Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/484597
MARCH 25-31, 2015 UCW 25 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM This week I met Paul Revere. And Thomas Jefferson. But the one that really intrigued me was the one and only Milton Bradley — inventor and entrepreneur, and namesake of hun- dreds of board games over the past century. The unlikely trio had gath- ered on a Tuesday night, and thanks to some creative teachers and school administrators, I was able to stand within feet of them and dozens of other interesting figures that helped shape American history to hear their personal stories firsthand. It all happened in the 8th Grade Hall at West Hoke Middle School, just out- side Raeford, North Carolina. I really believe public education gets a bad rap, too often. The same way today's parents are challenged with finding new ways to raise, entertain, and prepare our children for a quickly changing world, our fellow citizens called to the world of education are looking for ways to make learning more relevant, interesting and fun. Thanks to events like the Living Museum I attended, our kids are not only learning his- tory, but being given an opportunity to live it. Each student was challenged to dive in to the character they chose and create a short presentation for the two-hour event. Then the public, their families and other school educators were invited to visit and learn from the historical figures themselves. Not only did the students learn to take facts and figures and turn them into first-person stories, they developed the art of communication by being face-to-face with hundreds of strangers over the course of the evening as they gave their personal accounts again and again. Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Another relevant approach to teach- ing students to compete in today's world was the Flip The Script pro- gram that played out in Cumberland County schools earlier this year. From kindergarteners to seniors, students were challenged to pool their resources and creativity to put a video together that would encourage others to stay in school. Entries ranged from music videos to cute-as-a-button kids reading encouraging passages, and though some were ultimately crowned as the best, they were all winners. Folks, we need to support our pub- lic educators. We can argue policies, advocate for private or home school- ing or condemn the system as broken, but it's still the place where a huge percentage of our kids will get their first taste of the things they need to succeed in this world. Education is a tough job, and we should all be thankful for those who choose to do it. Fayetteville's CONCERT CONNECTION HILLTOP HOUSE 1240 Fort Bragg Rd. • 484-6699 www.hilltophousenc.com Thursday Live Music HUSKE HARDWARE HOUSE 405 Hay Street • 437-9905 www.huskehardware.com March 25 Tommy King March 26 Tommy King KICK BACK JACKS 5081 Morganton Rd. • 223-7676 Friday Live Music METHODIST UNIVERSITY 5400 Ramsey St. • 630.7114 methodist.edu March 28 Easter Jam THE CROWN COMPLEX 1960 Coliseum Dr. • (910) 438-4100 www.crowncomplexnc.com March 25 The Australian Bee Gees Show April 8 Celtic Woman April 9 August Alsina April 16 Smokey Robinson April 18 East Coast Step Show May 2 Jazz on Top of the Town June 20 Casting Crowns VILLAGE COFFEE HOUSE 3037 Boone Trail Ext. • 484-4515 March 27 Local Music Show- case April 3 Spoken Word April 4 Scott Johnson Support Public Education by DAN DEBRULER DAN DEBRULER, WCLN Station Manager, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. Public education gets a bad rap, too often. Advertising to Grow Your Business www.upandcomingweekly.com For effective advertising call 910.484.6200 today!