As a longtime supporter of charter schools, I am relieved to watch bi-partisan legislators as they assist this popular and proven system for school improvement and further enhance it as a force for strengthening public education for all children in North Carolina.
Scary Reading in the Washington Post: WaPo as the low-information raconteur
Washington, DC – A chatty little diatribe titled “Scary reading in charter school bill” graced the WaPo on March 28. Confounding misinformation with ignorance in breathtaking fashion, the near-sighted worthy confuses nearly sky-high, out-of-sight accountability with “apparently none.”
Posted in Education - K-12, Learning and Education, Politics, Politics - NC, Reviews
Tagged charter schools, lap-dog media
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Thomas Jefferson’s Comments On The Lap-Dog Media Producing The Low-Information Citizen: the role of rebellions
Background: After the Declaration of Independence created the 13 independent states, The Articles of Confederation began being drafted shortly afterward in 1776. Finally ratified in 1781, many recognized that the central government was too weak. In 1786, a convention was held to draft a new constitution, and our present Constitution became effective on March 4, 1789.
At the convention, a heated debate centered on the strength of the central government relative to the strength of the sovereign states. The debate on this topic was fueled by an armed uprising Continue reading
Multiple Charter School Authorizers: 10 Reasons Why It’s a Bad Idea
Whenever the topic of charter school policy and legislation comes up, someone always manages to bring up the idea of “Multiple Authorizers.” Continue reading
Posted in Education - K-12, Politics - NC, Politics - US
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An Armed Deputy in Every School: At What Cost?
Zero cost. After thirty years as an entrepreneur, I have been a Trustee and administrator at two public K-8 charter schools for the past twelve years. I have worked with annual budgets as these schools grew from 53 students to over 1,600 students today. Safety has been my first priority since the founding of these schools in 2000 shortly after Columbine. Continue reading
Instructional Evaluation: Assessing Growth for Teachers/Grades/Schools
Background: When comparing schools or classrooms or curricula, evaluators have been faced historically with a choice of one or two measures of growth such as average growth per student and ratio of students achieving positive growth; or they have faced a dizzying array of numbers in a huge incomprehensible table of scores.
The Roger Bacon Academy has devised a visual representation for evaluating Continue reading
Posted in Education - K-12
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NC DPI says, “READ THIS FIRST.”
DPI warns the reader: “READ THIS FIRST: In order to understand the charts, it is important that you first read the following information.”
And I feel obligated to warn the reader that: THE CHARTS ARE TOTAL, UTTER, USELESS NONSENSE! Continue reading
The Journey of the Magi By T. S. Eliot
“A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.”
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow. Continue reading
Posted in Religion
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“When Caution Trumps Courage, Kids Lose!” (1, Arne Duncan)
The early 1990’s saw the beginning of charter schools that were intended to innovate and address unique local needs in the K-12 schools. Charter schools were allowed to operate without the many stifling regulations imposed on traditional schools by the bureaucratic hierarchy. Continue reading
SB-724 Edition 2: A slightly improved act to improve…
Maybe letters to your legislator do matter! Or maybe it was a coincidence. Continue reading