Our public schools are better than many lawmakers portray them to be – lawmakers who have never spent time as educators. A lot better. And the problem is not the schools. The problem is the lawmaking body that controls the narrative of how schools are performing. With the constant dialogue that “we must improve schools” … Continue reading Our Public Schools Are Better Than The North Carolina General Assembly Wants You to Believe

If you teach long enough in the public schools, you will be fortunate enough to come across some great individuals who coach sports teams all the while teaching these very players lessons of life and success even in the wake of defeat. And I want to scream that they need to have much higher stipends. … Continue reading Public School Coaches Need Much Higher Stipends

Every reason that the NCSBE should reject the blueprint of the new licensure / pay proposal has been thoroughly explained by both Justin Parmenter and Kris Nordstrom in clear terms. Read Justin Parmenter’s recent post on that Pathways to Excellence proposal that he has been following and exposing this scheme at every angle. He highlights that in … Continue reading The NC State Board Of Education Meets This Week And They Should Vote This Down

As of this post, there are thousands of vacancies in the state of North Carolina. According to a recent study, NC ranks 11th in teacher shortage rates. That report is based on this study of the number of teachers as measured against the population. One quick and effective action the state could take is to … Continue reading Time For This State To Allow Teachers To “Double-Dip”

Ten years ago teachers in North Carolina could receive an increase in salary and a higher certificate if they held graduate degrees. That does not happen any longer. Ten years ago teachers in North Carolina could receive due-process rights after a few years of teaching to allow themselves a chance for defense if their jobs … Continue reading The Endgame: To Make Public School Teaching A Short-Term Contract Job In North Carolina

... would you really support it? Do you believe that it would really help recruit and retain a teaching force in a state that already is experiencing a record number of vacancies? According to the latest draft of the proposal there are five different levels a teacher could qualify for: Apprentice, License I, License II, … Continue reading Dear Former Teachers At DPI “Championing” The New Licensure / Pay Proposal: If You Were Still In The Classroom…

Elon Musk's rather chaotic takeover of Twitter is hard to ignore. A $44 billion-dollar acquisition of a top social media company right before an important midterms election cycle drove the dialogue on many other social media platforms. Still is. But Musk's takeover of Twitter in order to take the publicly-held company private has some very … Continue reading What Elon Musk Can Teach Us About Public Education Reforms (And Privatization Efforts)

A faction of the same body that is entertaining more "roles" for teachers to perform with a new licensure / pay proposal may also get to entertain a reworking of the school year that would make time an even more scarce commodity. Rep. John Torbett is the chair of the House Select Education Committee that … Continue reading Labor Day Until Memorial Day. You Want A Shorter School Year (And Be Required to Do More)?

I wish that every extremist school board candidate who ran on platforms of righteous and reactionary anger did not get elected to local school boards, but unfortunately some did. But a lot of them did not. And for good reason. It is hard to think of any other office that gets as much attention and … Continue reading To The Extremist School Board Candidate Who Did Not Get Elected (Or Barely Did)

First, read Justin Parmenter's latest post on the Pathways to Excellence proposal that he has been following and exposing at every angle. He highlights that in a vote of 9-7, the PEPSC Commission approved sending a "blueprint" to the State Board of Education for the new merit pay / licensure proposal that's been in the … Continue reading When A 9-7 Vote Is Not A Mark Of Approval. About That Merit Pay / Teacher Licensure Proposal.