More than 1 million school kids have headed back to the classroom, along with thousands of teachers. As the new year got underway, many schools were still looking for teachers. That fact stirred a media narrative that unfilled jobs are unusual and that current lawmakers are to blame. Terry Stoops, the John Locke Foundation’s director of research and education studies, refutes the narrative and discusses the politics of blame despite a fact pattern that shows otherwise. Then we turn to a growing industry in our state. In fact, the use of unmanned aerial drones has been growing across the country. Tyler Collins, director of business development for Precision Hawk, discusses his private company’s interest in using drones in North Carolina in the future. Then we turn to presidential politics. It looks as if North Carolinians will head to the polls next March 15 to help the major political parties choose candidates for the 2016 presidential election. You’ll hear highlights from a recent state Senate debate on setting that March 15 date. That’s followed by a look at debate over changes to requirements for people collecting unemployment benefits. Currently they are required to make two job contacts per week. Lawmakers have voted to increase that requirement to five contacts per week, or an average of one per day. You’ll learn why that change prompted debate within the N.C. House. And finally, we look at health care reform ideas being discussed by a handful of presidential candidates. Katherine Restrepo, the John Locke Foundation’s health and human services analyst, explains the principles upon which every candidate should be relying for his/her health care plans.
Fact v. Fiction: The Politics of Teacher Vacancies
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