"May 6-10 is Teacher Appreciation week, and I ask all North Carolinians to join me in thanking our hard-working educators. We are fortunate to have them. As state superintendent of North Carolina’s K-12 public schools, I believe that every student should be able to go to school, work hard, and reach their American Dream. And … Continue reading Being Appreciated By Mark Johnson?

It is National Teacher Appreciation Week and with a new budget being formed and new bills presented, I thought of this particular post I wrote exactly two years ago. It still seems so appropriate now. From May of 2016: In a recent report from the Lumberton NC paper The Robesonian (“McCrory: Former teacher inspired pat proposal”), Sarah … Continue reading Teacher Appreciation Week – Respect Versus Rewards

By now most students who are taking an Advanced Placement test(s) in the next two weeks are feeling the stress, anxiety, and weight that these tests may invite. And by the second week in July they will have received their scores and with those scores can sometimes come a collision between expectations and what a … Continue reading What AP Scores Can Show and Never Will

As a veteran public school teacher, I know that the most sacred part of education is the student–teacher relationship. There is a power in the exchange of knowledge and the nurturing of skill sets. It is kind of like using the Force to train new Jedi. Remember the Force? Here’s the actual definition from Obi-Wan … Continue reading The Force Is With Us, Always – A May 4th Message to NC’s Public School Teachers

From The Office: Jim Halpert: [imitating Dwight] “Fact: bears eat beets. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.”(From “Product Recall episode 2007). Former Sen. Jeff Tarte has taken great exception to teachers advocating publicly for public education. He recently released this tirade of pre-packaged "facts" on a Facebook post to the public. Apparently along with Phil Berger and other … Continue reading “Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica” : Fact Checking Former Sen. Jeff Tarte Claims on Public Education

The video that is linked to this tweet by reporter Rachel Ellis is rather telling.  The ladies who have come to talk to their representative from Alamance County are asking about raising the minimum wage for all school employees to $15. The answer they got was rather eye-opening in its ignorance and as Kris Norstrom … Continue reading You Might Want to Watch This Meeting Between a Lawmaker and Educators

Yesterday in an attempt to deflect attention away from his championing policies that have hurt public schools in North Carolina, Sen. Ralph Hise decided to deliver a math lesson for teachers and others who came to the All Out for May 1st march and rally. "For every minute NCAE protesters spent with Republican senators, 125 … Continue reading The Erroneous, Selfish Math of Sen. Ralph Hise

Almost every county and school system showed it's support for the All Out on May 1st this week. 34 school districts. 10 charter schools. There were thousands who marched. And so many more who lent support from their home districts. To think that everyone who put in a personal leave day for May 1st was … Continue reading Not All Who Marched and Rallied On May 1st Were in Raleigh

A website appeared on the political landscape in 2016 that still continues to expand the Phil Berger education propaganda machine, and it was used to tout erroneous talking points for many a legislator yesterday  in the halls of the Legislative Building on West Jones Street. If you made it inside of the building and had … Continue reading About Those “Teacher Pay Facts” Shared At The NCGA On May 1st By Certain Lawmakers

I have had the privilege of hearing Rev. Barber speak four times in person: twice at Moral Monday gatherings in Raleigh, once at the national convention of the Network for Public Education in Raleigh, and today at the All Out for May 1st Rally - again in Raleigh. If you ever get to hear him … Continue reading What the Rev. Dr. William Barber Taught Me Today About The “Teachable” Moment