Sen. Ralph Hise is leading the NCGA to even new lows. He helped introduce this bill this week. In Hise's eyes a "youth health protection act" is something that "protects minors from administration of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and other related actions, procedures, and treatments." It instructs government agents to: Teachers are government agents. … Continue reading The “Youth Health Protection Act” Is Nothing More Than Puritanical Paranoia And Discrimination

Senate Bill 700 was just filed today at the North Carolina General Assembly. Here are a couple of parts to that bill: First, who is to decide what is considered equal weighting? Notice the sponsors of the bills are hard-lined representatives of the same political party. And remember there is a person on the state … Continue reading Another Hypocritical & Pharisaical Bill To Target Teachers And Weaken Public Schools: SB700

One of the better political cartoons printed in the past week dealt with North Carolina's education system - specifically the new bill that will bring more of the "science of reading" into the schools. It's from Dennis Draughon, Capitol Broadcasting's editorial cartoonist. Can't say that I have seen our new state super in cartoon form, but Sen. … Continue reading Hooked On Phonics? – First, ˈFu̇(l)-lē ˈFənd ˈSkülz

There are no “silver bullets” or “magic pills” when it comes to changing a school. There is no one thing that can be done, no standard blueprint, no Harry Potter spell that can be executed that will make a struggling school turn its fortune around overnight. Rather, transforming schools is a process – one that … Continue reading There Are No “Silver Bullets” or “Magic Pills” in Changing Schools – People Make Schools Work. Invest In Them.

One of my first memories of Coach Murphy actually came at a Home Depot in Winston-Salem. I had on a West Forsyth t-shirt. I have quite a few of them. Murph had on West Forsyth garb as well. He recognized me and came straight up and told me that the football team was going to … Continue reading At West Forsyth, No One Bleeds Greener Than Coach Murph

The above was a graphic proudly shown on the Sen. Phil Berger-enabled propaganda website  www.ncteacherraise.com a couple of years ago. The link to that site no longer works. The domain is now available for purchase. There were a lot of “spun” numbers and claims on that website which were easily debunked with more context and clarity. … Continue reading Local Supplements For Teachers Mean More Than You May Think (& Raleigh Knows That)

Today an editorial appeared on WRAL.com that took State Superintendent Catherine Truitt to task about her commitment to the Leandro decision in the wake of a fast-tracked bill to bring more "science of reading" into elementary classrooms. All public school advocates in the state should read it. It begins, "In her first opportunity since becoming … Continue reading Who Do You Work For, Supt. Truitt? Students Or Privatizers?

Remember that Sen. Phil Berger is a reading expert. He gave us Read to Achieve. (Reading scores went down.) Remember that Phil Berger always listens to the recommendations of DPI and the State Board. (When they are in his pocket.) Remember that Phil Berger knows educational consulting companies well enough to not even entertain a … Continue reading Remember iStation? Looking At SB387 And Its Preordained Out-Of-State Vendor

The Excellent Public Schools Act of 2021 was presented in a fanfare fashion this week by Sen. Phil Berger, Sen. Mike Lee, and Sen. Deanna Ballard. Presented as revamped version of Read to Achieve fused with "Hooked on Phonics." it really looks good on the surface. But it will never help schools considering the past … Continue reading The Excellent Public Schools Act of 2021 Is Nothing More Than Political Grandstanding

On March 24th, former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos penned an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune entitled "As schools reopen, it’s time to emerge better than where we started." She starts with the story of a bright young high school student's suicide. It is tragic under any circumstances. My heart broke reading about Kooper Davis, a … Continue reading Betsy DeVos Wrote An Op-Ed. It’s Bad.