Month: January 2017

An Open Letter to BEST NC Concerning Meeting With Michelle Rhee -Every Public School Teacher Needs To Be Aware Of This

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Dear Mrs. Berg, As the CEO of BEST NC, you and your team have led a coalition of business leaders who have helped steer the conversation surrounding public education in North Carolina. While many times as a public school teacher I have disagreed with your interpretation and analysis of the variables, causes, and effects that … Continue reading An Open Letter to BEST NC Concerning Meeting With Michelle Rhee -Every Public School Teacher Needs To Be Aware Of This

Don’t Fall For The “Status Quo” Fallacy Concerning Public Education

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The term “status quo” has become something of a nebulous term for public education and has evolved into a powerful logical fallacy used by reformers. Consider the following: “The heat is already intense not just because it involves the future of our children but also because a lot of money is at stake. Essentially, it’s … Continue reading Don’t Fall For The “Status Quo” Fallacy Concerning Public Education

Praise The Lard and Pass The Retribution – An Amazon.com Wish List for Sen. Joyce Krawiec

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"Praise the lard and pass the retribution Need a little bit more Cause this pan needs greasin' I don't know where I'll be ordering' But it's arrivin' on a mail wagon." - Apologies to the Dixie Chicks for the small rewrite of "Sin Wagon" If you remember the now famous tweet from State Sen. Joyce Krawiec, you … Continue reading Praise The Lard and Pass The Retribution – An Amazon.com Wish List for Sen. Joyce Krawiec

I Will Not Write Joyce Krawiec About Her Tweet Concerning The Women’s March, But I Will…

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I am not going to write Sen. Joyce Krawiec a letter concerning her statement in a recent tweet that belittled the women who marched in the Women’s March this past Saturday which looked something like this: I am not going remark to her that using Twitter allows for your comments to be seen by everybody … Continue reading I Will Not Write Joyce Krawiec About Her Tweet Concerning The Women’s March, But I Will…

Verbal Iocane – What The Princess Bride Can Teach Us Besides Turning Archetypes Upside Down

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Everyone should see the Princess Bride at some time in their lives. There’s that kid from the Wonder Years, Andre the Giant, the minister, Jenny from Forrest Gump, and the guy who tries to take Tom Cruise’s sponsorship in Days of Thunder. “Inconceivable!” In it there is the encounter that Westley (as the Dread Pirate … Continue reading Verbal Iocane – What The Princess Bride Can Teach Us Besides Turning Archetypes Upside Down

The Tautology of Betsy DeVos – Or, Why I Don’t Want Her Teaching or Instructing An English Class

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Forget the agony. Forget the use of the wrong word to describe something that is not even a proper noun! Forget the wrong preposition! Forget the incorrect capitalization (if you are a journalist)! But oh, the tautology! That is the dagger. What the hell is “tautology?” Alrighty then, just google it. Noun: the saying of … Continue reading The Tautology of Betsy DeVos – Or, Why I Don’t Want Her Teaching or Instructing An English Class

Excuse Me Mr. Barista? May I Have Some More Spicer in My Sycophant Latte? – Or, The Making of a New SNL Skit

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First it was about the size of the hands. Now it’s about the size of the crowd. New Press Secretary Sean Spicer made his first appearance as Trump’s mouthpiece on Saturday during a day of protest with the Women’s March on Washington and other metropolitan/urban venues. And he sounded like he was a mad elementary … Continue reading Excuse Me Mr. Barista? May I Have Some More Spicer in My Sycophant Latte? – Or, The Making of a New SNL Skit

Taking Dolorous Umbrage at Betsy DeVos With No Apologies to Dolores Umbridge, But I Miss Alan Rickman

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When you teach a number of years coupled with the fact that social media has become such a mainstay in our culture, you have the opportunity to stay connected with former students much more easily. It is rather a humbling that these younger people (younger than I) would want to tell you about how their … Continue reading Taking Dolorous Umbrage at Betsy DeVos With No Apologies to Dolores Umbridge, But I Miss Alan Rickman

Bear This In Mind, Grizzlies Are Not Preying on Public Schools – Even Dwight Shrute Would Agree, but watch out for Beets and Battlestar Galactica

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First there was The Office. Jim Halpert: [imitating Dwight] “Fact: bears eat beets. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica." (From “Product Recall episode 2007). Then there was Sarah Palin. "This mama grizzly ... has more reason than ever to protect our young" – Sarah Palin, 2008. There’s always been the references to Russia as a bear. “Don’t … Continue reading Bear This In Mind, Grizzlies Are Not Preying on Public Schools – Even Dwight Shrute Would Agree, but watch out for Beets and Battlestar Galactica

When Your Senator Sells His Spine For Contributions – Burr’s Praise For DeVos

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Dear Senator Burr, Late on January 18, 2017, after the disastrous hearing of Betsy DeVos in front of the HELP committee in which she clearly showed she was not just unqualified to be Secretary of Education, but rather uniquely oblivious to policies that help guide our public schools, you issued the following statement: “I’m glad … Continue reading When Your Senator Sells His Spine For Contributions – Burr’s Praise For DeVos