Model the Learning {Adventure Time!}

Bodie Island

I believe that teachers must model the power of constant learning and growth for students.  To that end, I try to share with my students when my family and I travel to new places - and have new experiences. 

It is my hope that my students will see that I am living a life of adventure, and that I am constantly trying to learn new things, and find new inspiration.

MLK childhood home.

Over the course of the last year, my family and I have traveled to Bodie Island Lighthouse, enjoyed the Lost Colony play, sat on Martin Luther King Jr.'s front porch in Atlanta, and saw Hamilton.

I feel so grateful to be able to experience these amazing opportunities to live into new experiences.  It is my hope that by sharing it with my students, it has the potential to transform my teaching in a manner that will enable my students to better understand the power of learning and growth, reflected in my passionate commitment to teaching, and a continued life of adventures.

But it will not end with my travel.  We will once again take two busloads of students to Philadelphia, Washington DC, and the University of Virginia this May.  Why?  To learn new things, and find new inspiration.

I can't wait.

World View Conference Presentation

I had a blast presenting at the World View Global Education conference last month, with my good friend ( and amazing teacher) Amy White. 

She teaches Foods and Pro Start, and we worked together to rock the history of global foods, and how to best incorporate it in the classroom, for maximum impact among our students.  We focused on coffee, chocolate, and sugar.

I  loved it, and look forward to more opportunities to bring what we do in our classrooms out into the wider world.

Let's Change the Rules {Hardest Year Yet}

Last school year was my hardest school year yet.  Though I had great classes, and was able to enjoy teaching some wonderful students, events outside of the classroom were challenging.  School shootings as a weekly event, student deaths at our high school, immigration raids on our students' neighborhoods, and a rising normalization of intolerance in our public sphere - it all left me feeling empty.  So, this summer was an important time for me - a reprieve, a chance to recharge myself, and lean into my hopes. I was looking forward to it.


But it is also a fact that every Summer I love reworking my class syllabus, and trying out new, creative ways to teach.  Some things work, and some things don't - and that's okay, because it is what helps me grow as a teacher.  But after last year, I felt the need to rethink my classroom environment.  You see, one of the greatest gifts of being a teacher is our unique ability to build a culture in our classroom - even if it is only for an hour a day.  It is just amazing to build a tiny world where expectations and norms can appeal to the best versions of ourselves.

So, in an effort to answer the question, "What can I do to make my classroom even more of a welcoming, tolerant, and positive environment?"  Though there are many ways that I can work to achieve this, a good start is always with the rules... 

So that is where I started.  I changed the rules (sometimes its really cool to be a teacher!).  This year, we are starting anew (though we kept some of the oldies, ie: Don't hit people).  And it looks like this:


In this Classroom Community – We will always try to do these things (aka, The Rules):

1.     SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND.
2. BE FRIENDLY, AND WHEN IN DOUBT, BE KIND.
3. BE YOURSELF, AND LET YOUR FREAK FLAG FLY.
4. TELL THE TRUTH, AND PLAY FAIR.
5. BE CURIOUS.
6. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS, AND ASK FOR HELP.
7. DO NOT HIT PEOPLE.
8. DO NOT USE YOUR DEVICE/PHONE UNLESS INSTRUCTED. 

So here's to a new school year, and hope that springs eternal.  I can't wait to get started.

Chicago {Round 2}

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”
-  Anita Desai

We spent the long weekend in Chicago (by way of Louisville, Cincinnati, and Knoxville).  Though I've said it many times before, traveling gives us new eyes - and these students have experienced much. 

From dinosaur fossils, and the man eating lions of Tsavo, to the enormity of the Willis Tower, to the Institute of Art (where they saw the works of Picasso, Monet, Caravaggio, Warhol, and Pollock), to the Blue Man Group performance, to an architectural tour of Chicago by boat, and (of course) a Chicago Fire soccer match - these students will hopefully have their eyes open a bit wider from henceforth.

I love to learn new things.  I love to teach.  I love to travel.  And I love these kids.

I hope they learned as much as I did.

Support Public Schools.

I love being a teacher.  I love my students, my school, my colleagues, and history.  And I most love being a parent to my two children - each of whom have incredible teachers. 

In North Carolina, we currently invest 9.4% LESS than we did ten years ago in school funding (adjusted for inflation).  We are the tenth largest state in the US, yet currently rank 37th in school funding.

This is not okay.

This is why a 42 NC public school systems, including mine, shut down today.  We can do better than this in NC.  We MUST do better than this.

Our Students Deserve Better.

My students were scared to be at school yesterday.  One student politely asked me to keep our door closed while in class.  Another asked to be escorted to the bathroom.  Over a third of my student simply sis not come to school.  It was a surreal day, and was also ridiculous.  My kids should not be afraid to attend a public school.  We can do so much better.
I have been a public school teacher for 18 years.  This is the first time I have witnessed this level of anxiety from my students, concerning the security of our school.  Many elected officials are claiming that we should give people like me a firearm (and training) to better secure our students.  I do not want to carry a gun to my job, and in no way do I believe that this is a reasonable solution to school safety.

On the contrary, I believe that arming teachers is our government giving up, and admitting that it does not have the ability to solve this problem of school safety. What I want to see happen is for our government officials to fund our public schools adequately.

How can make our students feel safe?
1.  Hire more school counselors
2.  Hire more school psychologists.
3.  Hire more armed law enforcement officers.
4.  Invest in better school security.
5.  Hire more school nurses.
6.  Improve access to healthcare, and provide mental health equity.

This is a start.  Students should not have to be afraid to learn.  They deserve better.

Moving Forward {with Mr. Cavnar}

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to travel to Germany with a group of amazing teachers.  Bobby Cavnar, the 2017 North Carolina Teacher of the Year, and the recent recipient of NEA's highest national teacher award was one of them, and we became buddies.  I respect him, and know that he is a great teacher who thinks deeply about the issues that are impacting public education here in NC. 


This week, in the wake of another deadly school shooting - Bobbie wrote a great piece about how we can move forward in NC.  I highly recommend it.

Read it here.

Choose NBHS {I did}

AP Information Booth, 8th Grade Open House

One of the primary changes in NC public education over the last several years is the rise of charter, STEM, and private schools actively recruiting talented students out of traditional public high schools.  Here at NBHS, we have certainly noticed the trend, and have quietly witnessed other schools attempt to sell their programs.

Whereas many of these nontraditional schools have much to offer our students, NBHS remains an amazing high school.  And we do not believe that great students will continue to simply walk in our doors without careful consideration.  Everyone now has a choice.

AP trip to the Civil Rights Memorial Museum, Montgomery, AL

To that end, we have decided to build a PR campaign to educate the families of Buncombe County on exactly what our school offers.  For my part specifically, that involves our Advanced Placement program.  We have developed a website specifically for our AP program, complete with information about all of our (now 16!) AP courses.  In addition, we opened an information booth at our 8th grade open house for families to ask questions and learn about our top notch programs.  This is just the beginning, but I hope that it helps paint a more complete picture of what NBHS has to offer.

We are the only school in Western North Carolina that offers 16 face to face AP classes, coupled with three AP history field trips (these trips include educational tours of NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, and DC).  Extensions of our AP program include our Robotics team, Science Olympiad, Mock Trial team (law), and our competitive Mathematics team.

I have taught at NBHS for 18 years, and am so proud of our school.  I believe in our teachers and students, and have witnessed firsthand the positive impacts that this institution can have on a child's life.  I choose NBHS.  I think you should too.