Want what’s best for kids? Pay teachers more
Pay teachers more or watch them walk
I left a profitable corporate career to become a teacher because I realized there is a desperate need to close the achievement gap.
Even though I am committed to this mission, I think it will be extremely difficult to minimize teacher turnover as long as N.C. teachers are among the country’s lowest paid.
There is no way to produce permanent change when your teaching staff is constantly turning over.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you get what you pay for.
We all want the best for our children. Unfortunately, due to salaries the best are leaving the classroom or education altogether.
Ann Watkins, Indian Land, S.C.
Obama’s strategy against ISIS is failing
Recent terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Orlando make it clear that President Obama has failed miserably in meeting his most important responsibility – to keep us safe.
This was borne out in a recent Fox News Poll that showed 84 percent of those polled think most Americans today are feeling more nervous than confident about stopping terrorist attacks.
How many more innocent Americans need to be killed before “No-drama Obama” demonstrates true leadership and makes the hard decisions needed to eradicate radical Islamic terrorists?
Clearly what we are doing today to defeat ISIS is woefully inadequate. It is time to develop a winning strategy, then give our military the freedom to execute it.
John Perugini, Waxhaw
George Will is right; time to regroup
In response to “George Will exits GOP over Trump” (June 26):
George Will had a good idea: Vote for Hillary.
He also suggested Republicans regroup and win in 2020. Maybe that will not happen, but his reasoning is sound.
Clinton has my vote, and I’m aware the Democratic Party needs to stop and check where it’s going.
If the next four years are spent correcting ourselves – Democrats and Republicans – we’ll be in good shape.
The 2020 election would be more fair and better for all.
Right now though, Republicans seem to have an open can of worms that they thought they left outside.
Chris Horn Williams, Charlotte
Share the road, but let’s all obey the law
In response to “I’m just trying to get uptown on my bike” (June 29 Forum):
I am glad Forum writer Gary McKee is an observer of traffic signs and laws. I wish all cyclists were.
In my neighborhood, there are a lot of cyclists. Daily, I notice cyclists rocketing through stop signs, riding double and sometimes moving over to let a car pass, sometimes not, and slithering between waiting cars and the curb at a traffic light.
I also share the narrow streets with runners, walkers, mothers pushing strollers in the street, etc. when there are sidewalks on both sides.
Carole Bradley, Charlotte
HB2 brings back bad 1950s memories
In response to “Proposed HB2 changes met with fierce criticism” (June 29):
I remember high school very well. I remember who the bullies were in the early ’50s and dislike them to this very day.
Gym class was brutal for boys who had feminine ways.
We had a long urinal with water running in it all the time. The bullies would make these boys lie in the urinal, and the coaches would laugh along with the boys.
HB2 takes us back to the ’50s. Maybe they never ended, but it’s time to end them now.
Rodney Black, Crouse
Protect my daughters and granddaughters
Protect my daughters and granddaughters
It must be very difficult to have a man’s body and feel like a woman, since that’s certainly not the same thing as being a woman.
But kicking women’s privacy rights to the curb is a totally unacceptable solution to this problem.
People have a right to privacy in intimate settings, such as bathrooms, showers, changing areas, bedrooms and doctor’s offices.
And no public or private entity should be allowed to violate this right by permitting a person with male organs to shower with my daughters or granddaughters.
Joseph Spiegel, Fort Mill, S.C.
Here’s more GovCo for Larson to ponder
In response to Keith Larson “A conservative ponders the Parkway” (June 29 Opinion):
Perhaps Keith Larson should also ponder the University of North Carolina system, the National Parks, and the Interstate Highways. And for extra credit, ruminate on our inability to maintain America’s infrastructure.
Donna Hatfield, Cornelius
This story was originally published July 3, 2016 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Want what’s best for kids? Pay teachers more."