Why you should care about education even if you don’t have kids
If you have kids, you probably think about education in Charlotte a lot. It affects where you buy a house or rent an apartment. And there are so many decisions to be made — Public or private school? What about a charter or a magnet? Is this what’s best for my child?
But if you don’t have kids, and don’t work in education — or have a family member who does — you may not care about issues surrounding education in Charlotte and around the state. But you should. Why? Ask 2014-15 N.C. Teacher of the Year James Ford.
“You should care because education impacts literally every other institution,” he said. “Every social problem I look at, I can tell you how directly or indirectly it is impacted by education.”
Ford joined on this week’s back-to-school edition of the CharlotteFive Podcast.
Ford started teaching in his native Illinois in 2009. The next year he came to Charlotte and started teaching world history at Garinger High School. After just a few years in the classroom, he was named 2014-15 N.C. Teacher of the Year.
He has since left the classroom and serves as program director for the Public School Forum of North Carolina, an education research and advocacy group. During our interview — which could have gone on for several more hours because there’s so much to talk about — Ford talked about his unlikely path to becoming a teacher, the biggest problems facing education in Charlotte and North Carolina, and what he misses about being in the classroom at Garinger High.
As someone who has several teachers in my family, I loved hearing what Ford had to say about such an important topic. I think you’ll enjoy it, too.
Other topics discussed on this week’s CharlotteFive Podcast:
– Sarah gushes about her jury duty experience. (Seriously, she makes it sound like one of the most fun things to do in Charlotte.)
– September is the month of festivals in Charlotte.
– Apple picking.
– Open swim days at Carrigan Farms quarry.
The CharlotteFive Podcast — presented by The Charlotte Observer and powered by OrthoCarolina — is a weekly podcast that aims to get you Charlotte Smart, Fast with fun, interesting and useful news about the city. It’s hosted by Corey Inscoe and Sarah Crosland.
You can find The CharlotteFive Podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow us on Twitter @Charlotte_Five, on Instagram @cltfive, and on Facebook, and you can shoot us an email to charlottefive@charlottefive.com.
Photo: John D. Simmons/Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Why you should care about education even if you don’t have kids."