public education

Despite John Hood's happy talk about the GOP's use of research for formulate policy, Republican legislators continue live in the alternate universe of their ideological agenda. Case in point: new legislation to mandate cursive writing in schools, where it appears that Representative Pat Hurley was happy to make up claims out of thin air.

For a detailed take down of this Republican criminal negligence, check out the extensive coverage on Diane Ravitch's blog.

From the guy who writes the checks.

... the budget cuts are going to start negatively impacting the performance of our kids. The school districts are leaner, meaner. I’m not going to argue that point, but I think they’ve just gotten exhausted and can’t keep it up.

It's bad all around, but poor, rural schools are getting shafted way worse than schools in more affluent counties. Which plays right into Art Pope's business model. Keep a majority of black kids in over-crowded, under-funded schools so they'll grow up to provide a steady stream of ignorant customers to fill his crappy Dollar stores.

It's hard to know where the most damage would occur if Pat McCrory's dream of being governor were to become reality. North Carolina's majestic natural environment would become a dumping ground for polluters. Women's vaginas would become a playground for theocrats like Skip Stam. And public schools would become a battleground for a constitutional crisis.

It's sad enough on the surface. Public schools shriveling to dust while for-profit charters skim taxpayer dollars at a growing clip. Sadder still, it's a self inflicted wound and a failure of political and public education leadership.

As a business strategist, I've seen the scenario many times. An entrenched monopoly defends its traditional business model, circling the wagons to stave off competitors. Meanwhile, nimble and aggressive organizations sense opportunity and exploit it. That's what's happening with charter schools today, and if leaders in the education establishment want to know who to blame, they should look in the mirror.

I am a product of public education in North Carolina: my high school graduating class was the first one to go all twelve years under court ordered busing here in Mecklenburg. I also graduated from Central Piedmont Community College, Appalachian State, and UNC-Charlotte ... so I know firsthand that NC has a very good public education system from kindergarten to college.

I don't dismiss the value of charter schools but I do have a problem with for-profit entities running them.

Just saw this on WRAL. Thought I would like bluenc's comment on this article. Look at the comments and see all the right wing trolls bash public education.

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/9950587/

(Edited in correct link)

Living on a farm for the past eight months, I've learned more about rural life than I ever wanted to know. Corridors of sweet corn surround this place, alleys of alfalfa, highways of hay. The words "don't eat your seed corn" aren't just a witty expression. They are a matter of survival.

In public education, star teachers are the seed corn from which educated citizens grow. Which probably explains why Republican legislators chose to unfund North Carolina's most effective teachers' initiative, the NC Teaching Fellows Program, in a fit of budget extremism. Rob Christensen's excellent story, originally in the N&O, was picked up by the paper in Myrtle Beach, so I'm happy to share it here.

The Young Democrats of North Carolina (YDNC) will gather in at the General Assembly today to ask legislators to maintain North Carolina’s investment in public education. The YDNC Legislative Action Day will begin at 8:15 a.m. in Room 422 of the Legislative Office Building, and involve meetings with legislators and a 11:30 press conference.

If you can't make it in person, please join us on your social networking platforms to get the word out. Supporters of YDNC can ReTweet the Young Democrats on Twitter (@YDNC) and submit questions by using the hashtag #AskNCGA (obviously, you're welcome to throw a #BlueNC in there as well). You can also follow our President (@choosesam) and our Publicity and Newsletter Chair (@jpresident) for additional updates.

For more information, see our earlier post.