Dear Secretary DeVos, My name is Malcolm and I just finished third-grade in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School system. I have vibrant red-hair and blue eyes like my mom, wear cool glasses, have a wicked follow through on my jump shot, and am quite the dancer. My dad also wears glasses, but he does not dance … Continue reading Dear Secretary DeVos, From Malcolm, A Special Normal Public School Kid
Public Education
The Most Enabled Man in Raleigh – North Carolina’s State Superintendent
The July 14th ruling by a three-judge panel in favor of State Supt. Mark Johnson may have been a huge victory on the surface for Johnson’s supporters and those who seek to exert their influence through him and his inexperience. But it is not a real victory for Johnson himself. While the office of the … Continue reading The Most Enabled Man in Raleigh – North Carolina’s State Superintendent
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When the Leader of the Public Schools Refuses to be Part of the Public
Imagine you are an official of the state elected by the public. Your job is to lead the state’s public school system. You are the head of the Department of Public Instruction. You are the lead public school instructor. You control public information. You oversee taxpayer money that comes from the public. Should you not … Continue reading When the Leader of the Public Schools Refuses to be Part of the Public
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DPI, 1984, Oceania, and Mark Johnson’s Big Brother – Another Communications Coup in North Carolina
From Orwell’s 1984: “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain.” (Book 1). News today that state superintendent Mark Johnson halted key “listserv” communications from the Department of Public Instruction may not … Continue reading DPI, 1984, Oceania, and Mark Johnson’s Big Brother – Another Communications Coup in North Carolina
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The Elimination of ASW and the Intentions of the NCGA’s Budget Cuts to DPI
What follows in this post is another manifestation of the how the NC General Assembly is trying to weaken the Department of Public Instruction in such a way so that it can control as many aspects of teacher and school evaluation to validate its actions on what it perceives as school reform. For the past … Continue reading The Elimination of ASW and the Intentions of the NCGA’s Budget Cuts to DPI
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Donald Trump Is My AP Literature Walking Syllabus – Proof That Art Imitates Life
In a world where many an English teacher like myself bemoan the lack of active reading by students of good canonized literature or other works of literary merit, there has been one person who may have unintentionally shown our American society that the lessons and themes carefully expressed in great works often studied in classes … Continue reading Donald Trump Is My AP Literature Walking Syllabus – Proof That Art Imitates Life
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Six Months Into Office – An Open Letter to Supt. Mark Johnson
“The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides leadership to 115 local public school districts and 160 charter schools serving over 1.5 million students in kindergarten through high school graduation. The agency is responsible for all aspects of the state's public school system and works under the direction of the North Carolina State Board of … Continue reading Six Months Into Office – An Open Letter to Supt. Mark Johnson
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A Thank You to Attorney General Josh Stein and Alfred E. Neuman
This past week attorneys generals from 18 states and the District of Columbia filed suit against Betsy DeVos over the freezing of an Obama-era law that protected students from predatory for-profit colleges (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/07/06/attorneys-general-sue-devos-over-delay-of-rule-to-protect-students-from-predatory-colleges/?utm_term=.655b1c73bf41). One of those attorneys general was North Carolina’s Josh Stein. And he should be commended. With a recent budget proposal by a … Continue reading A Thank You to Attorney General Josh Stein and Alfred E. Neuman
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Actually Mr. Hood, NC Should Re-institute Graduate Degree Pay For Teachers For Many Reasons
The GOP-led NC legislature’s 2013 decision to end graduate degree pay bumps for new teachers entering the teaching profession was not only misguided, but another wave in the assault on public education here in the Old North State. I confess there exist numerous studies that have shown that advanced degrees do not correlate with higher … Continue reading Actually Mr. Hood, NC Should Re-institute Graduate Degree Pay For Teachers For Many Reasons
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The Best Editorial Concerning Mark Johnson’s Tenure In Recent Memory
From the Sunday July 2, 2017 News & Observer Editorial Board: North Carolina Republicans continue to meddle in education When Republican Mark Johnson, a 33-year-old former Forsyth County school board member, upset incumbent state Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson, a Democrat, in the 2016 election, Republicans in the General Assembly were rubbing their hands … Continue reading The Best Editorial Concerning Mark Johnson’s Tenure In Recent Memory
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