“We do not need to be shoemakers to know if our shoes fit, and just as little have we any need to be professionals to acquire knowledge of matters of universal interest” — Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, 19th century German philosopher. * Fascinating essay that weaves through the motivations of a young Henry Ford to […]
Detroit
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan's 'Faltering 40' on college prep
If you want your son or daughter to succeed in college, there are 40 public school districts you may want to avoid. In an analysis by Bridge Magazine and Public Sector Consultants, these 40 districts, spread across the state and ranging from urban to rural, scored in the bottom rungs of four different college-readiness measures. […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice” — Anton Chekhov, 19th century Russian playwright. * It’s high season for complaining about taxes. But have you ever wondered exactly how Michigan’s tax system operates. The inestimable Citizens Research Council of Michigan does an annual overview of the state tax system. The latest […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Political turmoil threatens to close gateway to jobs
The idea: Transform Michigan into theMidwest’s premier inland port and transportation hub, uniquely linking air, sea, rail and road capabilities. Create a new industry — a Great Lakes Global Gateway — forged from our existing manufacturing and agricultural sectors. The vision: Take advantage of our geography and infrastructure to become the lowest-cost transportation center for […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Everyone loses if Detroit's course doesn't change
Oddly, the first question the politicians asked after the Detroit City Council finally voted to approve the consent agreement with the state of Michigan was not “will it work,” but “Who won?” Short Answer No. 1: Too early to tell. Short Answer No. 2: Wrong question. Third Answer, a little longer: Sadly, in most cases, […]
Posted inQuality of Life
The unending ballad of Willie and Bronco
It takes three to make a trend, but maybe the word doesn’t apply for a city like Detroit, where the extraordinary news that fills the daily papers makes it one of the most interesting cities in the country. Last week, a 75-year-old man shot and killed an 18-year-old who had just kicked in his side […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Time to discuss radical options for Detroit
Most of the sound and fury enveloping Detroit these past few weeks has been about the near-bankrupt city’s immediate financial survival, whether via a consent agreement between the city and the state or, failing that, an emergency manager. No one doubts Detroit is in terrible financial shape. The reported annual operating deficit is near $270 million. There’s […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Gang takes over parks — and tidies them
Tom Nardone’s father was an Elk in Wakefield, Mass., and spent time, as Elks do, in the Elks Hall. His son assumed his dad went to the club mostly to have a place to drink with his buddies. “I didn’t know the money they spent there went to children’s charities,” he said. “It never occurred […]
Posted inTalent & Education
For parents, charters are about choice
Once upon a time in public education, when all schools were neighborhood schools and attendance was a matter of which side of the boundary lines you lived on, families like Marilyn Williams’ would have been rare indeed. The mother of two teenage daughters just two years apart, Williams’ daughters don’t just attend different classes, but […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers” — Alfred Lord Tennyson, 19th century English poet * What’s going on inFinland? The Center forMichigan is engaged in a statewide round of community conversations on how to improve K-12 education. Our outreach coordinator, Courtney Thompson, tells us that in sessions so far, one nation keeps cropping up for praise: […]