Twenty or so years ago, I went to high school in Hertford County, North Carolina. One day in April I woke up and went to school joyously, ready to get the last two months of my public school experience out of the way. I was ready to go to college…

In Northampton County, North Carolina, there’s a long road that carries you from Garysburg to Conway (if you decide to travel that way), and all that I saw today were signs. There were people running for county commissioner, people running for sheriff, and people running for school board. It’s the…

Presentation of food is everything to me. I’m not a picky eater. I’m not a food critic. But the way that food looks is important to me. If a plate is brought to me plain, I just won’t eat it. It may taste delicious. It may be the best thing…

I wondered earlier if I should just admit that I know nothing and switch careers. I was thinking that maybe education isn’t my thing. Maybe it’s just that I’m not smart enough to be a teacher. Maybe I really don’t know what I’m doing. Of course I’m not leaving. I’ve spent too much money. But I’m going to tell you why I had to just cry today. Exactly what are teachers deciding? Maybe lesson plans should be the focus on instruction, and not at all the actual delivery of those lesson plans. I thought…

I used to love arguing with other folks on Facebook about the issues. Race, politics, current events, you name it. But tonight I had a small, yet tiring semi-argument for a proponent of school “choice”. I put the choice in quotation marks on purpose. Why? Because even though I’ve thought…

(Before I begin my rant: Credit media (look above) when you publish things on the internet. Even with fair use, be considerate of others.) I was so puzzled when COVID forced many teachers, like myself, into our homes in March of 2020. I wasn’t puzzled because of how I would…

It’s no secret that I grew up poor. I knew I was poor, and back then it didn’t matter: everybody around me was poor. The only difference was that some had the ability to focus on not looking poor. It’s quite funny now when I think of it because I…

Driving home today from work was different from every other day, but really the same. I drove home reflecting on my day. It wasn’t too bad. I taught and had fun teaching. It wasn’t that great either. I had issues. I think that’s how most of my days go. They…

A multiple choice test over three hours during the last ten days of school. The conferences, the reprimands, the written referrals, the action plans, the professional learning communities, the strategies, the interventions, the data retreats, the hiring and firings and all sorts of nonsense are all because of a multiple…