The disconnect between the spin and the classroom
Published September 10, 2014
by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, September 9, 2014.
The propaganda machines on the Right are spinning furiously these days trying to convince people that the folks currently in charge in Raleigh are big supporters of public education.
It’s a tough task, not only because they don’t have many actual facts to work with, but the key spokespeople can’t even get their talking points straight.
WRAL-TV reported this week that Governor Pat McCrory welcomed teachers back to school this fall by bragging about the average pay increase of 5.5 percent that the General Assembly approved this summer.
But House Speaker Thom Tillis keeps talking on the campaign trail about a seven percent increase. And many veteran teachers received far less than that with some receiving a pay hike of just 0.29 percent.
Dozens of news stories have quoted teachers who have received the tiny raises and even worse for the political flaks, many parents know the teachers personally who have barely received a raise at all.
That speaks to the biggest problem for the spin doctors on the Right and their disinformation campaign about public schools.
They are busy massaging and distorting education budget numbers to refute the correct claims that they have slashed education funding, increased class size, woefully underfunded textbooks, etc.
But this is not just a political back and forth about abstract numbers. It is not a complicated debate about the size of the labor force and the growth in public and private sector employment and the theoretical impact of cutting the corporate income tax.
It is about what is happening in classrooms across North Carolina. People do not have to trust either side’s budget numbers. They can see the reality where their children go to school.
Last year the second grade classes most likely had a teacher assistant. This year many of them don’t. Parents know that their son or daughter also has more kids in their class this fall competing for the teacher’s attention.
Their middle school child doesn’t bring a math textbook home to do homework anymore because there aren’t enough textbooks to go around for middle school math.
And maybe most importantly of all, parents talk to their children’s teachers. They know there’s not enough funding for classroom supplies because the PTA is holding fundraisers to buy them because the General Assembly didn’t appropriate enough money.
They also know that their daughter’s favorite teacher who has been working at the school down the street for twenty years and maybe taught another child in the family is not getting much of a raise at all this year.
Parents see that the schools buses picking up their kids are older. And they know that the counselor who was there last year to help kids who were struggling is gone too, another victim of the budget cuts from Raleigh.
Parents and community leaders also know the principals and maybe the school district officials personally. They talk to them about the damage the budgets of the last four years have done to their schools and how much harder it has made the jobs of people who work every day to help kids learn.
It’s a tough time to be a propagandist on the right. No matter how many quasi-reports and misleading white papers on education funding the conservative think tanks produce and how many blackboards the politicians stand in front of in their campaign commercials boasting of their support for public schools, people across North Carolina simply see a different story, the real story, every day.
And they hear the disturbing truth about the education cuts from teachers, school officials and other parents—people they trust far more than politicians and slick PR professionals.
http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2014/09/09/the-disconnect-between-the-spin-and-the-classroom/
September 10, 2014 at 8:20 am
Richard Bunce says:
The disconnect between the spin of the government education industrial complex and the fact that the majority of students in traditional government schools are not competent at basic skills is far worse.
September 10, 2014 at 7:14 pm
Norm Kelly says:
To be fair, and truthful, Tom Tillis is NOT talking about a 7% pay increase for teachers. I've not seen a campaign ad for Tillis yet where he makes this claim. The FACTS of the campaign ads is that Tillis says that the current legislature gave teachers AN AVERAGE OF 7% PAY INCREASE. See, Chris, there's a big difference there. Tillis is telling the truth; you are misleading low-information, demon voters.
And, as I recall, K was in office in Raleigh when teacher pay was ACTUALLY CUT. Not a cut in the desired amount of increase, but an actual cut. At least that's the way it was spun. It's probably more likely that the BUDGET for the government monopoly schools was cut but not specifically for teacher pay. And is it true that since K has been in Washington, the central planners have CUT the amount they are sending to states & local government monopoly schools? So, it seems K has a history of cutting government monopoly school budgets!
'to refute the correct claims that they have slashed education funding'. There is one important question that MUST be asked in order to know if government monopoly school (GMS) budgets were cut. Is the new budget spending MORE on education or LESS? If the new budget is spending LESS money on GMS, then it's a cut. If the new budget is spending MORE this year on GMS than it spent last year, then there was a budget INCREASE! The only way that libs get a budget cut out of an INCREASE in spending is to claim that the increase wasn't what THEY wanted it to be. But under the leadership of the demon party, did the GMS budget actually GET CUT? Not a pretend, lib cut, but an ACTUAL cut?
I might trust other parents. I might trust teachers with real experience in the size of their paychecks. There is NO WAY I trust school officials. I also completely distrust libs. There's not too many times that I believe what I read when it comes from Chris. And when the source is simply listed as a name, but the political leaning of the organization is NOT mentioned, then I know it's a lib-supporting or lib-supported organization. Not a trustworthy organization. When a right-leaning organization is used as a source/reference, this is specifically listed in the post. What's the diff? The diff is that libs want us to BELIEVE the unaffiliated organization and always question the right-leaning organization.
Was the GMS budget increased at the state level this year or not? If it was, then it was NOT CUT! There's no wishy-washy way around this. And there's not a single lib that can spin it any other way. As much as it SHOULD have been increased? Maybe not, but we are still making up for the GMS budget cuts that were implemented when the demon party controlled Raleigh.
September 12, 2014 at 3:59 pm
Curt Budd says:
Again?? "Majority" are not competent?? According to whom? Sean Hannity?? Are you going by those "proficiency numbers" from last year, that I have explained on here before have NO validity. If you are going to go by those, then I guess public educators or our students became 11% smarter this year, because that was the average increase on that same scale. Personally, I don't think those numbers are any more valid than the previous year. And again, do you have, have you had children in a public school that failed them? Why the disdain? I have been teaching in public schools for 16 years and see the hard work and dedication of our teachers and students every day, up close and personal.
I invite you guys to spend a day in a classroom. See what the reality is. And the FACTS are that it is NOT a 7% increase or an average 7% increase. I teach Statistics for a living, I can bore you with the math, but its a 5.5% AVERAGE increase, know matter how you want to spin it. We(teachers) are very appreciative that the legislature was willing to do something. But the FACTS are, classroom sizes ARE still increasing, money for textbooks IS decreasing, spending per pupil IS decreasing. Teachers WERE leaving the state and the profession because of the decisions being made in Raleigh. I'm here every day. You can make claims about whats true and not true, I'M HERE. And I will be here every day. Because thats what we do. We have a passion to make the next generation better. I welcome you to come spend a day in my classroom if you want.
September 13, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Richard Bunce says:
Actually of few of this years results are just above 50% proficiency, and you seem fine with that dismal level of performance, while some are still below 50%. From your failed government school system... set my people free!
September 14, 2014 at 11:12 am
Curt Budd says:
So I guess I will take that as a no, you are unwilling to see a classroom in person. You have NO understanding of the numbers, or how they were derived. I guess you are afraid that the reality might actually contradict your opinions, therefore you refuse to visit reality. That's okay. I will continue to work to actually be a part of the solution on the front lines while you make political complaints.
September 15, 2014 at 11:16 am
Richard Bunce says:
You should look to the big picture which extends far beyond any individual classroom. Why do you insist that no parent should be provided the resources allocated to their child to get the best education for their child either in a traditional government school system, non traditional government school system (Charters, Magents, etc), private school systems, or homeschool systems.
This is not a fight about educating children... it is about allocation of government revenues allegedly for education of children.
September 16, 2014 at 2:11 pm
Curt Budd says:
Actually, I have no problem with every child to try to get the best education at their disposal. I do have a problem with taking resources away from my classroom and my child's classroom to pay for another child to attend a private school. Especially one that does not have the same accountability and/or transparency of our own. If you want to use private money to attend or run a school like that, go for it.
A few points:
1) I actually agree with you(I think) on your point that the bureaucracy of public education is out of hand. Too much waste at the upper levels.
2) I believe that there are SOME charter schools that are doing a wonderful job of what they were first created to do, come up with innovative education practices.
3) However, there are just as many that are just fronts for some to be prejudicial in their selection practices and it is unethical to be using public monies to support such schools.
4) I feel very sorry for families that live in communities with a low-performing school. The theory that these students can use a voucher to gain access to a better performing school is a noble one. The reality is, that's not who is using them. Those schools do not provide transportation, special needs resources, some dont provide meals, etc.
5) And finally, if you ARE against the bureaucracy of govt industrial school system, how can you possibly be okay with a charter school system that has some of its owners making multi-millions off of public money while serving on the very boards that are "regulating" their own schools?? Isn't that a contradiction?
September 17, 2014 at 10:42 am
Richard Bunce says:
It is not you education funding and it is not your classroom... that education dollars belongs to the student and the parents of that child should and must have every right to access that resource to get the best education for their child... it is not up to you or anybody else to decide where and how that resource should be allocated... it should be up to the parent of that child. Ya'll always trot out transportation and meals... well if the parent making the choice values those non education benefits they can keep their child and the funding in a traditional government school that provides those benefits. Parents that are willing to forgo those benefits, to send their child to a neighborhood school where transportation is not required, to provide a lunch for their child as many of us had in school even when the school offered lunch service... to work with other like minded parents to overcome any obstacle to getting their child to school and fed... that is what is possible... IF the government education industrial complex will stop their manic efforts to kill any competition.
