think about all we have been through over the past year. It’s hard to believe the tectonic shifts we experienced so rapidly throughout society, across the globe, right down to our communities and classrooms. We […]
