Letter to the Governor

Dear Governor McCroy and NC General Assembly,

I have been a teacher for six years, but my passion for education goes back many years before that.  My mom was in education for 33 years, so you can imagine that I grew up in the classroom.  My first friends were made in school, my first role models found in that building, and my learning was established all those years ago.  Fast forward to 2003, when I was deciding my college and major it was a simple decision.  I knew in my heart that I had to be a teacher.

I tell you all of this not to provide you with sympathy, no - that's not it.  I just want you to understand that education runs deep in my blood.  My whole life has revolved in and out of public education - and I have loved it.  I love the feeling of sitting in a classroom, whether it was years ago as a student or currently as a teacher.  It is my safe haven.  You are desecrating my safe haven, and not just mine, but my colleagues and more importantly, my kids.

Yes, my kids.  Did I birth them?  No.  That would be a lot of birthing.  However, in a mere five years, I have taught over 700 students.  That's a lot of students.  Now I ask you, would you have wanted these over 700 students to have had a bad teacher?  A bad education?  I'm not saying I'm this fabulous teacher, but I certainly do try.  You are forcing me to reconsider why I'm a teacher.  You are forcing me to think about leaving these kids.

You are increasing my class size, forcing me to become a more innovative teacher with less space.  You are still piling on new curriculum, forcing me to figure out new material.  You are keeping my pay the same (five years running!), forcing me to budget until my head hurts.

I love this state, I love teaching, and I love my students.  You clearly do not care.  If you cared, you would give us, my strong colleagues and fellow NC teachers, more support.  You wouldn't constantly take and take and take, just to give us more and more headaches.

And you know what?  Fine.  Take it out on me.  Don't increase my pay.  But do you realize that you're not just hurting me?  You are hurting your future.  You are hurting all these kids.  Public education has its faults.  No one is arguing with that, but I don't think tearing it apart is the solution.  Instead, help those kids.  Give them teachers who love what they do.  When you freeze our pay, take away incentive to further our education, and hinder programs for strong, rising teachers, you are hurting your kids.

Look back in your memory.  Didn't you have a teacher who cared about you?  Who inspired you?  Who gave you faith that you could do anything!  Who supported you, loved you, taught you, mentored you, and cheered you on!  This is education.  I am in education because of the teachers who inspired me.  Teachers who held me up when I was falling.  Teachers who took a genuine interest in my life.  I became a teacher to pay them back.  Why did you become what you are?

I love North Carolina.  When I leave this state and visit other states, I realize how lucky I was to grow up in this beautiful state.  Please, I beg you, stop making your teachers hurt and left feeling not valued.  We love what we do, and we clearly don't do this for money, but you are forcing us to reconsider what we love.