Whilst the kids are enjoying a little more hibernation this morning due to the schools being closed so that our teachers can make their voices heard in downtown Raleigh…I’ve got a few minutes to put some thoughts out there for your consideration.

There’s a whole heap of teachers amongst my father’s side of the family…all the way from university to the one room schoolhouse where my grandmother taught in greater metropolitan Raleigh IL (oh, the irony!) in the real Laura Ingalls Wilder style. My father was an instructor a few times with one of those postings being at the Academy of Health Sciences at Ft Sam Houston.

And I’ve got a brother who is a teacher that I am very proud of who will be taking part in the rally today representing his Fayetteville school not too far from Fayetteville Street!

But honestly…it REALLY SUCKS that the teachers are forced to have to do this at all, especially those that are having to pay for a substitute teacher for them to be able to redress their grievances with their government.

Because no matter how much the politicians at the local level or the General Assembly want to spin this…if our great state can’t be bothered to provide teachers and pupils with the tools and resources for our students to receive a world-class education to compete with a world that values education more than we apparently do, then we as a society deserve the biggest, fattest “F” on our report card that can be given.

And that obligation of the state and the people who are ultimately the base of political power in this state is not just a moral one…our state’s Constitution considers education to be such a necessary right of the people that it’s actually mentioned twice:

“The people have a right to the privilege of education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right.”

Article I, Sec 15

“Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools, libraries, and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

Article IX, Sec 1

And yet successive governments dominated by both entrenched parties have robbed both Peter and Paul and the public schools are still suffering chronic funding problems.

Certainly teacher pay is something that needs to be sorted out and that right quickly. We cannot hope to attract and RETAIN the best and brightest teachers out there with salaries that do not reflect their training and credentials as professionals. We will continue to see the churn in the classroom as the teachers who can escape the classroom to higher pay in the private sector or better paying school districts in other states will continue to do so and the revolving door of teachers trying to plug the gaps ultimately will do a great disservice to our students. We’ve seen that first hand with two teachers that bailed out mid-year and we’re still trying to pick up the pieces with the huge impact that’s had!

But teacher pay isn’t the only thing that needs to be sorted out properly. I remember not too long ago that when I’d go to school that there were books for each of the subjects I was taking and educational materials and supplies beyond that. The books might not have been brand-new but they did the job well enough and would eventually be replaced when they were too worn-out or outdated.

All we had to do was bring notebook, paper, pencils/pens, and a good attitude for learning!

At the very least they need to spend money on getting every student a basic tablet where a PDF of the books can be loaded onto the pad along with the tools and access for completing assignments online. Teachers shouldn’t have to be printing out reams and reams of hand-outs to try to work around the lack of basic educational materials nor should they be forced to spend quite a bit of their meagre earnings to ensure their classes have basic supplies required for successful learning.

Teachers should get a reasonable stipend/budget above and beyond their salary appropriate to the subjects they’re teaching to kit out the classroom as they see fit as well as fair share/in-kind contributions of supplies or money from the families of the students. I understand that not every family can afford to do so in these trying times but I’ve also seen that there are plenty of families that can but choose not to and that’s just as much a travesty as the government refusing to properly fund the schools. It doesn’t have to be much to make a teacher’s day just a little easier…volunteering to help in class or chaperone a field trip or film the band concert that the band director is too busy conducting to actually enjoy their student’s performance or send in the box of tissues/Clorox wipes every now and then. These are the times that civilised villages are a GOOD THING and I have yet to meet a teacher who doesn’t appreciate the help!

If the state doesn’t want to spend money on books and supplies, then we the electorate/taxpayers seriously need to ask them “WHY THE HELL NOT?!?” and vote out of office the ones who double down on refusing to properly fund the schools and pay the teachers and also take care of the many other needs of the citizens of our state. By the way…the needs of the schools and teachers and the other obligations of the state are not an EITHER/OR…smart fiscal planning and eliminating the waste/bloat in the bureaucracy as well as a SENSIBLE TAX POLICY can solve a lot of these problems that were self-inflicted.

Because the bottom line is this…our students and our schools are an INVESTMENT for our future and the future of North Carolina. An investment we can’t afford to ignore or do half-assed because the world that values educating their kids is coming here and we’re going to have a harder and harder time trying to compete with them for the best jobs.

To the elected members of the General Assembly and the local school boards…you need to be paying attention to the lesson in civics these teachers are about to impart to you today in Raleigh and show these teachers the proper respect by listening carefully (something our State Superintendent of Public Instruction couldn’t be bothered to do!). Pay REAL CLOSE attention to today’s lesson! Because your job likely depends on coming up with the right answers to the examination you’re going to be taking quite soon…