Our school system is a disgrace (Raleigh, Durham: home, salaries, taxes)
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I don't have a dog in the fight, so to speak, but I do know there was a time when North Carolina's school system was a shining example for others. The current legislature put an end to that, and now teachers are leaving for other states just so they can make ends meet. It's shameful.
It's disgraceful -- the legislature has no problem giving the richest a big tax break but denying teachers a raise -- we rank where? -- 46th in teacher pay? Yep that's the way to attract the best & the brightest and to keep the good teachers we have. It's not just here, though, in my home state of NJ the governor has made a big deal of villifying teachers and their 'fat union contracts'. God forbid a TEACHER should make $70,000 or $80,000 a year! The horror! So let's freeze their pay and do away with tenure while we're at it.
But those Wall Street guys & hedge fund managers making $3 million a year -- well they are certainly contributing a heckavu lot more to our society -- oh and when they mismanage the business and need a bailout let's turn to the rest of us and use our tax dollars to save the day.
And don't get me started on 'teaching to the test' which is resulting in a whole generation of kids who don't haven't been taught the key skill of critical thinking -- the whole thing is a mess.
I am just sad that the major news media around here are more happy to publish such a story than get behind the numbers and help any and all of us understand the reality of the situation.
And I place a very high personal value on the job the teachers do for our - and my - children. I do have a dog in the fight.
I am just sad that the major news media around here are more happy to publish such a story than get behind the numbers and help any and all of us understand the reality of the situation.
You would be singing a much different tune if you were on the receiving end of those pitiful paychecks.
As a fellow educator, I appreciate this brave teacher's willingness to speak out. These problems have been growing for years, particularly in the areas of testing and teacher pay, but this past year the General Assembly has added insult to injury. Their actions make it clear that they have no respect for teachers and no understanding of what students need. They need to get their hands out of education.
But, it isn't constructive to compare their pay to private hedge fund managers or professional athletes because let's be honest, teacher pay raises will not be funded from those private sources. So where can the money come from to give teachers a raise? What state programs should be cut and who should be let go to generate the cash to give teachers more momey? Of course the alternative is to raise taxes to fund increase in salaries but that is rarely a popular option and a great way for a politician to gurantee they only serve one term.
Even if everyone agrees teachers deserve a raise, the real question remains how to fund it. "Stop government waste" is a common answer but provides no substance or true actionable measures. We need real solutions not political rhetoric.
I'm not sure what you mean, or why you would have redacted the second part of my post in making whatever point you were making.
Perhaps I misunderstood your message. What do you believe "the reality of the situation" to be?
I typically quote only the portion of the message I'm replying to, not the entire message. That was the only reason for the deletion of the second half.
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