May 16th. Super-majorities Broken. Incumbents Who Championed Privatization Movements Were Defeated. National Coverage. Higher Voter Turnout. Innovative School District Shown to be Ineffective. Lies About Funding Class Size Mandate Exposed. Lots of Red Being Worn on Wednesdays. Keeping Budget Process This Year From Going Through Nuclear Option. Defeated Two Egregious Constitutional Amendments. All of the … Continue reading 20 Reasons Why Public School Advocacy Worked in North Carolina in 2018 – Keep Doing It In 2019

Those who seek to “reform” public education will all use numbers and figures that portray student achievement in public schools as lagging. They may talk of low student test scores and graduation rates that are not high enough. They may talk about school performance grades and teacher evaluations.  Yet their arguments rely mostly on hazy … Continue reading Test Scores, Student Achievement, & Graduation Rates: Three of the Most “Spun” Terms in Public Education Reform

It was about this time last year that Mark Johnson hurled praise upon a new and improved school performance grading platform and revamp school report card interface. Johnson was touting the "new" tool in December of 2017 as a way to help parents "choose" what is best for their students based on a skewed report … Continue reading Dear Mark Johnson, Delaying School Performance Grades? How About Just Eliminating Them.

There are many on West Jones Street in Raleigh who are deathly afraid of a certain “genus” of people, and more scared are they of a certain species in that genus that they have exerted great effort to make it endangered in hopes of making it extinct. The biological classification of this genus / species … Continue reading The Newest Member of the Endangered Species List in NC, the “North Cackalacky Magister Expertus” – Commonly Known as the North Carolina Veteran Teacher

Remember, we were one of the states that marched and demonstrated last spring. One of the most overused electioneering blurbs used by many incumbent lawmakers in North Carolina this past election cycle was that our state has given the highest percentage "average" pay raise to teachers in the last four years. Lawmakers like Tim Moore … Continue reading “America Is Losing Its Teachers at a Record Rate” – Raleigh is a Big Part of This Problem

Teach for a few years in a traditional public school setting and the calendar that your life follows will not be the one that many other professions follow. Sure, a fiscal year does not follow a January - December model, but school years have their own ebb and flow that society has placed upon them. … Continue reading This Teacher’s New Year’s Day Was In August

“Thirty-six,” he said, looking up at his mother and father. “That’s two less than last year.” “Darling, you haven’t counted Auntie Marge’s present, see, it’s here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy.” “Alright, thirty-seven then,” said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began … Continue reading The Gift of Living in the Present – A Musing With Malcolm

Like every other year, 2018 has been a rather contentious, perplexing, and frustrating year for public school advocates. There is simply a lot working against us. However, that only means that we keep fighting for public schools. As the new year arrives, it might be worthwhile to review the top ten public education issues that surround … Continue reading The Top 10 Educational Issues From 2018 That Need Our Attention in 2019

Invariably, in many social situations, I am asked that same ubiquitous question many people face: “So, what do you do for a living?” And when I answer that I am a teacher the reactions are varied.  “Wow, that must be exciting!”  “Do you guys still use red ink?” “How do you handle those kids?” “I … Continue reading Tests Can’t Measure the True Strength of Schools And Other Reasons Your Kids Aren’t Numbers