The Oklahoma Budget Crisis Hasn’t Hurt Everyone. By [email protected] January 10, 2016 Uncategorized 18 Comments We are all painfully aware of the current budget problems in Oklahoma. The FY2016 budget started with a $611 million dollar shortfall that turned out to be overly optimistic. As a result of overestimating potential revenues, the state was forced […]

By [email protected] January 8, 2016 Uncategorized 3 Comments Assembling a good playlist of “running” tunes is essential to marathon training. On short runs of just a few miles, I’ll often shed my headphones and enjoy the random sounds of nature and human activity. However, on longer runs of an hour or more, listening to something […]

No, Mr. Tillerson–You’re Wrong! By [email protected] January 6, 2016 Uncategorized 1 Comment We have all witnessed the growing influence of politicians and corporate elite in education policy in America. Allow me to introduce you to one of these players. The happy looking fellow in the picture is Rex Tillerson, the Chief Executive Officer of the […]

By [email protected] January 5, 2016 Uncategorized No Comments Fellow Oklahoma blogger, historian and teacher, John Thompson, has had a busy year! In November, John published his outstanding book, A Teacher’s Tale: Learning, Loving and Listening to Our Kids.  The book captures John’s recollections and lessons learned from 18 years as a teacher at John Marshall […]

I’m sure most of you have heard of the “My One Word” book and internet challenge by now. According to the authors, Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen, instead of adopting New Year’s resolutions to address the changes you want to make this year, you should choose just ONE WORD. One word which captures all your […]

Burritos, Boxes, and Buckets–A Discussion of Hope and Despair By [email protected] January 2, 2016 Uncategorized 3 Comments In part one of this series, I shared some general thoughts about the importance of meaningful conversation relative to public education in Oklahoma. The impetus for these posts was a recent article in the Atlantic Magazine which asked […]

By [email protected] January 1, 2016 Uncategorized 1 Comment (Image credit: Seth Wenig / AP / Zak Bickel / The Atlantic) Anyone who has been associated with public education over the past 15 years will tell you how challenging and turbulent the years have been. The level of distrust and disparagement that educators have been subjected […]

Minutes after completing their contractual obligations for the 2015 Christmas season, thousands of angry Elves walked off the job at the North Pole’s primary toy construction center on North Rudolph Road. According to Alabaster Snowball, the lead negotiator for the North Pole Elves’ Association (NPEA), the elves are PISSED. “We have had enough. We are […]