Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

Last week I sounded off about the importance of compensating teachers from the MOST important standpoint of the well being and potential future of our kids and grand-kids - YOU KNOW, the students that interact with the teachers. (Click Here to Read That.) Please allow me to switch to my Business Owner Hat for this short piece in which I will demonstrate the economic power of kick ass schools like we have in Lowell. Julie and I own our building. It was built in 1868 and there are two more floors above Chimera Design , the full service jewelry store we have operated here on Main Street in Lowell since 2002. We, along with four other building owners, would love to put some apartments above our retail space for a number of reasons. This morning I met with Ryan Fitzpatrick from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. He has done extensive work of this kind in downtown Grand Rapids. He oversees grant money from the State that could help little operators like Julie and I affor...

I live in Michigan. When it comes to public school teachers, the majority of the focus and energy in the Mitten is to cut teachers off at the knees - build more subsidized for-profit Charter schools that will use standardized testing and other methods to justify hiring "teachers" who will work for slightly above minimum wage. Join me as we face DC and give a big thanks to our Secretary of Education for such goings on. Because of the fact that my mother was a teacher and I watched how much work is done behind the scenes, I think teachers need to be well compensated - and by that I mean a living wage, healthcare benefits and a pension. What follows is an illustration to support my position. I am not naming names for a variety of reasons. A friend of mine is a public school teacher. She is an extra effort kind of person. In the course of her work at a public high school she came across a student - how about we call him Dan - who was on the verge of dropping out. Dan was fro...