Category Archive: Opinion

Opinions and Comments Blog

Dec
21
2011

A Compendium of Plays by Wisconsin Teachers

Join fellow MTI members for an Evening of Plays by Wisconsin Teachers

TALKING OUT OF SCHOOL
Shows run January 6-28, 2012

MTI Sponsored Nights:

Thursday, January 12 (7:30 PM) and
Friday, January 13 (8:00 PM)

Discounted tickets are available to MTI Members on these nights.
Sign up for these discounted tickets here!

Bartell Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin St., Madison, Wisconsin

If you go on another night, you will pay full price and should get your tickets from the Mercury Players Box Office:
Order tickets
www.MercuryPlayersTheatre.com
Tickets By phone: 608-661-9696 ext. 5

Sign up for MTI Discount Nights here.

This last winter swept teachers up in political turmoil, and they were subjected to an unprecedented level of attacks. Now, with a recall battle looming, teachers are likely to be caught in the crosshairs again.

Mercury Players Theatre asked teachers to write plays out of their experience of teaching in Wisconsin in 2011. Some of the plays depict life in the classroom, some talk about what it means to them to be a teacher, and many express how the trauma of this year affected them.

Playwrights include elementary, middle school and high school teachers, MATC instructors, TAs, substitute and special ed teachers. Listen to the stories they have to tell. The director, Monty Marsh-McGlone, is a preschool teacher currently studying education at the UW-Madison.

The playwrights:  Vince Busenbark * Jeff Casey * Mary Fairweather Dexter * Philip Heckman * Holly Walter Kerby * Kelly Kotewa-Veldey * Jane Leahy * Paul Milisch * Marty Mulhern * Jonathan  Pollack * Rachel Schramm * Gail Sterkel * Elena Tabachnick.

Nov
10
2011

Collaborating with Special Education Assistants

Hats off to John Harper, MMSD Executive Director of Educational Services.   In his monthly staff newsletter he devoted an entire section to Collaborating with Special Education Assistants.  The article is posted below and truly validates the importance of SEAs in providing direct services to our children with exceptional educational needs.

Oct
19
2011

Recall Preliminary Needs

From Will and Rowan (Recall Volunteer Coordinators):

The recall is picking up steam and our volunteer program is running strong. With volunteers in and out of our office and when things ramp up even more volunteers helping out, we need a few things to make this office a place you’d want to show up to. So we are asking you to help us out with a few things we need:

  • Food (We need to feed our volunteers!)
  • Toilet Paper
  • Paper Towels
  • Laptops
  • Headphones
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Water

If you are planning on bringing food, it would be preferable to bring it during the shifts we have, which are Tuesdays 9-12, Wednesday 5-8 and Friday 1-4. We also are having a big weekend of volunteer shifts on October 22nd and 23rd where we will be needing a lot of food. If you are planning on bringing non-food items, feel free to bring them any day Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.

Our office is located at 110 King Street, Suite 203 Madison WI. This is across the street from the Majestic Theater, above Ancora Coffee and half a block away from the Capitol.

If you have any questions please call us at 608-260-2416 or send us an email at either willh@wisdems.org or rowanv@wisdems.org.

Thank you so much for helping the fight for Wisconsin!

Rowan and Will
www.wisdems.org

Feb
24
2011

We Are Wisconsin

Submitted by Robin Kantzler 02/24/11 @ 8:31 am

For those who want to hear the public workers speak to you, here you go:

We Are Wisconsin from Finn Ryan on Vimeo.

Feb
24
2011

Wisconsin State Bill – Video Part 2

Submitted by Robin Kantzler 02/22/11 @ 9:46 am

Wonderful like the first. Many of the people in the video are from around the country and around the world. This is no longer a Wisconsin issue.

Please come if you can, it is democracy in the making. We welcome you.

Wisconsin “Budget Repair Bill” Protest Pt 2 from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Feb
21
2011

Top 10 Things You Should Know about Scott Walker’s Budget Repair Bill

Scott Walker’s budget repair bill (the full text of which is available online as a PDF) aims to eliminate collective bargaining rights in the State of Wisconsin. The following provisions, when considered together, should send a chill down every worker’s spine. As Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now said, “If this was happening in another country, we’d call it a Banana Republic.” (source) Read the rest of this entry »

Feb
21
2011

Contact Your Legislators!

Ask your representatives in the State Assembly and Senate to oppose Governor Walker’s destructive bill.

Feb
21
2011

Watch This Video

Submitted by Robin Kantzler 02/18/11 @ 12:11 pm

If you do nothing else today – this week – for the movement hitting Madison Wisconsin – please watch this video. SIMPLY AMAZING.

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

PASS IT ON!

Feb
21
2011

Scott Walker Padded Salary Increases for Cronies During Budgetary Distress: 24% Salary Increase for Aide with 2 Public Pensions

Submitted by Robin Kantzler from an article on BuzzFlash on Sat, 02/19/2011 – 3:34pm.

Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin who is spearheading the GOP effort to crush collective bargaining, lavished relatively large salary increases on his staff when he was chief executive of the Milwaukee County Board. Walker surreptitiously did this in 2008 – without the approval of the county board itself and at a time that the county was facing a fiscal deficit, and Walker was about to lay off a large number of union workers. In addition, 700 county positions had already been left vacant due to budgetary pressures.
Read the rest of this entry »

Feb
21
2011

Think Teachers Get Paid Too Much?

By Sarah Johannes Tormey

Are you sick of high paid teachers? Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do – baby sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.
Read the rest of this entry »

Older posts «