You can be either “at” the table or “on” the table. For teachers in North Carolina, there are many other prepositions that could identify the relationship between the legislation process and teacher input such as “under” the table, “without” a place at the table, or “behind” the table. As a veteran public school teacher, when … Continue reading Reason #9 To March For Students & Rally for Respect On May 16th – The Need for More Teacher Input in Educational “Reform”

I do not know of a single instance in public education where merit pay actually has increased student achievement. Yet, many lawmakers  not only advocate merit pay, but differential pay based on the willingness “to take on additional tasks” like clubs, coaching, mentor, and chairing of departments. And there was an item in the 2016 … Continue reading Merit Pay for Teachers and Other Bad Ideas – Reason #8 To March For Students & Rally for Respect On May 16th

Remember Michelle Rhee’s visit to North Carolina last year for a “closed-door” meeting (February 7th  ,2017) with lawmakers brokered by an educational lobbying body of business leaders called BEST NC (coupled with the NC GOP’s invitation to Betsy DeVos who had just been confirmed as Trump’s secretary of education)? It was another ominous omen of what has been … Continue reading Too Much Damn Privatization of Public Schools – Reason #7 To March For Students & Rally for Respect On May 16th

“The overall premise of this bill is to ensure that we have a proper teacher pipeline going into the schools.” – Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, R- Wilkes, in response to questions about SB599 on House floor in Raleigh on June 26. Senate Bill 599 is the bill (as Alex Granados from EdNC.org reports), that, “allows organizations … Continue reading The Stench of SB599 – Teacher Pipeline Shortage Created by Raleigh – Reason #6 To March For Students & Rally for Respect On May 16th

Public Schools First NC (PSFNC.org), an organization that supports advocacy of public education in North Carolina, regularly sends out very informative factoids through social media that give texture to the landscape of the politics associated with public education. After the last couple of disastrous budget proposals for public education by the North Carolina General Assembly, … Continue reading The NCGA’s Plan to Make School Performance Grades Fuel Voucher Expansion – Reason #5 To March For Students & Rally for Respect On May 16th

It was reported this year that North Carolina finally had an average salary for teachers over $50,000 a year. "Recently released figures from the state Department of Public Instruction put the average salary for a North Carolina public school teacher at $51,214 this school year. That’s $1,245 more than the previous school year. The $50,000 … Continue reading Reason #1 To March For Students & Rally for Respect On May 16th – “Average” Raises and Still Below Average Salaries