North Carolina has been reamed by newscasters across the US for being awful in regard to its public education policies, but I live in NYC now. Today marking the first day of school for kids in the city, I thought it would be interesting to compare what was in the news, to how terrible people say North Carolina is.

We’ll start with the greater Carolina. Despite teacher cutbacks, Moral Mondays, and red for ed, the broad statistics seem to consistently put NC around the middle of the bunch. If you take a look at this Education Week grade map, NC sits right in the middle of a more concerning national acceptance of mediocrity. Considering folks are claiming the state is the worst in education, it seems that all of the brain power is getting lost in the facts.

I do support the move to pay teachers what they deserve, they control the quality of education that the future of this county is dependent on, but what I don’t support is educators blindly spouting “facts” as unrelated causes snowball together.

This understanding of the status of education in NC leads me to this: I’m appreciative of the standard of education that was set for me.

I posted last week about the Harlem Engagement Center, meant to help kids that missed a ridiculous 38 days of school. As you refresh that thought, note that today not only marks the first day of school for students across NYC, but it also marks the first time that Kindergarten is mandatory in the NYC school system.

Still think North Carolina is that bad?

Looking at the same reports referenced earlier, NY as a state seems to rank consistently in and around the top 5, but I think that grade was based on a curve. The republican candidates for NYC Mayor recently debated education, and candidate John Catsimatidis actually thinks that ushering kids to a high school diploma can get them a better job.

Yes, students need to graduate; no, you don’t have to make it easier. My stumbling point in his rhetoric though was how he believed that a high school diploma will prevent a graduate from working an $8 an hour job at a convenience store like the “typical” drop out. Unfortunately for Mr. Catsimatidis, the country is full of college grads working those $8 an hour jobs, so at what point is that drop out really any worse off?

Education across the country is in dire need of help, but I think the people that claim to have all the answers are actually the farthest from reality. I don’t have a solution, but I’d be awfully glad to help get us there.