Going Viral
2013-10-24 - by
Matt Brown did what digital experts would run over their grandmothers to do. He got a half a million people to read his message, and it didn’t cost him a cent.
North Carolina politicians better take notice.
Think about those numbers for a second. A half-million readers. In a state where 4.5 million people voted in last year’s presidential election. That is 500,000 people who took the time to click on a link and read what Matt Brown had to say.
What he had to say was about teachers. He said he was glad his wife Haley was quitting teaching.
You might not agree with what he said. But The News & Observer says Brown’s missive is the most-read story on its website this year. A half-million people paid attention to it. So you should too. Here, in part, is what Brown wrote:
“After nearly seven years of her passion for teaching turning to dread, she is free to live her life unburdened by the oppressive hands of incompetent legislators and school board members who wish to micromanage education without actually getting involved with the people in it.
“As each passing year of new policies and tests fails to deliver the results they desire, rather than reform their thinking, these officials create new policies and new tests and pile them on top of the old ones. They, with the raising of a hand and a stroke of a signature, applaud themselves for their feigned ingenuity without thought or regard for those who will have to bear the burden of it….
“To add insult to injury, North Carolina has not one time since my wife has been teaching given teachers the pay increases promised them. In fact, they have been given no pay increases except for a single, 1 percent increase a couple of years ago. Given that the average rate of inflation over the past 10 years has been 2.3 percent, by not giving teachers pay increases that at least match inflation, the state is essentially saying, ‘We will expect more and more of you with each passing year, but your services are worth less and less to us with each passing year’.”
Going Viral
2013-10-24/
Matt Brown did what digital experts would run over their grandmothers to do. He got a half a million people to read his message, and it didn’t cost him a cent.
North Carolina politicians better take notice.
Think about those numbers for a second. A half-million readers. In a state where 4.5 million people voted in last year’s presidential election. That is 500,000 people who took the time to click on a link and read what Matt Brown had to say.
What he had to say was about teachers. He said he was glad his wife Haley was quitting teaching.
You might not agree with what he said. But The News & Observer says Brown’s missive is the most-read story on its website this year. A half-million people paid attention to it. So you should too. Here, in part, is what Brown wrote:
“After nearly seven years of her passion for teaching turning to dread, she is free to live her life unburdened by the oppressive hands of incompetent legislators and school board members who wish to micromanage education without actually getting involved with the people in it.
“As each passing year of new policies and tests fails to deliver the results they desire, rather than reform their thinking, these officials create new policies and new tests and pile them on top of the old ones. They, with the raising of a hand and a stroke of a signature, applaud themselves for their feigned ingenuity without thought or regard for those who will have to bear the burden of it….
“To add insult to injury, North Carolina has not one time since my wife has been teaching given teachers the pay increases promised them. In fact, they have been given no pay increases except for a single, 1 percent increase a couple of years ago. Given that the average rate of inflation over the past 10 years has been 2.3 percent, by not giving teachers pay increases that at least match inflation, the state is essentially saying, ‘We will expect more and more of you with each passing year, but your services are worth less and less to us with each passing year’.”