WttSW was in the news last week, so the word about what has begun and what we are trying to achieve is spreading. Despite ongoing posts and comments about which political party we are complaining about, WttSW needs to stress that education in the state of NC has been neglected for many years, and across many party lines. We are not targeting this specific administration, however, cumulatively have had enough.
The purpose of what we do is to support Public Education in North Carolina, making sure that tax payers dollars support public education and are not allocated to ANY for-profit, private schools who are not held to the same state-mandated standards (percentage of qualified teachers, state testing criteria, class size limits and staff support limits, to name a few) as the public schools. It is too easy to say that other people and places can do a better job at educating our children when they do not have to follow the same "rules" and can choose who they educate.
This movement is not to rally for continued teacher tenure or to dismiss any pay-for-performance initiatives. We are only asking that common sense, by ALL parties, not motivated by personal financial or political gain, be used when making decisions about education in the state we live and work in.
How much sense does it make for educators to not be paid for their advanced degrees when we are mandated by the state to prepare every child for the future and a path to college? What message does that send to our students? The argument that those teachers furthering their education are only doing so for the higher pay is absolutely correct on many levels. What other avenues are we afforded to make more of a living wage? NONE!
And rewarding the top five or even twenty-five percent of educators is a total backward approach. Why not pay every educator a decent wage, commensurate with the national average (at the very least), allowing for a cost of living/step increase every year, and dock or lower those non-effective teachers' pay who do not meet the high standards set forth by the state?
WHY WOULDN'T THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WANT 95-100% OF ITS TEACHERS TO BE HIGHLY QUALIFIED AND EFFECTIVE???? Wouldn't that be a more practical and common sense approach to attracting large companies to move their businesses here?
Does the state of North Carolina put the equivalent of $4,200.00 per student into every public school child's annual education- the amount voted to be given in voucher money beginning in the 2014-15 and beyond? How can they when statistics clearly show that we are spending less per child on text books and materials than we did in 2008?!
You cannot grow something that is not nurtured. And for far too long, across party lines, Public Education has been made the scapegoat for all of society's ills. It is time for legislators to stop degrading and minimizing what Public Education is and what Public Educators do, and start treating us like the hard working, educated professionals we are!
Could doing this, rather than heading in our current direction, possibly bring North Carolina back to a place of respect as it pertains to education and our national ranking for teacher pay, teacher satisfaction, and public support? We may never know unless teachers, parents, students, and concerned citizens do SOMETHING!
I have chosen to start by simply walking to the sidewalk in front of my school every Wednesday and peacefully say "Teachers Matter", "Public Education in the state of North Carolina Matters". What will you choose to do?
Marie Calabro
4th Grade Teacher/EC Specialist
Charlotte, NC
Participant in WttSW
The purpose of what we do is to support Public Education in North Carolina, making sure that tax payers dollars support public education and are not allocated to ANY for-profit, private schools who are not held to the same state-mandated standards (percentage of qualified teachers, state testing criteria, class size limits and staff support limits, to name a few) as the public schools. It is too easy to say that other people and places can do a better job at educating our children when they do not have to follow the same "rules" and can choose who they educate.
This movement is not to rally for continued teacher tenure or to dismiss any pay-for-performance initiatives. We are only asking that common sense, by ALL parties, not motivated by personal financial or political gain, be used when making decisions about education in the state we live and work in.
How much sense does it make for educators to not be paid for their advanced degrees when we are mandated by the state to prepare every child for the future and a path to college? What message does that send to our students? The argument that those teachers furthering their education are only doing so for the higher pay is absolutely correct on many levels. What other avenues are we afforded to make more of a living wage? NONE!
And rewarding the top five or even twenty-five percent of educators is a total backward approach. Why not pay every educator a decent wage, commensurate with the national average (at the very least), allowing for a cost of living/step increase every year, and dock or lower those non-effective teachers' pay who do not meet the high standards set forth by the state?
WHY WOULDN'T THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WANT 95-100% OF ITS TEACHERS TO BE HIGHLY QUALIFIED AND EFFECTIVE???? Wouldn't that be a more practical and common sense approach to attracting large companies to move their businesses here?
Does the state of North Carolina put the equivalent of $4,200.00 per student into every public school child's annual education- the amount voted to be given in voucher money beginning in the 2014-15 and beyond? How can they when statistics clearly show that we are spending less per child on text books and materials than we did in 2008?!
You cannot grow something that is not nurtured. And for far too long, across party lines, Public Education has been made the scapegoat for all of society's ills. It is time for legislators to stop degrading and minimizing what Public Education is and what Public Educators do, and start treating us like the hard working, educated professionals we are!
Could doing this, rather than heading in our current direction, possibly bring North Carolina back to a place of respect as it pertains to education and our national ranking for teacher pay, teacher satisfaction, and public support? We may never know unless teachers, parents, students, and concerned citizens do SOMETHING!
I have chosen to start by simply walking to the sidewalk in front of my school every Wednesday and peacefully say "Teachers Matter", "Public Education in the state of North Carolina Matters". What will you choose to do?
Marie Calabro
4th Grade Teacher/EC Specialist
Charlotte, NC
Participant in WttSW
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