NC moves to ban DEI in education (03-06-2025--Hour3)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:29] Last hour, I finished up by talking about the impact of illegal immigration on education. So let's transition, shall we, to education, where up in Raleigh, a new bill has been filed, House Bill 192, the Raise Teacher Pay and Dollar Allotment Study.

[00:00:56] So a bill filed in the House looks to raise teacher pay and bring back master's degree pay and establish a study of school funding. All right, this is according to AP Dillon's piece at the North State Journal Online, NSJOnline.com.

[00:01:17] The primary sponsor is Representative Erin Paré from Wake County. She's a Republican, along with three other Republicans, Donnie Lambeth from Forsyth County, Mike Sheetzelt from Wake County, and Trisha Cotham from here in Mecklenburg.

[00:01:35] The legislation would implement a new monthly salary schedule for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. So fiscal year would start in July. So I think this would apply to the next school year.

[00:01:57] And it would start at, teacher pay, five grand per month for 10 months worth of work. So $50,000 a year. It would raise teacher pay for beginning teachers, no experience, $50,000 a year for working 10 months.

[00:02:21] The current starting teacher salary, $41,000 per year, which is a pretty good salary for somebody entering the workforce with no experience. I know people don't want to hear that, but that's true.

[00:02:42] $41,000 a year to enter the workforce. Starting pay, $41,000? That's a pretty good deal. Plus, you don't work 12 months out of the year. You get your summers off. You also get health insurance. It's a pretty good deal. Right? They closed schools down and stuff. Like yesterday, they closed all the schools because it was raining really hard and there were high winds.

[00:03:10] You know, I came into work. Now, granted, I am essential personnel. But, and I'm not saying this in order to denigrate or to attack teachers. I have many family members who are teachers. I had a lot of very good teachers that helped me greatly in my life.

[00:03:37] It's not, it's not about that. It's simply adding context, a little bit of perspective that, once again, you're asking people to fund, you know, this profession at a certain level. And I think it's important to keep in mind that there are people that have different jobs that pay maybe a little bit less. They don't get those kinds of perks. Right?

[00:04:03] And so you're trying to convince some of these people to agree to pay you more with more perks. Right? So you just, like, try to keep that in mind. And also, there aren't any kind of lobbying outfits that are out there, you know, trying to get taxpayer dollars for, like, radio hosts.

[00:04:26] I don't have a lobbying firm. I don't have any kind of union that would help lobby lawmakers to increase my pay or anything like that. Right? And all I say this, the only reason I say this, again, it's not an attack. I'm simply, you know, pointing out that all jobs have pros and cons. They all do. There are things about any job that you have and a job at a particular place.

[00:04:54] Like, you could have a great, I could have a great job doing this radio gig here at WBT. And if I were to work at some other station, I might have a terrible experience there because the downside, the cons at that place were, you know, were different and way more. Every single job has pros and cons. Right? So current starting teacher salary, $41,000.

[00:05:20] And remember, there are automatic pay increases every single year for the first 15 years. I don't know if it's still $1,000. It used to be a minimum of $1,000. And so it would, that was back when they first redid the teacher salary schedule. The Republicans did. And they boosted the starting teacher pay to $35,000. And then it was $1,000 every year, minimum increase every year for 15 years.

[00:05:48] Now we get you to $50,000 in 15 years. And that did not include any kind of like cost of living adjustments or supplemental funding or at the county level, nothing like that. That's just, that was just state minimum. Okay? Now this bill would take it to $50,000. So again, if you're in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, you get the local supplement on top of this.

[00:06:13] The bill would also reinstate something that the Republicans got rid of years ago, which was the extra pay if you got national board certification, if you had a master's degree, right? Doctoral degree. And the argument was always that, well, if you get all of these extra credentials, you're a better teacher. That was the argument.

[00:06:41] And then there were studies that found out, no, actually, there is no difference when you look at student performance. Like you having a master's, a doctorate, and a national board certification, like your kids are not actually learning any more than your colleague that doesn't have any of those. So they stripped that stuff away. And this has been an ongoing fight for the last, I don't know what, 10 years, I want to say they did this.

[00:07:09] So now this would reinstate these supplements, which, by the way, once you reinstate this stuff, they don't ever probably go away. In fact, they will probably just grow. If Democrats, for example, ever get in control, they will keep raising the percentages. So right now, this bill is pegging national board certification. You would get a 12% supplemental pay increase.

[00:07:31] So that incentivizes teachers to go out and get the certifications, which then you also have an incentive for local governments to pay teachers to go get the certifications. Because once you, if you pay to send a teacher to get the certification, they then get the state pay bump. And then you don't have to give them as much supplemental local funding anymore. So it's a one-time cost up front, but then you're done.

[00:08:01] And the state has to pay more. Right? So you're shifting some of the pay structure back up to Raleigh. So this is an attractive thing for local governments to do. There would be a pay bump supplemental. So 10% if you have a master's degree and additional amounts for those with six-year or doctoral degrees.

[00:08:25] House Bill 192 appropriates $1.6 billion in recurring funds to increase the teacher's salaries. And $8 million to reinstate the supplements. So for the certifications and the advanced degrees and stuff. That's only $8 million. Taking everybody from $41,000 up to $50,000 costs $1.6 billion.

[00:08:53] Additionally, every single year. The legislature's 2023 budget deal included a 7% pay raise for state employees. Teachers, non-certified staff had an average raise of 7%. Starting teacher pay was then boosted to $41,000. Which was an 11% increase. According to Senate Republicans at that time, the average teacher pay was supposed to increase up to almost $61,000.

[00:09:20] Which they said is on par with the state median household income. So they want the average teacher pay to be what the median household income is. But you know what would really help? More DEI. Say the teachers. All right. If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do too.

[00:09:49] And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why? Well, because it's how you detect media bias. Which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News. It's an app. And it's a website. And it combines news from around the world in one place. So you can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check.ground.news. Slash Pete. I put the link in the podcast description too. I started using Ground News a few months ago.

[00:10:17] And more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The Blindspot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. See for yourself. Check.ground.news. Slash Pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get 15% off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature.

[00:10:41] Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. All right. I have an email here from Tim to Pete at thepetecalendorshow.com. North Carolina teacher pay increase. I think the teachers slash union are one of the whiniest groups of people anywhere. If they don't like it, go get a real job somewhere in the private sector. But 99.9% won't. All right. So hang on, Tim.

[00:11:09] I do recognize that like the loudest voices in the education industry is the unions. And I agree they are very, very whiny. However, being a teacher is a real job. So I would disagree with your framing of it. You know, go get a real job somewhere. A teacher is a real job. Those are real jobs. They are difficult jobs. I've always said that teachers, good ones.

[00:11:39] It's more of an art. It is. Because you have to be able to communicate to a bunch of kids with, you know, brains that haven't fully formed. Right? And you've got to try to teach them stuff in an environment that may not actually be suitable for those kids. Like we're still using, in a lot of these settings, the same pedagogy or the model of teaching, the method of teaching.

[00:12:09] This pedagogy of, you know, I stand in the front of a class and you sit there with a bunch of 20, 25, 30 other students. And I just, you know, talk to you and then you write stuff down and then I test you, whatever. And you sit there for half an hour, 45 minutes, whatever the case may be. Like that model doesn't really work for a lot of kids. It did not work for me. I can tell you that. That's why I was disruptive. I was so bored in school.

[00:12:36] And I look back now and I'm like, yeah, I was a pain. Because I would ask questions of the teacher about the material. I would derail her. Not purposefully, but I didn't understand like, okay, well, you're saying this and why. I'm a why guy. I was a why kid. I wanted to know why. I was also a wise guy, but whatever.

[00:12:59] So, I said before the break there that what might help solve all of the, or what might help, I should say, with the teachers, more DEI. Like, Pete, what are you talking about? That's crazy. Well, look, this is what the teachers say. At least according to this piece at the Charlotte Observer, morale among North Carolina's teachers, so this is morale, right, is above the national average. Wait, what?

[00:13:29] Wait, how does that happen? I thought this state hated teachers. I thought that the General Assembly wanted to fire all the teachers, wanted to run them all out. How do they have, how do we have an above average morale score? And it's in the positive. It's in the positive, which means, like most of the teachers, pretty good morale. They're happy with their jobs. You would not know this, right?

[00:13:54] Once again, media doesn't report on, like, the teachers that, oh, I had a really good day today. I usually have good days. And even the thrust of this story doesn't tell that story, right? We are plus 18. Sorry. Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. We are plus 22. So on a scale of negative 100, which means, like, I guess you really hate your job. You have zero morale. Like, you call in sick all the time.

[00:14:23] But negative 100 to positive 100. And we are, on the positive side of that, we're at 22, plus 22 from the zero point. And the national average is 18, plus 18. So we're above the national average on morale. So why wouldn't you go around and talk to teachers and ask them why they have such high morale? Right? Because I know you would do that story if we came out with low morale.

[00:14:51] If we were negative 22, I have no doubt in my mind that the stories would be told of the teachers who hate their jobs because fill in the blank. Right? Wouldn't that be the thrust of the story? As I've said, in the old days, the kids standing on the street corner waving the newspapers around would not sell any papers by screaming, absolutely nothing happened today. Read all about it.

[00:15:19] So there is a bias in media towards telling this kind of a story, which is sort of a who's to blame? Things are terrible. Beware of the catastrophe. Right? Fear mongering. Fear motivates. Media knows this. They've known it for centuries. When they made the printing press, they were like, beware the printing press.

[00:15:44] Education Week released its first state-by-state look at teacher morale. It gave North Carolina a rating of 22 compared to the national average of plus 18. The new survey found North Carolina was among the states where the majority of teachers said embracing diversity would help improve their morality. That is not true. That is not true. That is not true. I don't know how this story made it through editing because that is not true.

[00:16:16] It's not a majority. In fact, a majority of the teachers said increasing DEI would have no impact or would lower their morale. The no impact number was almost as high as the number of those who said they wanted to see more DEI. Here are the numbers.

[00:16:47] Nationally, 43% of respondents said embracing DEI would improve morale. 41% said it would have no impact. And 16% said it would decrease their morale. So it's a losing proposition because that's 57%. 57% said it would have no impact or would make things worse. That's not a majority. Or the 57% is a majority, right?

[00:17:17] We need more DEI. I know Donald Trump said that woke is dead during his, don't call it a State of the Union address the other night. It is not, folks. This crap is not. This stuff is alive and well. It is still in the education system. The generations that have been taught this garbage are in your classrooms now and they are still at the teaching colleges. Do not be deceived.

[00:17:46] You know, stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of our past while transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life. And our stories are told through images and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video. Started in 1997 in Mint Hill, North Carolina. It was the first company to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos, and videos into high-quality, produced slideshows, videos, and albums.

[00:18:14] The trusted, talented, and dedicated team at Creative Video will go over all of the details with you to create a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person or mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. Memorial videos for your loved ones. Videos for rehearsal dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories. All told through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They are your life, told through the eyes of everyone around you and all who came before you.

[00:18:44] And they will tell others to come who you are. Visit creativevideo.com. All right, from the Twitter machine, it's a Pete tweet from Dinah or Dina, Dinah. The very liberal teachers union was also in cahoots with Roy Cooper, my good friend Ray, and joined in saying they supported his teacher pay increase. Outrageous. Only Democrats are allowed to give pay increases to teachers.

[00:19:11] Republicans have been raising pay for teachers for, well, they took over in 2011. So this would be 14 years. And if they do this one, it'll be 15 years. They've been giving teacher pay raises. But the standard operating procedure for the governor, Roy Cooper, and now probably Josh Stein, will be to demand more teacher pay raises, a higher raise. And then use that as an excuse to veto the budget.

[00:19:37] Like Roy Cooper vetoed every single pay raise in every budget until the final one. So he was never attacked for that from the left, right? Everybody understood why he was doing it because he wanted a bigger pay raise. So you get nothing, right? It's just, it's one of those double standards that, you know, Democrat privilege provides you.

[00:20:06] This is a tweet from Moral Compass. Looking at the state teacher pay scale, a teacher with the same 26 years of experience as me earns more than I do. I wonder how many others would be surprised to find themselves in the same situation. Right. Like, yeah. And I get it. I mean, this is. People are going to compare their own jobs to.

[00:20:33] A, you know, a government job, whether it's teachers or administrative or whatever, it doesn't matter when, you know, the public pay scales are known and people are going to compare and they're going to say, well, wait a minute. I'm working. I do all of this work and I get paid less. And they're going to say, you know, my job's harder. I work 12 months out of the year, whatever. Like, and they're going to do these comparisons. It's only natural to do so.

[00:20:58] This is why I try to advise people in the education field that when you're, you know, advocating for more compensation, you have to keep in mind your audience. It's not just those lawmakers. It's the taxpayers. Right. And. You know, maybe adjust your messaging to be a little less. I don't know. Union. Union. So.

[00:21:26] And honestly, when you see this sort of a story about how teachers are like, we should have more DEI in classrooms like that doesn't make me want to give you more money. It's it tells me that you haven't learned anything. Tells me that you want to keep making our kids hate each other and their country.

[00:21:42] Now, the Senate leader, Phil Berger, along with Senators Michael Lee out of New Hanover and Brad Overcash from Gaston, have filed Senate Bill 227, eliminating DEI in public education to prohibit promoting discriminatory policies and practices in public schools.

[00:22:03] I will give you the the the the quick definition of DEI as at is as is promoted by James Lindsay from news new discourses. The DEI industry is easy to understand. Equity is a rebranding of socialism. That's it. That's what that means.

[00:22:31] It's a rebrand on socialism. It's an administered economy that makes outcomes equal. Diversity and inclusion are tools used to install political officers and to censor and remove dissidents. OK. In other words, DEI is a racket designed to install commissars for its ideology. Oh, come on, Pete. That's crazy talk. It actually is not. He is exactly correct. Right.

[00:23:01] Because the decisions about who gets what and how much, which is at the core of the DEI. Right. Those would be administered by essentially the party. The party is the one that controls. And in K-12 government education. Right. Is that the teachers union, the administrative state, Democrats? It's the left. Right. Right. It's how you get leftists calling conservative and Republican blacks or gays.

[00:23:31] They call them sellouts or they call them not authentic. Right. Because it's the ideology that makes them an authentic member of their demographic group. That's what it's all about. OK. Now, in this bill. That seeks to remove divisive concepts and discriminatory practices from public education, including prohibiting instruction. On these topics that I just mentioned, divisive concepts, discriminatory practice.

[00:23:58] Also, it prohibits compelling students or staff to profess a belief in divisive topics. And it attempts to ensure that professional development, you know, trainings and stuff for the educators does not include these topics. Berger said, we cannot teach our nation's history without acknowledging our past.

[00:24:20] But we can teach history without forcing educators and students to embrace and adopt ideologies inconsistent with equality. Equality. It prohibits schools from having a DEI office or any other similar unit. And you got to say that because the DEI folks have been rebranding.

[00:24:45] They've been renaming their offices and their officers and their positions and such to strip away the D, the E and the I out of their titles and out of the department names in order to mask the continuation of this ideology. And they get very specific. In this law, they get specific, which is important to do.

[00:25:11] They list a series of divisive concepts that are prohibited. Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina, just a quick drive up the mountain? And Cabins of Asheville is your connection. Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get family and friends together for a big old reunion. Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot for you where you can reconnect with your loved ones and the things that truly matter.

[00:25:40] Nestled within the breathtaking 14,000 acres of the Pisgah National Forest, their cabins offer a serene escape in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centrally located between Asheville and the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, it's the perfect balance of seclusion and proximity to all the local attractions.

[00:25:58] With hot tubs, fireplaces, air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi-Fi, grills, outdoor tables, and your own private covered porch, choose from 13 cabins, 6 cottages, 2 villas, and a great lodge with 11 king-sized bedrooms. Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot for you for any occasion. And they have pet-friendly accommodations. Call or text 828-367-7068.

[00:26:23] Or check out all there is to offer at cabinsofashville.com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. Here's a tweet from Logic and Common Sense. Unpopular opinion. We have paid over $70,000 in Charlotte real estate taxes since moving here in 1998. We homeschooled all four kids from birth through 12th grade, received zero benefit from CMS government schools, including my athletes not allowed to participate in their sports.

[00:26:53] And they want more money? Yeah. Yeah, no, it's why I'm a voucher proponent for those exact types of situations. Yeah? Just seems to me like if people want to not partake in the K-12 government school model, they should be allowed to not partake in it. That's all. Anyway, that's my compromise position, by the way. Because I recognize that most people would not want to go along with what I would recommend.

[00:27:22] So anyway, from the legislation filed in the Senate, and again, this is, yeah, Senate Bill 227, eliminating DEI in public education. They identify discriminatory practices as treating an individual differently solely to advantage or disadvantage that individual as compared to other individuals and groups. Okay?

[00:27:45] You cannot discriminate against people based on their skin color, their sex, their ethnicity, whatever. And that has occurred. This was actually the key component of Ibram X. Kendi that CMS brought in to teach teachers and administrators how to be anti-racist. And Kendi's premise was that the way to address past discrimination is current discrimination.

[00:28:15] And so here is the state legislature saying, no, it's not, and you can't do that. You cannot discriminate. You cannot exclude an individual from employment, exclude an individual from participation in an educational program or activity either. And here are the divisive concepts, okay, that they outline as prohibited. These should not be controversial, but we live in very stupid times, so they are.

[00:28:45] But divisive concept. One race or sex is inherently superior to another. Yeah, can't teach that. Can't teach it. An individual solely by virtue of his or her race or sex is inherently racist or sexist or oppressive. An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex.

[00:29:12] Also prohibited under a divisive concept definition that an individual's moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex. Right? You being a certain race doesn't make you good or bad. Right? Your moral character is not defined by your race or sex. Again, this should be obvious. I thought we had learned this stuff decades ago. But apparently not.

[00:29:36] An individual solely by virtue of his or her race or sex bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of that same race or sex. Okay. That's a divisive concept. It's also not true. You are not guilty of the sins of some generation that came before you. Any individual solely by virtue of his or her race or sex should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress. Right?

[00:30:04] You can't put people under psychological distress solely based on their race or sex. Divisive concept. A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist. Because it's not. It's also false. The United States was created by members of a particular race or sex for the purpose of oppressing members of another race or sex. That's not the purpose of why America was founded.

[00:30:33] Particular character traits, values, moral or ethical codes and privileges or beliefs should be ascribed to a race or sex or to an individual because of their race or sex. Right? You can't ascribe things to people and assume things about people. You can't teach these concepts that, oh, you know, that's how white people do. Like, no. Because not all white people. Hashtag not all white people.

[00:31:02] The rule of law does not exist but instead is a series of power relationships and struggles among racial or other groups. That's Marxism, by the way. Right there. Right? Power dynamics. All Americans are not created equal and are not endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And finally, the final divisive concept, prohibited.

[00:31:27] Governments should deny to any person within the government's jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. Right? These are foundational concepts. I have said this for years. These are the concepts. These are the ideas that have held our society together. We are not a nation founded on blood and soil. Right?

[00:31:53] What makes America America is the unifying concepts. These ideas. And when you strip those ideas away, then there isn't any longer any reason for us all to be bonded together in this endeavor. That's what makes us unique. That's what makes us different.

[00:32:19] The law also says public school units shall not do any of the following. Shall not engage in or advocate for discriminatory practices. Shall not compel students, teachers, administrators, or other school employees to affirm or profess belief in divisive concepts. And it shall not provide instruction to students on divisive concepts.

[00:32:48] Shall not be, and then they say that this law should not be construed to limit free speech. You can access material on an individual basis. Right? Instruction on divisive concepts. Like you can do that. Right? That make clear the public school unit does not sponsor, approve, or endorse any of them. This is how you, like, hey, let's teach about the history of the, like, the civil rights movement. You can talk about segregation. Right?

[00:33:17] A divisive concept. As long as you're not saying, like, let's keep segregating. Like, you can't promote it. You can teach about these things that happened in our history. You can teach about the history of an ethnic group. You can have an impartial discussion of controversial aspects of history. You can have an impartial discussion of the historical oppression of a particular group. You can do all of that. You can talk about historical documents. Right? But you can't make people profess belief in certain things.

[00:33:47] Right? You cannot instruct them. Right? They're trying, like, I never thought we'd have to get to this point where you would have to tell teachers precisely what to say and what not to say. And what, you know, don't do this to your kids. Don't make them do privilege walks. Right? Don't teach kids that they are inherently guilty of some transgression that somebody that they weren't even related to but happened to share the same skin pigmentation as they did.

[00:34:16] My, you know, it doesn't matter. Like, I've got, like, my family genealogy encompasses, like, all sorts of different groups of people. As far as I know, no slaveholders. Never had that one. So, but had people fought for the union side? Right? People, I think there were some residents down in the south at some point. There was a story about somebody being pat on the head by Sherman and they spared her farm. I don't know. These are the stories.

[00:34:45] So, yeah, like, I bear no responsibility for anything that any of those people did. And the fact I have to say that nowadays, it's pretty sad. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So, if you'd like, please support them, too, and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendershow.com.

[00:35:13] Again, thank you so much for listening. And don't break anything while I'm gone. Thank you.