I did not always agree with Sen. John McCain’s assessments of how our country should act in many situations, but I have never doubted that he  had only the best in mind when it does come to our country. Political affiliations aside, he is (yes, still present tense) a true patriot. I do not believe … Continue reading Godspeed, Sen. John McCain

"Like a dull knife Just isn't cutting Just talking loud Then saying nothing.  - "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" - James Brown, 1970 True to form, teachers received a "back to school" pep talk from Mark Johnson that leans more heavily on air than on substance. The text of it is below. Educators: Welcome back … Continue reading “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing” -A James Brown Dedication to the State Superintendent’s Latest Message

From the New York Times on August 22nd: "The Education Department is considering whether to allow states to use federal funding to purchase guns for educators, according to multiple people with knowledge of the plan. Such a move appears to be unprecedented, reversing a longstanding position taken by the federal government that it should not … Continue reading Still Not For Arming Teachers And Never Was For Betsy DeVos

I miss Chris Farley. His stint on Saturday Night Live is still memorable. There’s that opening number with Patrick Swayze where he and Swayze were competing for a spot in the Chippendale dancers. Then there’s "Matt Foley", a motivational speaker who lives “in a van down by the river.” But my favorite Chris Farley performance … Continue reading How Chris Farley and Tommy Boy Accurately Explain Educational Policy in North Carolina

Of all the primary political signs that were spread throughout the city where I reside, at least three of four deal with local school board elections. This is not an anomaly. I cannot remember a time in an election cycle in which the majority of roadside political signs of local and state office did not … Continue reading Are They Willing to Confront State Lawmakers on Behalf of Public Schools? Why Local School Board Elections Are So Important in 2018 for Every NC School System

With a new school year starting in North Carolina, it usually is customary for leaders of school systems and individual schools to offer words of encouragement and support to teachers to help inaugurate classes. State Superintendent Mark Johnson offered a “Welcome Back to School” video to teachers last August, and while it seems to say … Continue reading Ever More Complicit in NC’s Testing Culture – Our State Superintendent’s Empty Promise to Curb “Over-testing”

I believe every policy maker who touts "personalized learning" and screams  "differentiated instruction" in our schools to reach every child maximally should sit in on some IEP meetings - the tough ones where parents and schools struggle to find what is not only appropriate for the student, but how those needs will be met. And … Continue reading Dear Supt. Mark Johnson and NCGA, You Are Invited to My Son’s Next IEP Meeting

I miss Kurt Vonnegut. Lived through the Great Depression. Fought in WWII. A POW and a social critic. Truly a leading voice for the twentieth century. Fifty years of writing – 14 novels, 3 short story collections, 5 plays, and 5 works of nonfiction. Slaughterhouse Five is a must read for anyone (and on my suggested list … Continue reading Billy Pilgrim and the Sermon on the Mount – The Differences Between the Beatitudes and the Me-atitudes

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 True Human Resources: People Make Schools Work – Ask the NCGA to Invest in Them With Your Vote in November

In many ways I have never stopped being your teacher, and while your time in my classroom may or may not have been the intellectual pinnacle of your academic career (although we know it was), please know that I wish you all good things. Remember to go to class. Major in English. Lots of money … Continue reading To All My Former Students Going Back to College