The Red Pencil 
Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
May Meeting
When: Thursday, 15 May 2014
Where: Deerfield Methodist Church
How much: $10, check payable to Watauga County NCRSP
What: Annual presentation of scholarship
Memorial service
Induction of officers
Please bring any food staples you wish, especially powdered milk, canned soups, and cereals. Bring the aluminum tabs from soda cans, pet food cans, and soup cans to help a fund to purchase and train seeing-eye dogs. If you can manage it, include a bag of cat or dog food for our four-legged friends at the Humane Society. AND bring a check explained later in the newsletter in the article titled “A Big Change Coming.”
If your caller has not contacted you by the 10th of May, call Margaret Sigmon at 264-2036 or email her at margaretsigmon@bellsouth.net. Please understand that an accurate accounting of our attendees is extremely important, since that is the number of people for whom George will cook. Callers make every effort to reach all the names on their lists, but you can help by responding to your caller or by notifying Margaret.
In a practice we began several years ago, we will have meals for sale for $5 after our meeting if we have enough food to do so. If you are having guests or eating alone for dinner or just love George’s wonderful food, place your order as you arrive or stay for a few moments after the meeting.
President’s Message
I was one proud dad when both of my daughters chose teaching as their career of choice. Like many of you, I didn't choose the profession for the money (I'm better at math than that) but because it was my passion. I knew my girls and you and I could have found careers that would pay more, but we all know how important it is to spend our efforts doing something we truly love. Never did I imagine that our state would tolerate anything like the war on teachers that we are experiencing. I find myself ashamed to be encouraging them to find employment in Virginia.
At first, I hoped that this was just another ridiculous political phase that would run itself out in due course, but now I'm not so certain. It is becoming more evident that this was a carefully orchestrated attack motivated by something many of us did not see coming, and that something is greed.
Diane Ravitch, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education and author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System, makes very clear that the effort to privatize public schools is not part of either a liberal or conservative agenda, stating, “...conservatives do not destroy democratic institutions. Conservatives don't try to limit local control of education. ...Privatization is a radical scheme. It is not a conservative scheme.”
I am not anti-business. I believe in free enterprise as much as the next person, but public schools are part of our democratic institution. Read the letters to the editor recently sent by David Phillips, a former Watauga teacher (and, I proudly add, my cousin). David has done a great deal of research and presented a most convincing case for the true reasons for this unprecedented attack on our schools.
No single demographic knows more about the true needs of education than the members of NCRSP. We may be retired, but we are still teachers. Our students are now the voters, our friends and neighbors who have been misled by those who would sacrifice the work of our careers for their own financial benefit.
It's time for us to be heard - not for political reasons, but for the sake of the kids and, ultimately, for the sake of our society.
RETIREMENT ALERT:
Every year some of our active colleagues become our retired colleagues and that’s when we’re pleased to encourage them to join us in NCRSP. If you know of folks who are retiring this year, please give their names to Barbara or Roland Moy, 264-8811, or Dot Barker, 264-3621, for a formal invitation and then issue a personal invitation for them to come to our August breakfast with you. Remember that their first meal with us is free.
The simple and best truth is that everyone in our organization is on the Membership Committee and we are the first line of recruitment.
Our memorial service in May will honor three members of our chapter who have died this year, Agnes Shipley, Frank Randall, and Anne Van Noppen Millsaps.
Please remember to keep up with your volunteer hours. At a time when our membership and our mission are being challenged by the state legislature, explaining the value of our contributions to the community is more important than ever. Note that your report of volunteer hours is not due until December.
PLEASE NOTE: Because of Lera’s recent hospitalization, the Randall family is rescheduling the memorial service for Frank. As soon as we have that information, we will let you know.
For your calendar: As of right now, the 2014-2015 school year begins in Watauga County on Tuesday, August 19. Mark your calendar now and plan to attend our annual breakfast meeting at 9A on that date. All other meetings during the year will be on Thursday, as usual.
Beginning immediately, our NCRSP unit is going to be “Making Our Mark on Education Again.”
After much discussion and absolute agreement, your executive board has voted to shift one of our long-running emphases on providing assistance to the students in our county.
Starting now, we will no longer be coming to our August meeting with school supplies to distribute to schools through the county office.
Instead, we will support the Back to School Festival, held this year at Watauga High School, to provide supplies and equipment to individual students.
WHY?
We have been concerned for some time that supplies we donate to the schools through the county office have the potential to end up stashed in a supply closet somewhere. With the Back to School Festival (explanation coming up), we can know for sure that supplies and materials are going directly into the hands of students who need them.
WHAT IS IT?
The Back to School Festival, which will be held at Watauga High School on Saturday, the 9th of August, is a non-profit outgrowth of Quiet Givers* and serves registered and screened attendees with specifically what they need to succeed. Students can receive school supplies, clothing, services, and sports equipment they surely would not have otherwise. Last year, more than 525 children attended.
· $46,000 in goods and services was provided to children
· 150 children received haircuts, and another 60 received gift certificates from stylists who wanted to participate but were unable to attend.
· $800 in Goodwill gift cards went to families with multiple children who needed additional clothing.
· Eleven girls joined the Girl Scouts because the Scouts waived all fees.
· Over 350 backpacks containing school supplies were distributed.
· Families were grateful and took only what they needed, being respectful that someone else in line was also needy.
· Families lined up out the door for 2 hours before the festival began.
· Families were treated with dignity and respect.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
This is the really important part. Instead of bringing school supplies to our August meeting, we are asking that you do one of two things at our May meeting: write a check (to the Watauga Unit of NCRSP with “B2S” in the memo line) and/or bring a goodly supply of CRAYOLA markers (not any other brand).
We hope that you will write your check in roughly the same amount – or more – that you would spend on supplies if you were bringing them in August. With the money in hand, sponsors of the Back to School Festival can purchase the supplies they need during the early August sales, and our meeting on the 19th is much too late to be of any benefit to the Festival.
And why Crayola markers and not another brand? Because teachers tell us that they’re the only kind that really work, and buying anything else is honestly just wasting money – and because markers seem to be one of the things students use and need most.
WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO?
The Festival survives and thrives on the participation of volunteers like us, people who care about education and about seeing students succeed. If you are willing to distribute posters or sit at an information table at the Mall or work with the registration committee or make signs, you are needed. Please email Amber Bateman at quietgivers@gmail.com or phone her at 828.964-7233.
Festival organizers are expecting more than 1,000 students from all grades to be at WHS on the 9th.
One of many stories:
“My husband passed away this year and I moved my children back to Boone because this is my home town. We used all our money to get here and had no idea how we were going to afford supplies. I don’t know what I would do without this help!”
Again, please write a check (Watauga Unit NCRSP with B2S on the memo line) in the amount – or more – that you usually spend on school supplies for our August meeting. Bring that check to the May meeting. Additionally or alternatively, bring a very large, honkingly large supply of Crayola markers to the May meeting. Don’t worry: we’ll remind you again. And again. And probably again.
*Quiet Givers (quietgivers@gmail.com) is a local organization of community members who answer specific calls for assistance in our community. If you would like more information about Quiet Givers and about the Back2School Festival, visit www.quietgivers.org. You can also keep up-to-date on current information about the festival at http://www.
A very clever teacher
Four teenagers played hooky one morning. When they finally got to class that afternoon, they explained that they were late because their car had a flat tire. “I understand,” the teacher said, much to the students’ relief, “but we had an oral test this morning which you boys will have to make up. Please have a seat and take out a pencil and a piece of paper.”
“Now for the first question. Which tire was flat?”
