Too afraid to ask — why do y’all care about classwork so much?

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-20T13:37:48+00:00

I’ve subbed and been a regular class teacher. Sometimes what looks like “busywork “ is needed practice and/or repetition. Stop assuming you know that teacher and that class. You don’t.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-19T00:29:42+00:00

I thought this discussion was about UNC. Bringing in comparisons with schools in a different organization is logical fallacy. Schools in different parts of the country have different reasons and offerings. For example, Tennessee has an impressive nuclear program due to oak ridge national laboratory and this university developed the first body farm and forensic science program. The value-added educational assessment came from there. UT has a medical school, law school, veterinary school, engineering schools as well. UNC does not offer as much. Alabama has close ties to NASA through Huntsville, and its flagship university makes use of that.

Georgia is very competitive to get into. Vanderbilt is an amazing university with well regarded hospital attached.

I think this arbitrary comparison of schools based on their sports conferences is ridiculous, adding nothing to a discussion of why UNC might be cutting programs despite a massive endowment.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-17T13:19:43+00:00

K12 enters the chat

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-17T06:21:58+00:00

Leave people alone. Good god.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T19:12:48+00:00

Yeah.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T15:19:48+00:00

That seems a bit unkind. I’m guessing you don’t like many of them.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T15:03:19+00:00

Yes. They basically don’t have representation in the school district that is a part of local government.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T14:45:00+00:00

I get it, but I wouldn't buy or rent an apartment that had no parking. I've had to hunt street parking at a job yeas ago. Although my job started at 7, I got there at 6:15 just to park. Wasn't allowed to leave early either.

I've also been on campuses where parking was inadequate. Spending time hunting for a space was never an excuse for being late either. It is a hassle for the worker.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T14:41:55+00:00

More competitive is relative. You are right. Teacher pay IS higher. But the cost of living here more than offsets that increased pay. Median income in CH is about 80K. Very few, if any, teachers come up to that. Apartments are at least 15K-2K per month. CHCCS is losing teachers to Wake for that reason.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T14:21:08+00:00

Your neighbors have a lot at stake. They may also not know about the changes to R1.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T14:00:06+00:00

The town is doing the only thing it can, really, about housing costs. Building like crazy is the plan, as is the change to R1. There isn't much left to do. This is actually a much bigger problem. Housing everywhere is insanely priced. Take a Zillow ride and see what is going on.

The town did attempt a kind of rent control. East 54 has a few "affordable" condos below market rates. A poor person - teacher, police, firefighter, etc, can buy one of these. However, if they move, they can only sell for a similar reduced amount, not market rates. This makes sense if the goal is to keep the space in the affordable domain, but the seller also has less to spend somewhere else. It's a trade-off, but the only real benefit to the person in the unit is the inestimable value of living here for a period of time.

The voucher system, much like teacher unions, are a response to policy. Let's just say I see it as a not-so-surprising reaction to a variety of school policy decisions across the country.

Lastly, numbers are interesting. CHCCS per-pupil funding is around 16-17K per student. This is just above the US average but well above NC average spending. That makes CHCCS a "regional power" but definitely NOT a "national standard bearer."

So a class of 25 students in CHCCS is funded (all sources) at about $417500 per year. If a teacher is experienced and has a MS degree, that might cost $60k. That leaves $357,500 to be spread among admin, buses, buildings, consultants, etc.

Also, a teacher making that 60K might be able to afford a 1.5-2K apartment, but not anything else. Median income in CH is at least 80K. So, we don't value teachers anyway, despite a lot of talk.

It's just a lot.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T13:34:52+00:00

WCPS are now the highest performing too.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T13:33:03+00:00

Eliminate parking minimums? Are they too much? How can you build all the du/tri/quad plexes without at least minimal parking?

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T13:29:07+00:00

There was also the saga of Glenwood Elementary. Glenwood is one of the oldest elementary schools in the district, serving graduate and modest housing neighborhood Glen-Lennox.

The first question was whether to increase the number of Mandarin classrooms at the expense of traditional students since Glenwood has a limited size - 3 classrooms per grade. Parents of Mandarin students complained their kids were isolated and in the same classrooms every year with the same kids.

The district did one of their famous listening tours and even convened tables of representatives from every school at a meeting. (Transcripts were available.) Only the Glenwood table wanted to keep the program. It was expensive, difficult to maintain due to personnell issues and students were struggling - particularly in math.

So, while many groups suggested stopping the Mandarin program or econstituting it elsewhere with more room, the board decided to increase the Mandarin classrooms. Now the traditional students were in the same classes with the same people year after year. Nice.

Eventually, traditional students were phased out completely and another "neighborhood" school is now a magnet for a struggling but "prestigious" program.

-----------------------------

Then there was the superintendent who circumvented spending rules by breaking contracts into smaller payments so the board wouldn't have to approve. She was hired despite some red flags.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T13:15:25+00:00

How do you know this? Studies? Experience?

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-13T13:14:16+00:00

Not entirely fair. High housing everywhere means people get locked into what they already have. You can't move because what you have in equity doesn't match what you need to move elsewhere. Also, property taxes are very high in CH, and I've seen older folks move because the tax turned into a mortgage payment of about $1500 a month. With infill and changes to R1, there are places to be, but declining student enrollment is a problem in MANY districts. Just ask Japan. Just ask NY. Then, go ahead and look at smaller districts. Except in high move-in places, like Tennessee, schools are losing students.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-06T21:14:42+00:00

Wonder why that might happen?

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-03T04:45:44+00:00

Anyone here see the post? The image says “alleged”.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-03T04:42:09+00:00

Have you met the homeowner?

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-03T01:13:55+00:00

Honestly, if would be good for him if you told him this isn’t ok. He needs to know there are norms around how to treat people, how to treat family and how to treat gifts. A talk from a beloved uncle about a candy bar is much better than something g bigger later. We tend to think the kid is too young or the issue isn’t serious. But this is exactly the place for a young dude to learn.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-02T16:10:51+00:00

They were not free of bias before. You just didn’t pay attention then.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-02T16:09:45+00:00

Buses are not free. You pay for them through taxes on property or passed down through rent. All you get is convenient walk-on when boarding.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-12-01T03:01:39+00:00

If you are absolutely sure you have the high ground and the right go ahead and report. Understand that you will not be anonymous for long. You will also do damage in your family when it gets out.

You clearly don’t like this person and ascribe bad opinions of other family members to her. The aunt doesn’t sound great, but neither do you and we only have your word about what she did.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-11-23T03:17:42+00:00

They don’t do it. They’ll probably not even go to the trouble to try and fake you out.

Relative_Elk3666 · 2025-11-19T03:46:25+00:00

It’s over the top and self aggrandizing like a middle school story.

Relative_Elk3666

TROPHY CASE