** “The Obama administration downplays the $75 billion initial cost of pre-K by claiming it can be covered by raising the federal tax on cigarettes from $1.01 to $1.95. But cigarette taxes were hiked just a few years ago, and this massive sales tax falls harder on low-income Americans. The game plan is to bait the states into accepting this expensive pre-K plan by offering them bundles of new federal money, such as $308 million in grants dangled in front of Texas for just one year, requiring only a one-10th match by the state. Of course, big blue-state California would receive the most funding–$334 million in the first year.” ~ Phyllis Schafly, Investors Business Daily
** “You are not alone. Every teacher deals with some form of burnout from time to time. You are not a failure if you go to a colleague and share your stress with him or her. In fact, sharing these feelings with other educators is crucial to your professional development. Teachers in your building can help you deal with some of the issues you are facing at the moment.” ~ Nicholas Provenzano, high school English teacher and edublogger
** “Social media has made it easier to be bullied. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a stranger on the Internet. The majority of the time, it’s people that you know. You post something on Facebook or Twitter, and they think it’s easier to be rude on the Internet because they aren’t having to say those things to your face.” ~ Emily Pierce, 2013 high school graduate
** “Subbing is one of the areas that sets education apart from other professions because they are required to be there when a teacher is out sick. They’re there to follow the plans left by the teacher and make sure students continue their learning. Unfortunately, not all of them are qualified to be in the classroom.” ~ Peter DeWitt, elementary principal