In 2016, then Rep. Rob Bryan and the House Committee on Education, pushed through a bill that would establish an ASD (Achievement School District) in North Carolina allowing the control of some of the state’s low-performing schools to be outsourced to out-of-state entities. That ASD was renamed the Innovative School District (ISD) in 2017 in … Continue reading The Absolute Hypocrisy of Rob Bryan and the NC Innovative School District
Public Education
Something’s Wrong With the North Carolina DPI’s Teacher Working Conditions Survey
Teachers in North Carolina have an extended deadline to complete the NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey for the Department of Public Instruction. Currently we are at 90% of teachers completing it. State Superintendent Mark Johnson wants at least 95%. It would be a badge of honor for him. The survey happens once every two years, … Continue reading Something’s Wrong With the North Carolina DPI’s Teacher Working Conditions Survey
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A Case for More Grammar Instruction in Schools (And Less Standardized Testing)
"It really don't matter how i put my words together, as long as you know what I am sayin'. If it can be read allowed in the same way that i would say it. No big deal. Its sorta like talking on a piece of paper right? Too think I should be graded on how … Continue reading A Case for More Grammar Instruction in Schools (And Less Standardized Testing)
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Drama Kids Rule! A Standing Ovation For High School Drama Programs
“Totus mundus agit histrionem.” When translated, the above Latin quote means “All the World’s a Stage” which is the motto of the Globe Theatre owned chiefly by William Shakespeare and the King’s Men. It is also a famous line from a most famous speech by Jacques from As You Like It. This past month, I enjoyed … Continue reading Drama Kids Rule! A Standing Ovation For High School Drama Programs
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Mark Jewell – Congratulations to the Leader We Need
At the NCAE state convention this past weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting some people for the first time face to face although I have "known" them for quite a while. Public school advocacy has helped me link with some of the best people, individuals whose passion for students is only matched by a … Continue reading Mark Jewell – Congratulations to the Leader We Need
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An Open Letter From a Veteran North Carolina Teacher to Young Teachers – You Are Vital
Dear Fellow Educator, I first want to tell you that I admire what you have chosen to do as a career. Teaching in today’s public schools is not easy. I know as I am in my 20th year of teaching. I still love my job. I still love being with the students. Outside of my … Continue reading An Open Letter From a Veteran North Carolina Teacher to Young Teachers – You Are Vital
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Our Schools Should Be The Most Colorful of Places
Schools should be places that should show some of the greatest amounts of color. Imagine if you as a teacher had to visually represent the wide array of talents, learning styles, abilities, skills, interests, and intangibles that each student displayed just inside of your classroom in a given period. For many teachers, that is a … Continue reading Our Schools Should Be The Most Colorful of Places
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“Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be” – What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Education Reform
400 years since he died. Four centuries. Multiple generations. New countries discovered. And we still read his work and revere it as a mirror of human nature. There is a bit of a revival taking place in some schools involving Shakespeare. The Common Core asks that student in each grade level come engage with Shakespeare … Continue reading “Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be” – What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Education Reform
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Every Student Walks Into School With “Baggage” – What the NCGA Could Help Do
When a teacher meets thirty students inside of a classroom and the bell rings, the entire sum of life experiences of all those people collides inside a confined space creating a rather complex dynamic where there is a need to be part of a collaborative community. Every situation, every stressor, every victory, every defeat, every … Continue reading Every Student Walks Into School With “Baggage” – What the NCGA Could Help Do
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Our Public Schools Are Better Than the NCGA Would Want You to Believe
Our public schools are better than you may think. Probably a lot better. With the constant dialogue that “we must improve schools” and the “need to implement reforms,” it is imperative that we as a taxpaying public seek to understand all of the variables in which schools are and can be measured, and not all … Continue reading Our Public Schools Are Better Than the NCGA Would Want You to Believe
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