The Newest Member of the Endangered Species List in NC, the “NorthCackalacky Magister expertus” Otherwise Known as the North Carolina Veteran Teacher

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 “NorthCackalacky Magister expertus” Otherwise Known as the North Carolina Veteran Teacher

Fifty Shades of No Way – New SBOE Member Todd Chasteen’s First Book To Challenge

Now that Todd Chasteen has now been appointed to the NC State Board of Education, I would like to go ahead and ask that he and others on the board read the latest installment of the Fifty Shades of … book for possible inclusion in schools, or at least in the dialogue of what is … Continue reading Fifty Shades of No Way – New SBOE Member Todd Chasteen’s First Book To Challenge

UnLOCKEing the John Locke Foundation – Part 4, The Empire Strikes Back With a Menacing Phantom Study Report

I look forward to reading John Hood’s perspectives on education in North Carolina. They reaffirm my stances on what is happening in the Old North State and its public schools. I do not have his bandwidth. As the president of the John William Pope Foundation and the past chairman (still on Board of Directors) for … Continue reading UnLOCKEing the John Locke Foundation – Part 4, The Empire Strikes Back With a Menacing Phantom Study Report

Sen. Berger’s New Website -BS – I Mean – Propaganda At Its Best

Sen. Phil Berger is playing politician again. In this election year, he and his GOP comrades have ramped up their “strong talk” on their commitment to adequately fund public schools and pay teachers a comparable salary on the national level. And part of his talk is defending himself against the vicious attacks from those who … Continue reading Sen. Berger’s New Website -BS – I Mean – Propaganda At Its Best

Teach For ‘Merica!

There was a very disconcerting report from Arika Herron in April 28th’s edition of the Winston-Salem Journal. In an article entitled “School district could partner with Teach for America to fill persistent vacancies”, Herron describes that the WSFCS system is looking at trying to fill persistently hard-to-staff job vacancies through alternative means. There are many … Continue reading Teach For ‘Merica!

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Reform? I Mean Re-Form?

In October of 2014 toward the end of the contentious and expensive Senate Race between Kay Hagan and Thom Tillis, I wrote a piece that Chad Nance and the Camel City Dispatch kindly posted entitled “Oh Thom Tillis, Where Art Thou?” It explored the use of the crossroads motif in the film Oh Brother, Where … Continue reading Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Reform? I Mean Re-Form?

The Reward of Having Respect

In a recent report from the Lumberton NC paper The Robesonian (“McCrory: Former teacher inspired pat proposal”), Sarah Willets quoted Gov. McCrory as being inspired by a former teacher to suggest a pay hike for teachers in this election year. He said: “Ruth Revels was one of those teachers who had a lasting impact and … Continue reading The Reward of Having Respect

North Carolina’s Playbook to Dismantle Public Education

When the GOP won control of both houses in the North Carolina General Assembly in the elections of 2010, it was the first time that the Republicans had that sort of power since 1896. Add to that the election of Pat McCrory as governor in 2012, and the GOP has been able to run through … Continue reading North Carolina’s Playbook to Dismantle Public Education

What if Teachers Could Evaluate Gov. McCrory on the Six Standards Used to Measure Them? Yep, if you are a teacher, you want to read this.

What if we teachers and educators were allowed to measure and assess the effectiveness of government officials on a yearly basis? I know, we can vote them out, but have you ever thought about maybe using the criteria of the six standards to measure someone like Gov. McCrory?   In this last budget proposal, Gov. … Continue reading What if Teachers Could Evaluate Gov. McCrory on the Six Standards Used to Measure Them? Yep, if you are a teacher, you want to read this.