Columns

I had intended to provide you with an in-depth analysis of the SEC primary this week but that will have to wait. For one thing, Junior E. Lee, general manager of the Yarbrough Worldwide Media and Pest Control Company, located in Greater Garfield, Georgia, tells me that he is going to need time to pore over the results. Currently, he is tied up rummaging around in Aunt Flossy … [Read more...] about February 29, 2016: If You Are Positively Tired Of Negative News, Read This

I had the privilege to speak to several hundred educators in Atlanta last week. I was there to talk about my experiences as a member of the Education Reform Commission but, as is my wont, I soon deviated off the purpose for which I had been invited to speak and into unchartered waters. Which raises a question: Why do I spend so much time preparing speeches if I am not going to … [Read more...] about February 22, 2016: Looking at Public Education Reform Efforts Past and Present

An alert to Georgia public school teachers: Keep a close watch on these two legislators. First, Jan Jones, (R-Milton) Speaker Pro Tem in the House of Representatives, evidently isn’t buying a report from State School Superintendent Richard Wood and the Georgia Department of Education that shows 44 percent of new teachers leave the profession within five years and that two out … [Read more...] about February 15, 2016: Some Random Thoughts on Some Random Subjects

Son of a gun. Rep. Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) is at it again. Georgia’s version of Wyatt Earp was the chief gunslinger in getting a bill passed in 2014 that was intended to let us lock-and-load most anywhere we want – libraries, churches, bars, airports —but he and his posse couldn’t talk the Board of Regents into letting students in our colleges and universities pack heat. … [Read more...] about February 8, 2016: Legislators Shooting to Beat Plowshares into Pistols