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
Doughnuts for State Superintendent Mark Johnson
When I first stated teaching, I was at a school in the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County School System. Winston-Salem is the home of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and I used their doughnuts for fundraising ("Fun"raising). In fact, the club I sponsored was able to raise quite a bit of dough (pun intended). Odd that a company … Continue reading Doughnuts for State Superintendent Mark Johnson
A Letter to My Daughter – “Your Dad Is a Feminist”
McK, First, I want to let you know that you are the most important woman in my life. Always will be. Maybe society dictates that I should say your mother is the most important woman in my life, but she and I look at you and Malcolm as the most important woman and man in … Continue reading A Letter to My Daughter – “Your Dad Is a Feminist”
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
“Everybody Hurts” – Prioritizing Mental Health In High Schools With Some R.E.M.
Everybody hurts. Sometimes. Teach for twenty years in public high schools and you become entrenched in the lives of young people. Thousands of them. Literally thousands. If you take the avocation of being a teacher seriously, then that investment in young people is not confined to the four walls of a classroom and not restricted … Continue reading “Everybody Hurts” – Prioritizing Mental Health In High Schools With Some R.E.M.
My State Superintendent Will Eat Doughnuts For Me Because That’s What Real Leaders Do
Every two years the Department of Public Instruction issues a Teacher Working Conditions Survey to get a sense of how public school teachers feel about their working environment. This is the first one with Mark Johnson as the state superintendent. And I have one big (among smaller ones) complaint about the survey: it should ask … Continue reading My State Superintendent Will Eat Doughnuts For Me Because That’s What Real Leaders Do
Our “World Leader Pretend”
If one was to choose a song that played through unseen speakers when a self-important individual like Donald Trump walked into the room, “World Leader Pretend” would be hard to overlook. And it isn’t just because of the obvious parallels to the lyrics, but the fact that the first person point of view so brilliantly … Continue reading Our “World Leader Pretend”
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
When Our Secretary of Education Chooses to Remain Uneducated About Public Education
From last Sunday's interview with Betsy DeVos by Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes: Betsy DeVos: We have invested billions and billions and billions of dollars from the federal level And we have seen zero results. Lesley Stahl: But that really isn't true. Test scores have gone up over the last 25 years. So why do … Continue reading When Our Secretary of Education Chooses to Remain Uneducated About Public Education
I Just Became the Father of a Child With Autism
Actually, I have been his father and dad for over ten years. But this past week, our family received a diagnosis that our son has autism. So now we are a family with an autistic child who happens to have Down Syndrome. Or we have a child who just happens to have both Down Syndrome … Continue reading I Just Became the Father of a Child With Autism
caffeinated rage 