The General Assembly convenes in Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 16.
Stuart Egan writes that teachers will be there to meet them.
On May 16th, teachers in North Carolina will begin to make a stand for their profession and the state’s public schools.
What these teachers and advocates want Raleigh’s lawmakers to understand is that there is a difference between “rewarding” teachers and respecting the teaching profession and the public schools.
A reward is something that is given in recognition of someone’s service, effort, and/or achievement. One could get a reward for doing well on a project or completing a task. Some could look at a bonus check as a reward for accomplishing a goal.
However, NC’s teachers want more than a reward from the General Assembly. They want respect for all of our public school teachers and the public schools which serve a vast majority of our children.
To have respect is to have a deep feeling of admiration for someone because of his abilities, qualities, and value. It is understanding that someone is important and should be taken seriously.
In this highly contested election year, many will be fooled by lawmakers wanting to “reward” the teaching profession with bills that might offer more pay or actually fund a mandate and mistake that for respect. Respect goes much deeper.
That is why teachers and advocates will march and rally on May 16th when the NCGA reconvenes because it reminds policies makers that there are many stark differences between rewards and respect.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Do other professions consider their salaries as rewards for their work? Is a raise a reward? Are improvements in working conditions rewards?
a different take on teacher’s pet: Teacher As Pet.
TAGO!
I’ll be one of those teachers marching in Raleigh on May 16th. What we’re really after is an end to the attempts to undermine public education and gut public school funding that are going on in our highly partisan, right-wing legislature. Everything from the new push to “streamline” the NCDPI, the advent of an “Innovation School District” to facilitate state takeovers (and the awarding of the first takeover contract to a firm run by the legislator who introduced the bill creating it), the continued undercutting of school funding, the removal of the cap on charter schools, to, yes, the greatly lagging state of teacher pay (we rank 48th in the nation in teacher pay competitiveness) have brought this on. Many districts will be forced to shut down for the day (Durham and Chapel Hill/Carrboro already, with more soon to follow) for lack of teachers and substitutes. It will effectively be a one day state-wide strike, though the teachers will actually be taking a personal day at their own expense in most districts where they will not only give up a day’s pay but have to pay $50 out-of-pocket if a substitute is used. But expect to see many thousands march and call on our legislature to do what is needed rather than to force their own radical political agenda on our schools.