Writing at the Huffington Post, Brandon Greene says we have been eager to launch policy at educators, but we have not been eager to collaborate with or support them.

If teachers are our number one resource, why do we treat them so poorly?
It goes without saying that teachers are under a tremendous amount of stress in today's educational landscape. The rhetoric of the day paints teachers as privileged, whiny, and entitled. Reports are put forth that place not only the future of our country's economy on the shoulders of educators but also our national security. We hear a lot of talk about how teachers' unions and tenure are to blame for the country's educational woes. We hear that, if teachers want to be treated like professionals, they need to act like and be held accountable like professionals. What we don't often hear, however, is how we need to support teachers. The question is, why?

We know that there is currently a deficit, not a surplus, of teachers. Districts across the country are continuously facing staffing shortages, even with the influx of teachers acquired through alternative licensure programs like Teach for America, The New Teacher Project and others. While there are some who believe that the continued infusion of "new blood" into the teaching profession is good, the rate of turnover in our schools is neither sustainable nor conducive for the learning environments our students need. Of course, there is no doubt that there are some teachers who are ineffective and perhaps should look for careers in fields that may better fit their talents. However, there is also no doubt that, due to the stress, strain, vitriol and "success-or-apocalypse" pressure placed on educators, many of them are leaving the profession within the five years it takes to fully hit their stride.

Even those teachers who would have been the most effective and those teachers who dreamed of being teachers are leaving the profession. Why aren't we capturing this lost potential?

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/why-do-we-refuse-treat-teachers-theyre-important

SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) – Drivers, get ready for safe and smooth winter driving. That’s the plan, at least, in Oakland County.

The Road Commission for Oakland County is already getting started on their preparations ahead of this winter, which means replacing two salt domes.

Drivers on Lapeer Road in Lake Orion and through Southfield along the Lodge near American Drive may have noticed the old domes are gone.

“Well we’re replacing one here in Southfield and one in Lake Orion,” Matt Mountain, ROCC superintendent of the Southfield garage, told WWJ Newsradio 950′s Mike Campbell. “The salt domes are getting old and deteriorating. So it’s time for new ones.”

Mountain said the diameter of the dome at the garage in Southfield is actually about the same size as the old one, but the new one will be taller and that means they’ll be able to store more salt.

“Actually, this one here, they put the foundation in. They’ll take it and it’ll be kind of like Silverdome was. They’ll blow that thing up and then they do all the work from the inside and the canvas that is blown up is actually the outside of the salt dome when it’s completed,” he said.

What did they do other than keep rain off the salt?

“Well that’s what we needed to do. Keep the rain off the salt because otherwise it has a tendency to clump up,” Mountain said. “When it clumps up, it doesn’t come out of our augers or our spinners on the trucks during winter.”

Mountain said he doesn’t think salt will be an issue. They are down about 50 drivers but the big concern for him is the aging vehicles. He said they haven’t been able to afford to replace a truck since 2007.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/17/road-commission-preps-ahead-of-winter-salting-season/

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit firefighters are getting some new protective gear, as well as 100 automatic defibrillators, thanks in part to a $1.75 million Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) grant.

Detroit Fire Commissioner Don Austin says 645 sets of fire-resistant coats and pants are ready to be handed out. Another 332 sets of gear are expected in about six weeks. All together, it’s enough gear to outfit 70 percent of the city’s firefighters.

The 977 sets of gear were paid for by a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant, combined with nearly $1 million identified by Mayor Dave Bing in the Detroit budget to meet a municipal contribution requirement under the grant program.

The money also paid for 100 automatic defibrillators that will be used to respond to heart attacks and other heart-related emergencies, along with seven air-filling stations used to refresh the compressed air tanks that firefighters wear in order to breathe when surrounded by heavy smoke.

“I am extremely pleased that nearly every Detroit firefighter will soon have brand new protective gear and emergency equipment, thanks to our partnership with FEMA,” Bing said in a release. “Our men and women in the Detroit Fire Department risk their lives to save others and it is imperative that they are well-equipped to do their job,” the mayor said.

Detroit has been awarded two Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grants from FEMA this year, totaling $28.3 million. The money prevented 108 firefighters from being laid off, allowed the city to rehire 26 laid-off firefighters, and paid for two years of salaries and benefits for both groups of firefighters.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/18/detroit-firefighters-receive-new-gear-lifesaving-equipment/

DETROIT (WWJ) - A Michigan lawmaker says immigration officials went too far on Tuesday when they tried to apprehend two men near schools in Southwest Detroit.

Representative Rashida Talib (D-Detroit) said the men, both fathers, were approached by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents while their children watched.

Jorge is seen with his daughter at a rally in front of Cesar Chavez High School (credit: Alliance for Immigrants Rights & Reform – Michigan).
According to the Alliance for Immigrant Rights & Reform Michigan, Hector Orozco was dropping his son off at Cesar Chavez Middle School, when he was taken into custody.

Another man, named Jorge, was stopped just outside Manuel Reyes Vistas Nuevas Head Start Center. He took refuge inside the school, where he called Talib.

“We were taking the children to school, the same as we do every day,” he said. “The immigration agents stopped my car, and were about to arrest me. Then my son begged them, ‘Please, don’t take my dad. He’s just taking us to school.’ That’s when the agent told me to drop the children off and then come back to my house where he would be waiting. It was terrifying.”

Jorge, whose last name was not provided, never returned home.

“As a community member I am outraged, and as a mother, I am heartbroken,” said Tlaib, who says ICE has agreed agents will not approach immigrants near schools or churches.

“Why not at their homes? Why not away from their children? Why not away from the schools as they promised us? … There are policies in place for the protection of our families and our children and they need to be abided by,” Talib told WWJ Newsradio 950′s Marie Osborne.

“The leadership of Detroit ICE is either unwilling or unable to control their agents, so that’s why we’re calling for the immediate resignation of Detroit ICE Enforcement Director Rebecca Adducci,” she said. “We need immediate accountability for this out-of-control department.”

In a prepared statement, officials said ICE agents did not violate any policies, including approaching immigrants near sensitive areas, in the Tuesday afternoon operation.

Orozco remained detained on Wednesday. A rally as held outside Cesar Chavez Academy on Wednesday as advocates continue to call for his immediate release.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/17/advocates-cry-foul-over-immigrant-arrests-near-detroit-schools/