Listening to the Police

It has to be pretty much the hardest job in America - making split-second life-and-death decisions, working day after day with people who are either in trouble or victims of trouble, never knowing when violence will explode.

I have written about my own challenges with profiling, and I am not under anything like the pressure of an officer on the scene. Read my column here. 

We have been hearing about what happens when the police get it wrong. We have not heard much about what police themselves think, and how hard many work to get it right, time after time. This American Life has done two excellent podcasts that try to let police speak for themselves. Check it out - "Cops Think Differently" (episodes 547 and 548)

Longevity Matters

The News and Observer hit the nail on the head: legislators pay their own employees longevity pay because they value their expertise; the expertise of veteran teachers is discounted.

Here is the story, written by Dan Kane, as good a reporter as I have ever met:
NC Teachers Lose Bonus Pay, But Others Still Cash In

Their photographer, Harry Lynch, let me talk for a while on this video:

There is no magic to good schools. Put good teachers in classrooms and give them support; help families help their children. It is pretty simple, and it is pretty hard to do. Experienced teachers are going to be better teachers than new teachers, and experienced teachers are the ones who help new teachers become good teachers. Also simple, and also ignored.