NASA’s Global Climate Change website is dedicated to educating people about human influence on the environment. Under the “Scientific Consensus” tab it states, “Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals1 show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities” … Continue reading North Carolina’s Man-Made Educational Climate Change
Malcolm, Mumford & Sons, and an Oxford Comma
It is not uncommon to receive a visit in the middle of the night our red-headed boy requesting one of our Iphones. Why? Music. Pure and Simple. Both his mother and I have downloaded songs that he likes the most: "Thriftshop" by Macklemore "Happy" from Despicable Me 2 "Gone, Gone, Gone" by Philip Phillips "I … Continue reading Malcolm, Mumford & Sons, and an Oxford Comma
“Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be.” – What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Education Reform
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
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”
As God as My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly
“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.” – Arthur Carlson, General Manager of WKRP, a fictional radio station in Cincinnati. It's Thanksgiving , and I just watched this episode again and it makes me laugh at how it wonderfully pens human nature which tends to be full of full intentions but short … Continue reading As God as My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly
Top 15 Gifts For Teachers – If You Really Love Them
Forget the apples. Forget the Starbucks Gift Cards. Forget homemade cookies. This year give teachers gifts that they can not only truly enjoy, but truly use to make them better at what they do. Time Machine – specifically one that looks cool. Maybe something akin to the DeLorean in the iconic movie Back to the … Continue reading Top 15 Gifts For Teachers – If You Really Love Them
Hio Hio Ipsanio – NC Already Has Homemade Remedies for Struggling Schools
Forget pop culture references. Time to go retro. One of the best television shows of the early to mid-1990’s was on CBS (specifically Monday night) called Northern Exposure. It chronicled the adventures of a Jewish doctor from New York fresh out of an Ivy League medical school who must serve a community in Alaska because … Continue reading Hio Hio Ipsanio – NC Already Has Homemade Remedies for Struggling Schools
An Application for “The Traditional Public Charter School”
In an educational climate (here in North Carolina and elsewhere) that seems to be changing as quickly as the Earth’s temperature, it might be time to suggest helping traditional schools gain some more resources and support from the North Carolina General Assembly. In the past four years, North Carolina has successfully taken a public education … Continue reading An Application for “The Traditional Public Charter School”
Opportunity Grants and Missed Opportunity Refunds
Irony makes this world go ‘round and North Carolina is providing plenty of it in the form of vouchers, or as proponents call them in North Carolina, Opportunity Grants. In truth, they should be called Missed Opportunity Grants, because the money that the North Carolina General Assembly has spent and wants to spend on vouchers … Continue reading Opportunity Grants and Missed Opportunity Refunds
You Know You Are a Middle-Aged Public School Teacher When… – A Work in Progress
You Know You Are a Middle-Aged Public School Teacher When You pull a hamstring going up the stairs right after a fire drill. You make a reference to a movie that a student claims that his parent may have seen. You fondly look back at the time when there were no cellphones in the classroom. … Continue reading You Know You Are a Middle-Aged Public School Teacher When… – A Work in Progress
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