Remember when the North Carolina General Assembly eliminated the Teaching Fellows Program a few years back? They then "recreated" it to develop more STEM-related subject teachers in our schools because of the emphasis on STEM curriculum. From EdNC.org: The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction even has a program to promote STEM education. Even the … Continue reading The Hypocrisy Of Promoting STEM Education In NC

Millions of dollars for iPads - many of which ended up in a warehouse. Then there was that thing with ClassWallet. And we are still trying to get over the whole iStation contract debacle. Don't forget the million dollar price tag to "audit" DPI to determine how many more cuts should be made in the … Continue reading Yet Another Example Of Why Mark Johnson Was The Wrong Person For The Job

It was just confirmed that Sen. Jerry Tillman is resigning as a state senator. Sen. Jerry Tillman is a former teacher, coach, and administrator in public schools who retired long ago. He then became one of the biggest champions of reforming the very public school system from which he gets his pension. And those reforms have … Continue reading Good News For NC Public Schools – Sen. Jerry Tillman Is Resigning

If you have not heard just yet, Art Pope has been nominated to finish the term of resigning UNC Board of Governor Bob Rucho. Most public school advocates know of Art Pope as the founder of libertarian think tanks the John Locke Foundation and the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. The John Locke Foundation (and … Continue reading Moving Toward Dystopian Higher Ed In North Carolina: Art Pope’s Appointment The The UNC Board

From just the last two days. https://twitter.com/i/status/1275912010555932672 https://twitter.com/i/status/1275582279289581571 When nebulous standardized tests become the way to measure "student achievement" and curriculum is written within a framework of societal dominance instead of truth, we get this. When we have people in power who spend time denying science and using rhetoric to divide, we get this. Please … Continue reading 5G, Pancake Syrup, And A Cow – What Will Future Students Think When They Study 2020?

This past Monday in the Charlotte Observer, state senator Kathy Harrington from Gaston County penned an op-ed entitled "NC Republicans have provided meaningful teacher raises." She begins: "For years, Democrats have seized upon teacher pay as an electioneering tool to convince people to vote for them. The logic goes something like this: Teachers educate your … Continue reading Sen. Kathy Harrington Penned An Op-Ed About Teacher Pay In NC -It’s Grossly Misleading

Yesterday the libertarian think tank John Locke Foundation hosted an online event to talk about the LEANDRO case in NC and the judicial system's ruling concerning the funding of public schools. Please remember that the John Locke Foundation is one of two official North Carolina affiliates of the State Policy Network established by the Koch … Continue reading Concerning The John Locke Foundation’s “Perspective” On The LEANDRO Ruling

Depending on which math and science track is taken in high school, it is conceivable a student who matriculates in NC’s public schools will take around 40 standardized tests. That list does not include any local benchmark assessments, the PSAT, the ACT, the Pre-ACT, or any of the AP exams that may come with Advanced … Continue reading The Cruel Irony Coronavirus Is Teaching Us About “Standardized” Testing

Justin Parmenter, who writes the Notes From The Chalkboard blog and is as fierce a public school advocate as I have ever had the privilege of working with, shared this sound clip from this past month in which Sen. Phil Berger comments on the Leandro report's findings about school funding in NC. In that sound … Continue reading Actually Phil, We Do Have Money – 10 Things NC Can Do Now To Begin To Honor The LEANDRO RULINGS

It was about one year ago when Lt. Gov. Dan Forest began pushing to have a personal finance class become a mandatory course in NC public high schools. And in order to make that work (after it was passed), what had been a mandatory course in US History was taken away as students went from … Continue reading So, We Will Make Sure To Add These Events To The Social Studies Curriculum?