NC must invest in teachers before it’s too late

As a high school senior planning to join the ranks of my favorite educators, I am working hard to find the college that will best prepare me to be the greatest teacher I can be – at an affordable price. Fortunately, I believe I have found the perfect school where I will be mentored and taught how to effectively run a classroom, but there is one problem: the price tag.

When I talk to the same teachers who inspired me, they warn me of how pursuing a career in education puts many in debt after college graduation. Debt from student loans isn’t too alarming. Students pursuing other professions graduate with debt, too, but wishing to stay in a state that doesn’t put much priority toward teacher salaries is frightening.

At this point, it doesn’t make sense for me to teach when I am already scrambling for enough money to pay for my college education next year. My dream is hindered by the cost of attending a school I know will provide me with the resources I need to become the best teacher I can be. I don’t believe this scenario is right.

North Carolina is in need of intelligent and passionate teachers but offers little to no support for students like me who want to make teaching their career. Programs such as the North Carolina Teaching Fellows allowed students to study education in college in preparation to lead a classroom while financially supporting students if they taught in North Carolina for four years after graduation. But in 2011, the N.C. General Assembly voted to discontinue the program and left many future teachers with fewer options of how to make attending school and pursuing their dreams of becoming educators affordable.

Since eliminating the program, the General Assembly has offered no alternative, sustainable ways to attract and retain talented students in the field of education. Several bills would have provided similar financial assistance to prospective teachers, but none has been voted in. North Carolina needs teachers who will pour their hearts into their careers and educate and empower the next generation. But future teachers need the support of North Carolina’s legislature to make teaching a sustainable career.

North Carolina’s legislature needs to be encouraging high-achieving, passionate students to become teachers instead of making it harder for prospective educators to stay in-state. I could pursue a career in journalism, communications or graphic design that I know would pay better, but I want to teach.

For the sake of future teachers and generations who will need high-achieving, passionate students to become their teachers, programs such as the Teaching Fellows Program need to be reinstated. Without some form of financial incentives, many students interested in becoming teachers will struggle to make a career in education a feasible option.

North Carolina, we need you, and you need us.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 5:41 PM with the headline "NC must invest in teachers before it’s too late."