I am a teacher. By the third year of teaching, my daily routine outside of school was marked by a schedule that centered around teaching. Bells go off in my head during the summers. No matter what day it is, I naturally awake at the same time. When there is complete silence, I sometimes have … Continue reading What This Teacher Misses Most? The Organized Chaos Of School

Today at 11:00, a meeting will convene with the State Board of Education to discuss a variety of issues surrounding the closure of public schools in the state and how to offer instruction to students to complete the school year. Hidden in that agenda is a request from State Superintendent Mark Johnson to pay iStation … Continue reading HB17, Deep State, Common Core, Class Wallet, and iPads – The State Board of Education Should Not Listen To Mark Johnson’s Recommendation For Paying iStation

Dr. Chelsea Bartel has been following the controversy concerning Mark Johnson's unilateral decision to purchase iStation and exposing its lack of transparency longer than most anyone. She posted this tweet today. iStation wants $1.2 million for us to keep using their platform during the prolonged school closures. Amplify is offering theirs for free. Justin Parmenter … Continue reading Spend $1.2 Million On The Program We Didn’t Like Or Use The One We Do Like For Free? More About iStation

1461 days. 1733 posts. 700,000+ hits. And not stopping now. If I could ask for one thing that you can do, it is to share with others the advocacy for public schools that I hope this blog helps to do. And if you could invite others to read and engage with what this blog produces, … Continue reading Four Years Ago Today This Blog Began

For me, it's Year 22. Three schools. Two states. Between two to three thousand students who have come through my classrooms. Tens of thousands of essays graded. Multiple curricula adoptions, evaluation tools, administrative changes, over twenty proms, and more sporting events than I can count. Yet, never have I had to teach remotely in this … Continue reading Dear First Year Teacher, You Are No Longer A New Educator

Self-quarantine. Stay at home. Social distancing. Shelter in place. Isolation. Keeping yourself “half a world away.” One of the starker realities of this COVID-19 epidemic is that my neighbors and my family in other states are all literally “half a world” away. That possible human exchange and interaction that fulfills the need of belonging can’t … Continue reading Saving The World By Staying “Half A World Away” – Some Hope From R.E.M.

Remember the HB2 debacle? The one that gave us the "Bathroom Bill" and the lost business in North Carolina and a stain on our reputation as a state? All for a non-existent problem. But Lt. Gov. Dan Forest championed that bill and its intent as much as anyone. Remember this? “If our action in keeping men … Continue reading This Has Aged Well – Framing The Words Of Lt. Gov. Dan Forest Within The COVID-19 Outbreak

It helps to follow people on social media who can always help keep important issues "up front and out loud." That's one reason I follow Kris Nordstrom's Twitter feed. Today he reminded me of the need to get people to fill out the census survey. North Carolina is not doing so well in its completion … Continue reading One The Best Virtual “Lessons” For All Students & Families: Complete The Census

...that I can see them a lot more in the future. It's funny that a nation which is both the richest in the world and the one that supports STEM related educational paths to get more students to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematical careers is having such a hard time getting enough masks, test … Continue reading This Teacher Would Rather Miss Them For A Few More Weeks If It Means…