On February 8th, 2014, the Charlotte Observer posted a special op-ed on its website and published it the next day in the actual paper. It was a viewpoint penned by two political figures whose actions have helped shape the policies that confine public education in North Carolina today. Those two people were Sen. Chad Barefoot … Continue reading The Hypocritical Time Machine – Reflecting on Sen. Chad Barefoot and Rep. Rob Bryan’s 2014 Op-Ed About Teacher Pay
Teacher Appreciation Week – Respect Versus Rewards
It is National Teacher Appreciation Week and with a new budget about to be presented by the North Carolina General Assembly's Senate chamber, I thought of this particular post I wrote exactly one year ago. It still seems so appropriate now. From May of 2016: In a recent report from the Lumberton NC paper The … Continue reading Teacher Appreciation Week – Respect Versus Rewards
Donald Trump, Jimmy Carter, and R.E.M. – Only Two of These Know the True Meaning of “Reckoning”
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.” -R.E.M. “So. Central Rain” In the 2016 election, Donald Trump carried the state of Georgia. Comfortably. And from the Peach State, he plucked two men for his cabinet: Sonny “Pray for Rain” Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture and Tom Price as Health and Human Services Director. Price … Continue reading Donald Trump, Jimmy Carter, and R.E.M. – Only Two of These Know the True Meaning of “Reckoning”
He’s Home – Finneas Luther Logan “Finn”
He's here at home with is new family and the cats are a little on edge. And he's big. The great people at Carolina Great Pyrenees Rescue (http://carolinapyrrescue.com/) deemed him ready to go to a new permanent home. Finn's last heartworm treatment is in the past and while he is still rather underweight for a … Continue reading He’s Home – Finneas Luther Logan “Finn”
“Odd Fellows 151” and “The Right Child”
The first line from this news report should make the stomach of many a person churn. “The Odd Fellows, a national fraternal organization based in Winston-Salem, is facing criticism after refusing to give a prize to an autistic Oregon boy who won a competition.” It is from the headline story of the May 2nd edition … Continue reading “Odd Fellows 151” and “The Right Child”
Open Letter to NC Lawmakers Concerning HB13 and Funding the Arts & PE
Dear Senator Chad Barefoot, Senator Bill Rabon, and other lawmakers concerning the amended HB13 law, This week marks the beginning of Advanced Placement testing in schools around the country (and world), and while the validity of AP classes and testing results has become the subject of much debate, I have a multitude of students working … Continue reading Open Letter to NC Lawmakers Concerning HB13 and Funding the Arts & PE
Dear Fmr. Gov. McCrory, I Have an Idea for Your Next Job – Substitute Teaching
Dear Former Gov. McCrory, I read without surprise in the past couple of months that you have had a little more than a hard time obtaining gainful, full-time employment since your last day as governor of our state. No doubt many potential employers in North Carolina are hesitant because of your role in passing and … Continue reading Dear Fmr. Gov. McCrory, I Have an Idea for Your Next Job – Substitute Teaching
My 21st “Enchantment Under the Sea” Dance – Prom 2017
That’s right. I am going to the prom. It’ my 21st. With a beautiful date who happens to be my wife. And I am not nervous. Done this before. I will look sharp and my wife will look stunning as she always does. Like these dapper looking kids here in an image from Back to … Continue reading My 21st “Enchantment Under the Sea” Dance – Prom 2017
North Carolina’s Plagiarized Privatization of Public Schools – Or, How to be Unoriginal
North Carolina is literally practicing privatization plagiarism. That’s great for alliteration fans, but for public school advocates it’s harmful, hurtful, hateful, disabling, devitalizing, devaluing, and debilitating. And they’re not even being original because all of these supposed “re-forms” are nothing more than rehashed failed policies that profit a few and hurt the many. Last month, … Continue reading North Carolina’s Plagiarized Privatization of Public Schools – Or, How to be Unoriginal
House Bill 800 – The Further Privatization of “Public” Charter Schools
Question: When does a supposedly “public” charter-school become a private entity? Answer: When it opens in North Carolina. For anyone who believes that public charter schools are actual public schools, there are a plethora of realities that contradict that idealistic view, at least here in the Old North State. Here, public tax payer money is … Continue reading House Bill 800 – The Further Privatization of “Public” Charter Schools
caffeinated rage 