I know this used to be another user’s beat, but as she has not posted in ages I will at least offer a link to an article and just a few quick thoughts. First the article:
No end in sight for nationwide wave of teacher strikes
The issues driving each strike vary somewhat, but there are some common themes: pay, class sizes, pensions. There are also concerns about the quality of education students receive, and concerns about the continued push by legislatures to privatize a public good. I find it refreshing that strikers are going after issues such as the push for more and more standardized testing, as that has been at the expense of the sort of basic education needed to nurture critical thinking. Generally, so far, these strikes have been successful, including in areas where one would not necessarily expect a strike to work (cough cough…West Virginia…cough cough…Oklahoma).
Your educators are on the front line. I’ll include those in higher ed (especially those who work in community colleges or underfunded regional state colleges/universities). These are folks who often work under adverse conditions and who spend their own personal funds in order to give the next generation the tools they need in order to thrive. You will find educators who work with students who are food insecure, income insecure, homeless, etc. They see it all. But they are demonized (think of Trump Jr.’s comments recently), and quite frankly they have been drowning for decades. Those who stick with their career paths long enough are keenly aware of how much their students are being shafted in the process. Enough is enough. Basta. And to repeat something that apparently bears repeating: education is a public good. We as a society need to treat it as such again if we want to have any hope of a future.
