Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Hard to believe

More than a year has gone by since my last entry. And, what a year! I was able to attend the Network for Public Education (NPE) conference in Raleigh this year and had a wonderful lunch with Mercedes Schneider and Diane Ravitch, both of whom just sat at my table. Imagine my surprise and honor at having two internationally known educators eating lunch with me and sharing their takes on the latest developments in public education.

Diane had to leave the table a little early to introduce our speakers, the Rev. Dr. William Barber and Dr. Phil Lanoue. Their talks are available from SchoolHouse Live. With the passing of HB2, the NPE felt it especially important to come to Raleigh to stand with those who support rights of all people. What a conference it was! I'd love to attend again but it will be doubtful since it will probably be somewhere too far away.

Listening to people who not only support but further public education and hearing about all the tough roads around the country really gave me a good perspective on what we have in NC. It was also frightening to hear about things that are happening to public educators in other parts of America. The conference re-energized and renewed my commitment to my students and to my community. If you haven't join NPE, you can do so by clicking on here. If you don't follow Diane and Mercedes blogs, you should. I had heard several years ago about Diane and was told it was a must follow. I don't remember who told me that but he/she was absolutely correct. We can only help ourselves by helping each other!

Another great organization that I learned about at NPE was BAT - Bad Ass Teachers. Check it out, what you find may save your own, well, you know.