Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have done enough research based on my needs to have narrowed down my preferences to some surrounding areas of both Raleigh/Cary and Charlotte. I have both friends and family in those areas, who have nothing but praise to give about life in NC and their choice to relocate there. I've researched both the home and job markets, and am pretty confident I know enough of what I need to in that aspect. My questions really are more uncommon, or at least what I think might be. My first question is about education, at both the elementary and high school levels. Not the typical "how are the schools?" but rather, is going on in NC with regard to the actual curriculum. Common Core. Standardized testing. Who is for it who is against it, what is being done to protect the educational future of your state's children, and teachers? I should backtrack for a minute and explain that I would be coming from NJ, and extremely liberal state who supports common core in its entirety and the new PARCC testing that is in current controversy. I am seeking to leave this type of mindset, and in moving, not end up somewhere exactly the same. Any insight, fact or opinion, would be helpful. Secondly, where do parents of NC stand on the whole pro-vax vs. anti-vax topic? With the media's constant display of everything from ebola to measles, I would like to see how much the people of your state agree or disagree with the people of my state on topics such as this, considering this battle of opinions/rights seems to extend nationwide. I suppose health and education are my two biggest questions, although I'd love any feedback in the realm of the difference between living in what - I perceive to be - a state (NC) that tends to at least attempt to uphold the values of our constitution, as much as it can in this day and age, and a state (NJ) that has lost most, if not all, value in constitutional ethics and morals, and is not really for the people. Let me close by stating, I am looking for thoughts, opinions, and statistics/facts, NOT for arguing, bullying or anyone forcing their agenda, I would like legitimate and respectful replies. Thank you.
As far as vaccinations, I haven't seen a poll of NC parents, so I couldn't answer your question regarding that. Personally, I believe in mandatory vaccination, but you're not going to get anything resembling a statistically sound poll based on a few postings on this forum, if thats what you're looking for.
Does anyone have any other facebook links to offer for NC that I can follow, or any other means of following NC updates on health, education, laws, politics, news, and even non-mainstream news and info?
Does anyone have any other facebook links to offer for NC that I can follow, or any other means of following NC updates on health, education, laws, politics, news, and even non-mainstream news and info?
Excellent links provided above. I would also start reading the newspapers for the areas you're looking into.
Raleigh News & Observer and the Charlotte Observer.
The Raleigh N&O website is horrible and full of pop-ups, but the main headlines are usually highlighted. Because state govt is here, a lot of state-wise things are in there as well as Triangle-specific. Don't know about Charlotte's site.
Secondly, where do parents of NC stand on the whole pro-vax vs. anti-vax topic? With the media's constant display of everything from ebola to measles, I would like to see how much the people of your state agree or disagree with the people of my state on topics such as this, considering this battle of opinions/rights seems to extend nationwide.
I am fairly sure that the anti-vaccination people are a very small minority of the North Carolina population. I have never heard any of my neighbors express opposition to vaccination, even though several have kids on the autism spectrum. I am also sure that local doctors in my area will refuse to allow unvaccinated kids in their waiting rooms.
However, I will try to find some objective polls on the issue. One recent article showed only 1% of parents claiming a religious exemption from vaccines, versus 1.6% for New Jersey. One CDC survey showed a slightly lower compliance rate for North Carolina, but I would say that it is mostly the rural poor who can't afford the vaccines. On the whole I think that parents' attitudes are fairly similar to New Jersey, and vaccines are not a hot-button issue with most parents.
Secondly, where do parents of NC stand on the whole pro-vax vs. anti-vax topic? With the media's constant display of everything from ebola to measles, I would like to see how much the people of your state agree or disagree with the people of my state on topics such as this, considering this battle of opinions/rights seems to extend nationwide. I suppose health and education are my two biggest questions, although I'd love any feedback in the realm of the difference between living in what - I perceive to be - a state (NC) that tends to at least attempt to uphold the values of our constitution, as much as it can in this day and age, and a state (NJ) that has lost most, if not all, value in constitutional ethics and morals, and is not really for the people. Let me close by stating, I am looking for thoughts, opinions, and statistics/facts, NOT for arguing, bullying or anyone forcing their agenda, I would like legitimate and respectful replies. Thank you.
I haven't personally heard any pro- nor anti-vax hubbub here, not that you couldn't find people either way if you knocked on doors in any neighborhood since, as you mention, this is a national issue. Frankly that is a trivial matter when choosing a place to live unless you were smack-dab in the middle of a cohort who disagreed with you, and again, "NC" doesn't have an opinion of it one way or other. It simply isn't on the short list of "hot topics" here. You would have to poll them yourselves to see "how the people of [our] state stand on the issue."
As far as politics, however, our state Senate just passed a bill today that will (if made law) allow magistrates and county clerks to opt-out of issuing marriage licenses to any couples who "violate their religious liberties". Since same-sex marriage just became legal in NC last fall, I don't have to tell you that this is a thinly-veiled cover for something far different from "religious liberty".
If you are interested in how "NC" is on various issues, do know that while the population as a whole is quite moderate, the current state legislature is MARKEDLY far to the Right of NC as a whole, particularly on social issues. Religious institutions have a strong pull here, as does a Right-wing billionaire, NC's own "Koch brother", name of Art Pope. Google his name to read more about him, as he pulls strings behind the scenes for a lot that has gone/is going on in state govt in the past couple of years.
Also, regarding education, read up on the recent firing of the chair of the UNC Board of Governors (suspected to be a Pope instigation) and the admission even by those who ousted him that he was doing a great job, and the elimination of certain offices in the UNC system, believed by many to be political in nature.
Bottom line, there is no shortage of political shenanigans in NC.
NC is a joke compared to NE states in terms of public education and will continue to be for the future.
For example, MA has about the same population, but has 43 high schools ranked in the nation's top 1000 by US News, while NC has 6, two of which are in Cary.
You see there is a belief among the current government that education should be restructured to resemble the free market of economic theory, in which sellers of school product compete for the children of parents, who are assumed to be capable of making well-informed choices. They subscribe to the theory that market forces will promote innovation and flexibility that will put the current public education to shame.
Problem is that it is nothing more than a con job. Charter schools are no better to worse than public schools in study, after study.
Thank you everyone, for your input. Francois, no the vaccine issue is not top priority, I was just curious, as I recently saw a map of the varying exemptions and laws across the country. As for education, mlhm5, I do see those statistics myself, and while on those books, NJ does put NC to shame number-wise, I don't hold much value in those numbers because much of it is based on standardized results. Up here, our children are basically taught, come February, to cast aside all they've learned to focus on how to take a standardized test correctly and pass with flying colors to ensure funding. I'm admittedly not a fan of my children being conditioned as pawns for the sake of government funding, nor all that comes with them being entered into databases. I would be quite content knowing my children are being educated for their future to function in the real world, whether it is here or NC, and never seeing another statistic or number again. I'm tired of the struggle here, seeing these kids stressed, the teachers stressed, the parents stressed, all for someone's agenda. It's not fair to anyone. Teachers should be allowed to teach the way they used to, children should be taught the way they used to (to each individual's needs). I see from one of the links, NC is trying to makes changes to some of the horror common core has brought upon us, and I'm a huge fan of that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
