To be a teacher in Nc right now is to have half of your students, anxiety and fear for your kids and their families, wondering if you’ll have to put your body between a child and ice, underpaid, buying my own pencils, supplying snack cataloging books so a random person can question my dedication.

Being a bilingual teacher in NC right now- you should practice lockdowns & take bullets for your kids, but you must have all books catalogued & approved. if you put your body between yourself and an ice agent, it’s a federal offense. But go team! (Drinking prosecco and adding lawyer to speed dial)

In Honor of Veteran’s Day. My dad (a USAF veteran) passed away last spring. Going through his boxes and found this photo of my grandfather, France 1944, with a note for my grandmother on the back.

The bravery of the American people to demonstrate outside facilities, hide their neighbors, vote and protest is in stark contrast to Dem leadership.

As usual Dems (who badly need Roy Cooper to win in NC) are under estimating the anger. And their capitulation makes them just as bad. But they missed all the down ballot races here that flipped. And their capitulation makes money that is needed to drive those races and Cooper.

Call them: Jeanne Shaheen (202) 224-2841 Gary Peters (202) 224-6221 Jon Ossoff 202-224-3521 Mark Kelly (202) 224-2235 Peter Welch 202-224-4242 Tammy Baldwin (202) 224-5653 Elissa Slotkin 202-224-4822 John Fetterman (202) 224-4254 Catherine Cortez Masto (202) 224-3542 Angus King (202) 224-5344

1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️

This would be heartbreaking Penn State.

Just in case you needed to know where things stand in NC my neighbors at Carolina Meadows (retirement community) are out here in the cold with signs celebrating the wins last night.

With rising healthcare costs and no raise, this NC teacher's family sells scrap metal and plasma #nced www.wunc.org/education/20...

Doesn’t the US Military have an artillery testing area on San Clemente Island? Which is a hop, skip, jump for ships from where those projectiles were launched over I-5? I seem to remember that’s where hubs ship used to go blow things up.

It takes real courage to show up in places like Fairhope, Alabama.

Blown away by the Seaforth Marching Band. This program didn’t exist four years ago. Chatham County’s commitment to the arts has produced amazing things!

🧵: The world’s extremely poor are also often extremely remote, with limited access to healthcare & health education. In many developing countries, the government—often with the help of the UN and, until this year, USAID—maintains health posts that bring these services to people living off the grid.

❤️

Nonna’s on Netflix I want my mom’s house, with Sunday sauce, a pastry box with a string, picking up my aunts and uncles and their plastic covers. Balm for the weary heart.

When the right wing shoves its agenda down the throat of public schools. Charter schools, many of which are “Christian,” are exempt. www.newsobserver.com/news/local/e...

Dear Football People visiting Chapel Hill… you got a beautiful weekend, enjoy.

About to step into the new(est) classroom for the 24th year tomorrow. We’ve scrubbed, copied, cut bulletin board pieces and attended PD’s and we finally get to teach. Wishing all of the teachers (and their families) in my life a wonderful new year, filled with rewarding moments. It’s time to shine ❤️

Re-watching Monuments Men. Thinking about what I felt the first time I saw this movie versus the lens of 2025. Anyway, I finally got to see the Ghent Altarpiece this summer and it was all that was promised. We used to be the good guys.

I needed to pick up glasses at Costco. But the Apex Costco is an absolute nightmare. And the number of Tesla’s was too high of a ratio - I’ll try again another day.

Here comes a pay cut for NC’s long-suffering educators 👇 NC State Health Plan poised to consider raising premiums for many of its 750,000 members #nced www.wunc.org/health/2025-...

Ummm…. The last 30 minutes of Dierks Bentley is for anyone who now carries car tums and purse tums and it was *magic*

It’s an absolutely banger of a night for an August concert in Raleigh. @dierksbentley.bsky.social !!!

There’s a lot of bad stuff happening at the govt level in NC BUT want to say how thankful I am for the NC College Connect program for seniors who meet the criteria. (Direct admission to certain UNC/private colleges) 40+ schools are participating this year. My rising senior has “claimed her spot.” ❤️

Adopt a station allows you to donate to your local public radio station: Here's the North Carolina list. adoptastation.org/northcarolina

Happy Gilmore 2 is absolutely a fun ride. Kids laughed, I laughed, explained who John Daley was. 😂

real life “DOGE” issue- my father died in May. The OPM took his $ out of my parents account 2 days after he died. My mother sent all the required paperwork June 7. Today she learned maybe 8 more weeks. That will mean six months of no payouts, of their money. Senate office calls just go to VM.

Coming around the curve to see your first glimpse of the Smokies in North Carolina is always breath taking. ❤️

Read the whole thread

Having a straight A, 4.41 rising senior start applying to colleges is terrifying, exciting and demoralizing. When did it become $90,000 for a degree? And when did our state school start admitting only the top 10%? (Yea, I know, circle.) Super frustrating.

The Righteous Gemstones Season 1 Finale might be my favorite last ten minutes of any series, ever.

The first book of the year in 5th grade is Esperanza Rising. Based on a true story of a Mexican family forced to flee, enter the US illegally, work in migrant camps, unionization and immigration raids. I’ve taught this book since 2002. It’s “historical fiction” only it isn’t.

One of the true joys of summer- Wimbledon- is being ruined by the commentary. Making excuses for the world’s best, talking down about the opponents. Mute on, enjoyment enhanced

Listening to the scanner in Chatham County (NC) is absolutely terrifying right now. All the rescue crews, fire crews are doing rescues. Stay home

Chatham County- things went from relatively calm to disaster in no time. Stay home. Stay out of the water. The bridge near our house is no longer passable.

Not going to debate the tragedy in Texas but as a teacher and mom -some common sense ideas to prevent the next one: emergency plans w/local responders, camps in flood plains mandatory evac zones when there is a threat, all camps have weather radios, enough vehicle space to get all campers out.

Just in case you needed the smallest reason for joy right now- peaches are in at the farmers market in Chapel Hill. It’s time for cobbler and ice cream and grilled peaches and canned peaches and all the peach things.

The state of NC should be ashamed of itself. No teachers should have to apply for SNAP bc they refuse to split our paychecks. Bc starting teachers make $41,000. Bc they’re doubling our healthcare costs.

I’ve never been sadder to come home from a vacation. Au revoir France, you’re beautiful, your people are warm and kind, your northern coastline is breathtaking and I love that you’ve saved (even) the ruins. Thank you for letting us make it home for a few weeks! ❤️

Not that logic has ever stopped politicians but it seems to me that you can’t advocate for a budget that slashes veterans benefits one week but advocate to send them to war the next 🤷🏻‍♀️

As an old, who lived through parts 1 & 2 of the Iraq War and whose husband, brother & brother-in-law served during that mess; sending our young to die should only be done When absolutely necessary. not as a vanity project. if Congress abdicates their authority on this, they should all be voted out.

Not that doom scrolling isn’t fun but we went and visited the Joan of Arc Museum today. Just reinforced that powerful Women have always been vilified, burned and later sainted (especially after their purity is proven) by men who both use them and need to assuage their own consciences.

Spent the day with my kids visiting the D-Day memorials. Teaching them about when their grandfather fought Fascists.

I taught in Siler City. Chatham County and Siler City desperately need that hospital. Call your reps!

1st phone to @europcar for roadside assistance was at 9:38 am this morning. So far, no roadside assistance and they are unable to find a replacement car in Paris, anywhere.

Several things today as my PSA for trying to give my kids some normalcy during chaos: Don’t ever, ever, ever rent a car from Europcar. Don’t use AutoEurope as the third party broker. Don’t ever try and find a new rental car in Paris during the summer season. That is all.

For no reason… I learned a ton about Harriet Tubman from the Reconstruction Natl Historic Site. (Never taught while I was at school) but now my 5th graders are versed in the Combahee Raid and the Port Royal experiment. Anyway, the Natl Park Rangers are once again the keepers of all the knowledge

She was a real one… All these years later, this episode is still relevant and was the first episode I thought about when I heard the news today.

Fifth Grade Update: I have an interview tomorrow. Totally bittersweet… would require me to leave the classroom but would have a wider impact on more kids. Love my teaching partner, love teaching dual Language kids, hate all the fight it requires.