You cannot make up for the mistakes of the past at the cost of our future!

Teachers continue to fight in Wisconsin for quality education. We are paying attention to their efforts, meanwhile right here in North Carolina the General Assembly is considering legislation to limit teacher pay and school funding and basing pay strictly on merit and eliminating a pay schedule all together. Educators are consistently sent a contradicting message from government from "We are falling behind in education compared to nations around the world and we need to step up our efforts to improve," to "We must cut funding in schools in order to meet or to make a budget." Government "leaders" you cannot have your cake and eat it too. You cannot cut teacher pay, school funding, eliminate teaching positions and reduce the resources available AND expect the quality of education to improve. It is an impossibility.

You cannot make up for the mistakes of the past at the cost of our future!

The students of today are the ones who will ultimately pay the price and in turn our nation will continue to fall further and further behind making it more and more difficult for the United States to compete in the global economy.

As a teacher in North Carolina, I have had my salary frozen for 2 years with the projection for it to be the same for 2 more. Yet rates of inflation continue to rise, gas prices are soaring. With the increased cuts in school and the elimination of teacher positions, my classroom (a doublewide trailer) is about bursting at the seams with students. I am unable to devote enough attention to each student to determine their needs and target their learning. And yet, if we go to a merit based system, my salary will be based on how difficult the government makes it for me to teach my students.

To all my NC friends, please pay attention to what is going on, write the state legislature, let them know that cutting teach pay and school funding is not the way to make North Carolina and the United States ready for the future. Let them know that you support education and its promise for the future. Use the link below to send a message directly to the members of the NC Senate and NC House Appropriations committees.

http://capwiz.com/nea/nc/issues/alert/?alertid=30777516&type=CU&show_alert=1

Inabilities of State Government

Today I received an email from my professional organization, NCAE (North Carolina Association of Educators) - it is not a union since North Carolina is a "right-to-work" state, any such combination would be seen as in restraint of trade and would therefore be illegal... whatever. Anyway...

Today NCAE sent me an email highlighting some disturbing information concerning a member of the NC Senate. Essentially, this Republican Senator is a liar. There is no mincing words, he is a liar. Let me explain.

As is the case across the country, North Carolina is no exception when it comes to budget shortfalls, especially in this difficult economic time. And, according to the NC State Constitution, the Governor MUST propose a balanced budget based on estimation of tax revenue for the upcoming 2 years (the North Carolina budget is biennial, it is a two year budget). This budget must then be approved by the NC General Assembly (NC House and NC Senate), just like any other bill. Once the governor proposes her budget, the House reviews it and makes its changes, followed by the Senate. Fortunately, the NC Senate rejected the House's budget, now the dirty fight begins.

The House's budget proposes to cut THOUSANDS of educators' positions across the state, especially in the classroom. Meanwhile the Senate Minority Leader, Phil Berger (R) says that there will only be a cut of 45 positions, and those will be from the Department of Public Education, positions that are mostly vacant at this time. Here is the email:

Berger's Whopper on Educator Cuts

Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) sent emails to NCAE members this weekend claiming that the House budget only cuts 45 teaching positions this coming year.

Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) sent disturbing emails to NCAE members this weekend, including educators whose teaching positions are facing elimination, and erroneously contended the "House budget cuts 45 funded positions, not 12,000, not 1,000, not even 100."

Berger even went so far as to claim that "NCAE is spreading false information" about the severity of budget cuts and even offered the possibility that the organization was disseminating a "purposeful lie."

Further down in the email, the longtime Republican Senate leader provided a web link (http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/sessions/2009/budget/2009/budgetreport06-13-09.pdf ) for members to review the 214-page House budget proposal for themselves.

"It was an odd link to provide in an email message falsely claiming only 45 positions were eliminated," said Government Relations Manager Cecil Banks. "The documents explain with no ambiguity whatsoever that thousands of educator positions are cut in the House budget proposal."

Banks points to page 21, item 20 in Berger's attachment. There it provides a $183 million cut by increasing class size in grades 4-12. "Where does he think the state will realize that cut?", asked Banks. "The $183 million comes from eliminating about 2,500 teachers."

Item 22 of the same page above, eliminates 200 literacy coaches at a cut of $12 million in the budget.

On page 22, line 24 of the document, over 4,000 teacher assistants are completely gone in the 3rd grade under the House plan at a cut of over $130 million. "There's also the non-instructional support positions facing elimination," said Banks.

So why is Berger claiming only 45 educator positions are cut?

Sen. Berger, shown here with Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam, his Republican counterpart in the House, is known for his right-wing ideology and anti-public schools stance.

DPB can only guess (or hope) that Sen. Berger has not reviewed the House budget carefully. Short of that, Sen. Berger seems to be referencing page 23, item 35 of the House budget linked above. There it cuts 45 positions at $3.2 million from the NC Department of Public Instruction.

"It is mind-boggling how a five-term senator could find that one line-item and come to the erroneous conclusion that ONLY 45 positions face elimination," said Banks. "And then to question NCAE for simply reading what is clearly in black-and white. This is very disturbing."

To read the full text of Sen. Berger's email to a member on Saturday, click here.

Feel free to send Sen. Berger a note at phil.berger@ncleg.net. His office number is (919) 7....

And, Sen. Berger, feel free to drop NCAE an apology at sheri.strickland@ncae.org. DPB will even print the full retraction.

This is the nonsense that this state must endure. Either this Senator did not read the bill himself and is making his decisions on ignorance, or he he believes that the people are ignorant and will not read the bill themselves. (Actually, I am thinking he is both - ignorant and believes the people are ignorant). Never have cuts to education solved problems, they have only created new ones. At the same time, I am not, myself, ignorant to the need to tighten our belts when necessary, but cutting more than 10,000 teaching positions is NOT tightening of one's belt, it is stupidity.

January 28, 2008

OMG! Are you watching the same thing I am? Did he actually say that? I know, I can't believe it either! I can't believe that I am watching/listening to the State of the Union Address.

1) George W. Bush actually says that Congress should have a balanced budget and that he will cut bloated government program. My question, does that include graft and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan?

2) He says that a decent education is the only way for many children to achieve their dreams, obviously it wasn't necessary for the Bush. He is harping on and on about failing public schools, what about failing private schools, like the ones he attended?

3) I am appalled at the beginning of his speech. He was actually threatening the Democrat dominated Congress with veto after veto. I was wondering, how does that give us the "State of the Union?"

4) He wants more manufacturing in the United States. I would like to see him support laws that will protect American jobs from being outsourced overseas.... for a change.

5) Energy security? How can he and his big oil buddies benefit from energy security? Where will the big profits come if the prices do not stay high?

6) Limit carbon emissions? Is he admitting that there is global warming? Then why not sign on the the Kyoto Protocols, as a starting point upon which to improve?

7) Ted Turner? Did I just see Ted Turner in the house of Congress for the State of the Union Address?

8) By asking Congress to pass laws banning unethical practices, does that included corruption in the Food and Drug Administration and will actually prevent the approval of drugs that kill, and are known to kill?

9) Did he just say that the Constitution should be respected? When did he have this change of heart?

10) By supporting faith-based groups, does that include the Muslim faith or will they continue to be discriminated as "terrorist" organizations?

11) Here comes the Social Security reform. Beating a dead horse. He is worried about deficits, um, did you pay attention to how many billions of dollars that flow into Iraq and Afghanistan (and not into New Orleans)?

12) Is it just me, or are you also repulsed every time Bush talks about "high ideals?"

I can't watch any more. I am done here. Actually, I expected him to get up and tell us how he and his friends have hoodwinked the United States and once his term is done how they will make off with billions of our tax dollars and the next president will deal with the economic problems caused by it.

December 13, 2007

I really needed that day off on Monday! In retrospect, I was really getting maxed and didn't notice. It is amazing what that day off did for my patience. Whew.

Something really interesting and good happened yesterday. I was in the mail room with the math department chairperson. I have been meaning to send her an email to complement her department's efforts to help the students remember their important formulae for the End-of-Course exams - construction paper posters posted around the building and "Math Woman" roving the buildings and stopping students to rewards them if they knew the answer to her question. When we walked out of the mail room, Dr. Gainey, the building principal, wanted to speak with her. But before I walked off and their their conversation began, the math department chair turned to me, in front of the principal mind you, and said that she suggested her student teacher come and observe me teaching my class! Ha! That's right. The math department chair, whom the principal highly respects, thought that her student teacher would benefit from seeing me in action AND the principal was their to hear it! It doesn't get much better than that as far as timely complements go, especially after the debacle towards the end of last semester being called out on the carpet by the principal.

It seems that my tool for enforcing behavior in my Civics and Economics class is working. The students are being more respectful of each other and more mindful of what they say and when they say it. The tool is simple. No it isn't a paddle, it is a self-evaluation of Character Education. Wake County Schools emphasizes character education from Kindergarten all the way through high school. By the time the students reach 10th grade, they should be well aware of the character traits emphasized by WCPSS - courage, respect, perseverance, good judgement, honesty, integrity, kindness, responsibility, and self-discipline. At the end of each period they simply write down a number (0-4) and score themselves based on the criteria outlined on their "daily sheet." I go over each student's sheet, adjust their grades if necessary, and distribute the sheets the next day. Not only is this 10% of the student's grade for the course, but it is also evidence of student conduct in the classroom to be used during a parent conference, if necessary. I came up with the idea about 10 years ago and now I use it only in classes that need the extra motivation to cooperate. I adapted a similar tool used in foreign language classes that the teachers there use to have students evaluate themselves on their use of the foreign language in the class. And now, several teacher use this "Character Education" model to enforce rules in their classes - it seems every once in a while I have a good idea.