As a future educator, the article about the state budget favoring Teach For America left me with a lot to say.
Even though the Teach for America program provides bodies in the classroom, I think it undermines the teaching profession.
The Teach for America recipients spend six weeks in the summer trying to learn what we education students learn in over two years.
In addition, they are put in some of the worst schools in the state with very little training or support.
It sends the message that going to a university to get a teaching degree is pointless.
The teaching profession is already looked down upon, and this only devalues it more.
By supporting Teach for America instead of programs like Teaching Fellows, the North Carolina General Assembly is saying that they are looking for a short-term fix to North Carolina educational system instead of long-term, which is what the state really needs.
North Carolina is ranked 46th in the nation for per-capita spending on public schools and 48th in the nation for teacher pay.
The support for Teach for America instead of the Teaching Fellows program, lack of bonuses for teachers with masters degrees, and denial of a salary raise in over six years is sending a loud message to future teachers of North Carolina: that we are not going to be valued.
