In my opinion truer words have seldom been spoken on the subject of what needs to be done to improve our schools.
( Published Thursday, October 2nd, 2014 @ 10:59 pm )]]> Every person in Beaufort County (or North Carolina for that matter) who is interested in public education should have been at the Conservative Republicans Club Thursday (7-10-14) night.
( Published Thursday, July 17th, 2014 @ 5:14 pm )]]> I still remember my first job. It was as a "carry-out" boy at a local grocery store. We took the customer's groceries to their car for them. Somewhat like the Piggly Wiggly still does.
( Published Thursday, May 15th, 2014 @ 2:53 am )]]> Tom Campbell, of NC Spin recently suggest that "Let's take teacher pay off the table." No he was not suggesting that the issue of teacher pay be ignored, but quite the opposite...that it be "settled" once and for all.
( Published Saturday, May 3rd, 2014 @ 10:17 am )]]> From the standards grows an entire industry that seeks to make money "training" educators how to get students to do at least well enough on those tests.
( Published Friday, April 18th, 2014 @ 12:20 am )]]> Politicians just do not know how to teach reading. The sooner they learn that, the better everyone will be.
( Published Saturday, March 22nd, 2014 @ 11:12 am )]]> The Guilford County Board of Education has voted unanimously to file a lawsuit against the State of North Carolina contesting the new law that replaces teacher tenure with term contracts plus a salary bonus.
( Published Saturday, February 15th, 2014 @ 1:43 am )]]> There are a lot of upset teachers in North Carolina these days, or so it seems, from media reports. The target of their ire is the Republican-led Legislature.
( Published Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 @ 7:09 pm )]]> It should be noted before going any further that the law on teacher tenure was changed by the Legislature to eliminate "career status" or tenure.
( Published Friday, December 27th, 2013 @ 6:13 am )]]> This commentary will make more sense if you review this article and particularly if you watch the video of Dr. Phipps' report to the Beaufort County Board of Education at its November meeting.
( Published Monday, December 2nd, 2013 @ 2:05 pm )]]> Partly as a result of these experiences I read with interest a recent article the The Chronicle Of Higher Education (arguably the most read publication related to higher education news).
( Published Friday, November 29th, 2013 @ 1:55 pm )]]> Jesse Saffron, a staffer at the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy think tank has a well reasoned and lucid piece in the Carolina Journal on the issue of extra pay for teachers with graduate degrees.
( Published Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 @ 3:08 am )]]> I have a challenge for you. Recall the best teacher you ever had. Now think about what characteristics that teacher had and compare it to the other teachers you can remember whom you would never have selected as "best." Chances are you can't even remember those who did not make your cut.
( Published Thursday, October 10th, 2013 @ 11:32 pm )]]> Politicians who run for office always look for issues they thin will get them votes. I suspect if you could accurately assess it, the high school "dropout" rate might well be one of the top issues non-incumbents have chosen to run "against" over the last half century or so.
( Published Monday, August 12th, 2013 @ 4:59 am )]]> The reasons we have consented to limited government are to preserve the freedom to pursue happiness, the freedom to be different and the freedom to be left alone.
( Published Thursday, August 1st, 2013 @ 12:58 am )]]> Gov. McCrory is right on target in calling for this review. But it is not a matter of a certain number of tests that are given but rather what the nature of and use of the tests are.
( Published Friday, June 7th, 2013 @ 11:06 am )]]> School board chair Cindy Winstead raised an interesting issue at the May meeting while discussing Senate Bill 236.
( Published Monday, May 27th, 2013 @ 2:42 pm )]]> Those interested in public education in North Carolina who missed the May 16, 2013 Beaufort TEA Party meeting you missed an excellent chance to learn about "Common Core," perhaps the hottest topic in education circles today.
( Published Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 @ 12:04 am )]]> I am encouraged by the discussions the Beaufort County Board of Education is having about how it can function more effectively, and hopefully more efficiently.
( Published Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 @ 1:21 pm )]]> One would think we Americans would learn. Government does not do very much very well.
( Published Monday, February 11th, 2013 @ 3:21 am )]]> This is a story about a big fish tale. The fish itself was big and the consequences of the dispute was big. About a million dollars worth.
( Published Sunday, January 27th, 2013 @ 2:37 am )]]> Much of the advance in human knowledge comes from our university systems. We live better lives because of some of it.
( Published Monday, December 31st, 2012 @ 8:52 am )]]> ormer Governor and emeritus Davidson College chemistry professor Jim Martin has issued his report on the investigation of crip courses at UNC-CH. It was essentially an exoneration of the Big Shots in the UNC system and the system itself.
( Published Monday, December 24th, 2012 @ 9:00 am )]]> As I listened to Henry Hinton's Talk of the Town local radio program on Tuesday (12-18-12), I was simply amazed and troubled at the ignorance depicted by the hosts and several of the callers.
( Published Thursday, December 20th, 2012 @ 10:25 am )]]> A million years ago I did my doctoral dissertation on court cases that dealt with school spending's impact on student achievement.
( Published Wednesday, October 17th, 2012 @ 7:59 pm )]]>