Forget the apples. Forget the Starbucks Gift Cards. Forget homemade cookies. This year give teachers gifts that they can not only truly enjoy, but truly use to make them better at what they do. Time Machine – specifically one that looks cool. Maybe something akin to the DeLorean in the iconic movie Back to the … Continue reading Top 15 Gifts For Teachers – If You Really Love Them
Author: caffeinatedrage
Hio Hio Ipsanio – NC Already Has Homemade Remedies for Struggling Schools
Forget pop culture references. Time to go retro. One of the best television shows of the early to mid-1990’s was on CBS (specifically Monday night) called Northern Exposure. It chronicled the adventures of a Jewish doctor from New York fresh out of an Ivy League medical school who must serve a community in Alaska because … Continue reading Hio Hio Ipsanio – NC Already Has Homemade Remedies for Struggling Schools
An Application for “The Traditional Public Charter School”
In an educational climate (here in North Carolina and elsewhere) that seems to be changing as quickly as the Earth’s temperature, it might be time to suggest helping traditional schools gain some more resources and support from the North Carolina General Assembly. In the past four years, North Carolina has successfully taken a public education … Continue reading An Application for “The Traditional Public Charter School”
Opportunity Grants and Missed Opportunity Refunds
Irony makes this world go ‘round and North Carolina is providing plenty of it in the form of vouchers, or as proponents call them in North Carolina, Opportunity Grants. In truth, they should be called Missed Opportunity Grants, because the money that the North Carolina General Assembly has spent and wants to spend on vouchers … Continue reading Opportunity Grants and Missed Opportunity Refunds
You Know You Are a Middle-Aged Public School Teacher When… – A Work in Progress
You Know You Are a Middle-Aged Public School Teacher When You pull a hamstring going up the stairs right after a fire drill. You make a reference to a movie that a student claims that his parent may have seen. You fondly look back at the time when there were no cellphones in the classroom. … Continue reading You Know You Are a Middle-Aged Public School Teacher When… – A Work in Progress
The Unwritten Expectations of Great Teachers
When you become a public school teacher there are sets of rules and dictates you must abide by. There are laws. There are procedures. There are decrees. There are edicts. There is protocol. And there are expectations. When parents, students, voters, taxpayers, government officials, post-secondary institutions, and employers all have some sort of stake in … Continue reading The Unwritten Expectations of Great Teachers
Maximus Decimus Meridias Trump – “Are You Not Entertained?”
The first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at Hofstra University proved to be more than a ratings sweep for the three major networks and news channels. To be exact, I mean “semi-exact,” it was pure entertainment. And a fantastic study of body language. You can watch the debate over again and decide for … Continue reading Maximus Decimus Meridias Trump – “Are You Not Entertained?”
“Water, Water, Everywhere!” – What The Ancient Mariner, Sid the Sloth, and Donald Trump Have in Common
“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” ― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Gustave Dore These famous lines from what I consider the greatest narrative poem in the English language (and the most haunting) are a perfect example of … Continue reading “Water, Water, Everywhere!” – What The Ancient Mariner, Sid the Sloth, and Donald Trump Have in Common
Lion Man and Battle Yak – Malcolm’s Quest to Defeat Evil in the Toy Store And Why It Is So Important
Yep. It's kind of our thing. We go to the toy store, play with the toys, and see what Malcolm likes to play with for gift ideas. You may think it is just to pass time. It's not. It is rather deliberate. His mom and I need him working with things that he can manipulate, … Continue reading Lion Man and Battle Yak – Malcolm’s Quest to Defeat Evil in the Toy Store And Why It Is So Important
Teachers, EpiPens, and “Educational” Anaphylactic Shock
In the summer of 1988, I was at the family farm in northeast Georgia feeding calves in a shelter located behind my uncle’s veterinary clinic. I entered the doorway and immediately was greeted by a red wasp who took a small divet out of the tip of my nose while injecting its venom. I immediately … Continue reading Teachers, EpiPens, and “Educational” Anaphylactic Shock
caffeinated rage 