DIY MFA – you’ve got to check this out

DIY MFA – you’ve got to check this out
by Wendy E. N. Thomas
Every year Writer’s Digest puts out an issue with the 101 Best Websites for Writers. Cited as one of the “Best of the Best” is the DIY MFA website.

I decided to go take a look at that website and Holy Cow! If you’re a writer who is working on a project then you should definitely check this one out.

WD’s description:

Live to Write - Write to Live

Every year Writer’s Digest puts out an issue with the 101 Best Websites for Writers. Cited as one of the “Best of the Best” is the DIY MFA website.

I decided to go take a look at that website and Holy Cow! If you’re a writer who is working on a project then you should definitely check this one out.

WD’s description:

Offering a do-it-yourself alternative to a master’s degree in writing. DIY MFA provides all the tools you need to “write with focus, read with purpose and build your community” – ked by prolific teacher, speaker and writer Gabriela Pereira (author of the companion book DIY MFA, from WD books) via articles, classes and a podcast. The e-newsletter brings regular updates to your inbox with the friendly greeting “Hey there, Word Nerds!”

If you visit the website you’ll be asked for your email in order to get a writer’s…

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The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class [Guest Post by Guy Standing] »

by John Laurits

Across the world, more and more people realize they are in the precariat – or may be soon – and that they are not alone. That is bringing a change of mood, from being defeated and dispirited to being defiant and demanding. Old sociologists may be bewildered, but precariat groups are moving from mass occupations … Continue reading The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class [Guest Post by Guy Standing]

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Source: The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class [Guest Post by Guy Standing] »

What David Leonhardt Neglects to Consider in Tuesday’s Column Endorsing Charter Schools

janresseger

In a column on Tuesday, David Leonhardt, the NY Times columnist, asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a long and devoted advocate of the expansion of school vouchers, to consider Mark Dynarski’s new study—sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education itself— of the voucher program in Washington, D.C. along with the Thomas Fordham Institute’s most recent study of vouchers in Ohio.  This and other research has shown that students carrying vouchers to private schools don’t do as well in math as their public school counterparts, and don’t do significantly better in general.  Based on these studies, Leonhardt, argues that vouchers are not a good alternative to public schools, and he suggests Betsy DeVos should pay attention to the evidence.

But although Leonhardt believes vouchers don’t work, he is a big fan of school choice and charter schools. Leonhardt buys into the idea that competition through privatization is a good…

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Want To Reduce Gun Violence? Try The New Haven Approach.

When we think of gun violence, we usually think about big, urban centers like Chicago, Baltimore or St. Louis which have large, inner-city neighborhoods and, unfortunately, lots of violent crime. But it often turns out that gun violence is all too common in smaller cities, for example last week five people were gunned down in Chester, PA, a little burb of Phillly with a population of 34,000, the town leading the United States with an average of 53 gun homicides per 100,000 every year for the last fifteen years.

             Even though it’s the location of Yale University, the city of New Haven used to be right up there with places like Chester when it comes to residents getting shot.  In 2011 there were 34 homicides, which gave the city a per-100K homicide rate of 27.2, while the statewide rate that same year was 4.06.  In fact, in 2011…

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Wisconsin: “They” Did It! | BustED Pencils

How long has it been?  How long have I been writing about Wisconsin’s war on the teaching profession and the ridiculous notion that we have a “teacher shortage?”  Rhetorical I know. Well today “they” did it.  “They” opened the door to deprofesssionalization and authorized the use of emergency licenses to address the “shortage” and placed… Read more »

Source: Wisconsin: “They” Did It! | BustED Pencils

More Tax Breaks for Developers while thousands are being displaced or priced out of neighborhoods in Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Two weeks ago Michigan Radio ran an investigative story that confirms what many of us in this community have been saying for years about the current housing crisis. Pushed Out: A documentary on housing in Grand Rapids is an important and timely contribution to the current affordable housing crisis in this city. The story makes it clear that the cost of rent and the cost of housing has skyrocketed, along with the fact that more and more companies from outside of the area and outside of the state are buying up properties all across Grand Rapids.

This recent story on Michigan Radio is what makes the recent announcement so difficult to swallow. On Thursday, MLive posted yet another story about developers asking for millions in tax breaks, Tax breaks worth $4.8M urged for 3 urban redevelopment projects. 

The article states that there are three development projects asking for $4.8…

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