One of my core tenets in public service has been supporting public education.  The most important job in our society is making sure we provide the best education possible to our children.  We want the next generation to succeed in school so they can succeed in the work world.

The teaching profession, just like most of the corporate world, is changing due to advances in technology, software and how it impacts our daily lives.  Children today have a close connection with technology and the world of computers.  More instruction is being delivered via tablet and laptop – not textbooks.

Parental engagement between teacher and student is at an all-time high because of connectivity. Today, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction has software for school systems that allow parents to see daily lesson plans and measure student success on a real-time basis.

Yes, there are important public policy debates about testing and curriculum standards.  But there is one key element to the education debate that we should never neglect – that’s the classroom teacher.

A great teacher is the spark that can be a catalyst for our next great innovator, inventor, explorer, researcher or even another great teacher.

That’s why news from NC State about the declining enrollment of young students into education as a teaching career is alarming and should be a topic of discussion in the halls of state government.

In their spring quarter edition of NC State Magazine, the school reported that admissions in the College of Education had dropped nearly 55 percent in the past five years.  “Stagnant pay and other pressures are diminishing the allure of the teaching profession in North Carolina, causing a steep enrollment drop in recent years,” read the report.

Dr. Michael Maher, assistant dean of the College of Education at NC State University, said low pay was the top factor in making teaching less attractive.

Our state is only hurting ourselves if we are not able to recruit bright, young talent to the field of education and work in the classroom.  Our top budget priority should be keeping our best teachers in the classroom and working with our education colleges and universities to identify and recruit excellent student teachers into the classroom, accepting education as a rewarding career path.

Main Street Democrats believe we must invest in public education.  The success of our schools starts with the dedication and excellence of that classroom teacher.

We are witnessing a transformation in education today.  How we teach and how children learn is different than in past generations.  We must embrace technology in the classroom.  That’s why we need young teachers in the classroom to serve as the catalyst for change in our public schools.

In order to get good teachers and keep good teachers, it is going to require a big investment from the state and our taxpayers.  The investment is a sound one because spending money on better schools means a stronger future economy.  Making sure our children get a world-class education with the skills they need to compete in a global economy, will make North Carolina as a whole a much stronger state.

It’s time to put our money where our mouth is – I for one believe voters want to invest in education and that investment should start with our classroom teachers.

PAID FOR BY THE NC MAIN STREET DEMOCRATS PAC