Dear John letter’ to Pat McCrory
Published August 28, 2013
by Trey Ferguson, NC State Technician, August 27, 2013.
Dear Pat,
I had such high hopes for us, expressed in “My Love Letter” to you back in April. I eagerly followed your campaign, excited for a much-needed change in administration for our state, only to be let down.
It is not so much your actions that have appalled me, but your lack of action. When hasty legislation came across your desk, you simply passed it along without taking advantage of your veto power, making you seem like a bobble-head doll the representatives in the General Assembly keep on their desks.
When I first learned of our shared degrees in education (yes, readers, Pat does have his undergrad in education from Catawba College), I was hopeful for some much-needed attention to my future career path. Unfortunately I’m ashamed to say the lack of attention given to education by our state’s previous administration was better than the attention yours is giving to it.
I was willing to accept the changes to teacher tenure and embracing the idea of teacher performance assessments; however, allowing the legislature to grant vouchers to students attending private schools and eliminate a monetary incentive for teachers with master’s (AP) degrees is simply a backward way to improve our state’s failing education system. Yes, 46th in education leaves our graduates in the dust on the job market.
I supported, and still support, your creation of two educational pathways (vocational versus higher education endorsements), but this accomplishment is overshadowed by the sheer ignorance on display with regard to some other changes to our state’s educational system:
The Voucher Program
A program that attempts to privatize education by giving vouchers to families to send their children to private school is absolutely absurd. Not only does this further hurt public schools by creating a less academic and socially diverse population, it also hurts the families you are attempting to fool into thinking that these vouchers will pay for all of their child’s private education. And having been at multiple levels of management at Duke Energy, did you ever give your customers vouchers to pay for Schneider Electric’s services? I wouldn’t think so, seeing your job was to provide customers with the best possible service. Public education is our state’s service to our children.
Cutting Incentives for Teachers to get Master’s Degrees
Our state wants to recruit the best of the best for its classrooms, but we don’t want to pay for it? This message tells students that education is not valued in our state and that if they want to pursue various levels of education, our state sees it as worthless. We’re not talking about a $10,000 raise; this is a 5 percent pay raise.
$12 million to Teach for America
As a part of our state’s anxious acceptance of Race to the Top federal money to put toward our education system, North Carolina was required to increase its teacher recruitment. It wasn’t enough for the General Assembly, in its last session, to eliminate their last-standing teacher recruitment program Teaching Fellows (which could have fulfilled this requirement), but to throw $12 million to Teach for America is insulting. These individuals complete a six-week course regarding educating our children for a two-year requirement as opposed to a four-year teacher preparation program that ensured teaching in N.C. for four years. This further demonstrates the priority of education in the eyes of our state government.
While these changes to our state’s education budget are mostly the doing of our legislature, your lack of action in addressing these matters demonstrates your lack of concern for our state’s education system. There is nothing worse than seeing our state’s representation tarnished on a national scale due to the happenings in our state government.
Because these changes have affected, and will continue to greatly affect, my future career as an educator, I’m afraid our relationship can no longer exist. While my first column about you was professing my “love,” this one will have to be entitled our “breakup.”
The best of luck,
Trey
August 28, 2013 at 6:41 am
dj anderson says:
"...however, allowing the legislature to grant vouchers." blog
Ah, how fickle love is! This Dear John letter is going to leave McCrory in tears, but the children of the poor that get out of poor performing schools will love him even as their parents vote otherwise.
August 28, 2013 at 9:37 pm
Dana Roseboro says:
Too bad no truly poor child will make it to a private school. This money will not cover the cost of all expenses. A family in true poverty will not be able to provide the transportation (no buses) or the food (no free lunch) or the money the voucher does not provide for the remaining tuition, books, and fees. Also, since many students in poverty struggle academically, the private school either won't accept them or they will release them after they get the voucher money. Plus, until the private school has to take the same exact tests that the public schools have to take we will never know if the private school was any better for that child.
August 28, 2013 at 10:17 pm
dj anderson says:
"Too bad no truly poor child will make it to a private school."
Well, that solves the problem for Democrats since only students qualified for the lunch program can get the vouchers the first year, and after that, at 133% of poverty level. So, maybe few will use vouchers. No one is going to Ravencroft ($20K) on this.
Vouchers will allow parents to get out of low performing schools. Disabled students get 50% more ($6000). NC is becoming liberal here. There's a dozen states already with vouchers, plus DC. My info is old, having last read bills back in May.
Why be afraid of a couple of thousand students getting a voucher. Thats like one school out of the whole state.
August 28, 2013 at 8:23 am
Anna Bonham says:
When private schools begin to accept public funds, they are opening themselves up to more government scrutiny and intervention. Is this what we want?
August 28, 2013 at 12:02 pm
TP Wohlford says:
Mr. Ferguson --
I agree with you that the proposed / newly implemented ideas won't work to make education better.
You see, I'm a guy who went through "new math" and "open concept schools" back in the 70's, and my children went through the teaching fads of the 1990's. Let's just say that I'm playing short odds when I say that any new innovation -- computers, STEM, Core, no tenure, merit pay, you name it -- won't work beyond the test site (call it "Hawthorne Effect" syndrome).
You and I both know that educational outcome depends on the community. You get motivated students whose life allows them the support to learn, and you'll look like Jaime Escalante. If your students get beaten up 'cause they look smart, and commonly become parents at age 14, you'd have to be Jaime Escalante to get past simply keeping order in the classroom. Assuming, of course, that those rumors about Jaime Escalante aren't true....
So let's cut the games, okay? First, none of what you propose that doesn't change local culture will work, any more than what the GOP just passed into law. Forcing students into horrible public schools won't fix the local schools, it will just suck the life out of more students and teachers. (Ask me how I know -- it was part of the new math / open concept school years of my life.) Paying more for teachers isn't the key either -- private schools usually pay less, correct? And it's not like there are a shortage of resumes when teaching jobs are posted, correct?
Finally, let me ask you some math questions: Just how much money is "enough"? Give me a number. Justify that number, and quantify how that will look when you get that number. Please. Because even at Harvard, there are always people moaning that they need more budget, and I all see is a complete money and power grab, especially when the Dems lose power. I lived through GOP takeovers in Michigan and Wisconsin, and what I hear from you is exactly the talking points there.
