Welcome
In this week’s CommenTerry, I muse on the teacher "walk-in" events coordinated by the NC Association of Educators (NCAE) and other Raleigh-based advocacy groups.
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CommenTerry
Perhaps you have heard that the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) coordinated teacher "walk-in" events across North Carolina. Now that teacher "walk-in" day has passed, it is a good time to review the events that led to the November 4 protests and assess possible outcomes arising from them.
As I see it, the "walk-in" served two purposes.
First, it got a handful of teachers out of hot water. A few weeks ago, several current and former teachers organized a walkout to protest their dissatisfaction with state education policy. But a walkout was a problematic concept from the start. Some warned the organizers that a walkout might be considered a strike, which is a no-no for North Carolina teachers. Others pointed out that public perception of a walkout would be negative, that is, depicted as an act of stranding children in the classroom without adult supervision for the purpose of airing grievances.
The problem for liberals was that the walkout had momentum. Both social and traditional media began buzzing about the event. On Twitter and Facebook, teachers rallied behind walkout organizers and those who planned to participate. Newspapers enthusiastically ran stories about it. So, the choices were clear: 1) cancel the event; 2) allow the walkout to move forward and clean up any messes left behind; or 3) redirect the momentum to something that was less controversial (and more legal). Obviously, they chose the third option. Walkout organizers breathed a sigh of relief. The "walk-in" was born.
The fact that the North Carolina Association of Educators took charge of the "walk-in" event presented a new set of problems for the left. The walkout had been associated with a labor union strike and now the state’s teachers union was the lead organization for the "walk-in" events. This variety of political theater borrows from a classic labor union strategy — public exhibitions of worker solidarity against those in charge. Surely, this association is one reason why the NCAE temporarily removed their "walk-in" toolkit and other information from their website. But that is not the only reason.
What started as a teacher-led effort that grew organically became an effort coordinated by Raleigh-based advocacy organizations, the same ones that diligently participated in Moral Monday protests during the legislative session. Indeed, the public accepted Moral Monday protests as long as the marches, sermons, and cardboard uteruses stayed in Raleigh. But they would not accept hundreds of mini Moral Mondayesque protests, or anything with a partisan tinge for that matter, at their children’s schools.
And this is where, I believe, the left overplayed their hand.
By many accounts, public sentiment is already on their side. The public acknowledges that teaching is a difficult profession. Many have been convinced that teachers are underpaid and underappreciated. They worry about the effects of policy changes passed by the legislature. In other words, there is no shortage of sympathy for North Carolina teachers, regardless of the fact that there is no empirical base underlying it.
But rather than allow that sympathy to grow naturally until the legislature reconvenes next year, the left injected their brand of highly divisive rhetoric into the conversation. Indeed, they risked a great deal of goodwill simply to take advantage of prepackaged publicity generated by a handful of enthusiastic current and former teachers. This was the second purpose of the "walk-in" events, by the way — never let free publicity go to waste.
What happens now? The NCAE will continue collecting dues from members and using those millions of dollars to pay their leaders handsomely and engage in political and legal advocacy. Teachers will resume walking in their school buildings individually. Many public school employees will wear red, mostly because it is a color of clothing commonly found in one’s wardrobe.
In other words, despite the "walk-in" it will be business as usual in North Carolina’s public schools.
Facts and Stats
At this point, we do not know how many teachers participated in the NCAE’s "walk-in" events on Monday. So, the "official" count is twelve — yes, twelve teachers participated. If the NCAE would like to offer an alternative count, I would welcome it.
Education Acronym of the Week
NCAE — North Carolina Association of Educators
Quote of the Week
"We affirm the desire, and right, of educators to use tactics like a walk-out or strike, and recognize that this state’s politicians are leaving us few options to improve the situation of our students, our schools, and ourselves."
– The North Carolina Association of Educators, "Walk-In on November 4 [toolkit]," October 25, 2013
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