I do not know where to begin on this one.
First, I encourage you to read JLF’s annual teacher pay study to put this issue in its proper perspective. Next, read and reflect on these noteworthy comments from a News 14 Carolina story:
“So our [NCAE] members across the state are working very, very hard to try to urge the members of the General Assembly to stand tall for public education.”
“You certainly want to discourage the smoking, and you need the money, so why not combine them?”
“It’s not really about money, it’s about enjoying what you do.”
“People that are doctors, lawyers, anybody that has such a big part in people’s lives, taking care of them, I feel like they’ve learned everything they’ve learned from teachers. So I feel like, teachers should be paid just as much as they are because they’re the ones that taught them all they know.”
Contradictions and unusual logic aside, the NCAE and its members really do not present a strong case for teacher pay raises of seven percent (as Governor Easley proposed in his budget).
