Posts by Gary Pearce
The Origin of Teacher Assistants
Here’s some history on teacher assistants – and a hint about why Senate Republicans want to get rid of them: They’re Jim Hunt’s creation. In his first race for Governor in 1976, Hunt proposed what he called the Primary Reading Program. As Lieutenant Governor and ex-officio member of the State Board of Education, he…
Read MoreHandcuffs, Gears and Ferris Wheels
The sound of handcuffs clicking onto more sit-in protesters echoes the grinding gears of North Carolina’s political machinery. Those shackled, disgruntled citizens apparently feel they have no other way to protest how Republicans are treating the poor, the sick, the disabled, teachers, etc. But one reader of this blog writes: “No group is…
Read MoreTax for Teachers?
As Democrats look to counter Senate Republicans on teacher pay, they should look outside the revenue box. The 11 percent raise/end tenure plan caught the headlines and seemed to catch Democrats (and Governor McCrory) off guard. Democrats responded that the plan would gut education, UNC and Medicaid to fund an election-year pay raise that…
Read MoreTenure Trap
If you did a poll – and Senator Berger surely has – you’d probably get overwhelming support for this proposition: “Should public school teachers get an 11 per cent raise in exchange for giving up tenure?” Therein lies the challenge to Senate Democrats. Berger says: “You say you want higher teacher pay. Here it…
Read MoreCore Problem
California Governor Jerry Brown put his finger on the syndrome in 2012: “Everybody went to school, so everybody thinks they know how to teach, or they think they know something about education.” Especially politicians. So, every couple of years, a new education reform takes hold in politics. And the politicians dictate a new set of…
Read MoreNorth to Alaska
I’m just back from a family cruise to Alaska, a trip I highly recommend if you want to see a part of America that is a different world. (And a big thank-you to the guest bloggers whom I trust kept your interest and blood pressure high while I was gone.) We saw just…
Read MoreSick of Ads
When you watch the evening news, you learn two things about people who watch the evening news. First, we vote, because we drown in political ads before elections. And, second, we have every disease and bad health condition known to medicine, especially the pharmaceutical industry. We’re at risk for diabetes, heart disease, high blood…
Read MoreKeith Crisco
We were reviewing the Board of Elections’ schedule and making plans for the fall campaign. Then Brad Crone called to say Keith Crisco would concede this morning. Then we were sent reeling by the shock of Keith’s death. Suddenly, campaigns, vote counts and elections-board canvasses seemed not so important. I remembered meeting with…
Read MoreDouble Negative
Political consultants are used to hearing – and ignoring – clients (and their friends and family) say: “People here don’t like negative ads. They don’t work.” But now there may be something to that argument in the Triangle media market. Exhibit A: The failure of the Republican attack strategy against Robin Hudson. Exhibit B:…
Read MoreAiken for the Win
I’ve been in politics longer than Clay Aiken has been alive (38 years vs. 35), but he took me to school this week. Everything I’ve learned tells me that if (A) you’re massively outspent by your opponent and (B) he runs three or four ads to your one and (C) one of those is…
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