Mercedes Schneider places the Oklahoma teachers’ strike in perspective. The teachers want a salary they can live on, without working two or three extra jobs to make ends meet. But that’s not all. They want the state to fund the schools. Like so many red states, Oklahoma has catered to the oil and gas industry, cutting its taxes, while starving public services. The shame of the state is the four-day week that so many schools have adopted as part of the budget cutting. How can a state attract new industries when it isn’t willing to fund its schools?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“After the oil gush”
When oil and gas
Are gone, at last
The boom is bust
And steel is rust
The land is spoiled
And water oiled
And public roiled
But egg is boiled
The goose if cooked
The fish is hooked
The pols are crooked
And public rooked
This is one of your better ones.
Not to mention the earthquakes.
Which are, after all, normal for a state like Oklahoma.
The goose is cooked
The fish is hooked
The land is shook
And public rooked
The obviousness of this seems quite obvious, so what about the real estate industry? Have we forgotten how important schools are to those with children who are in the market to buy a home? Of how much an indicator the schools are to those with no kids? For many, it’s one of the top factors in choosing a location, and remember the real estate mantra, location location LOCATION! When an entire state decides that schools are just not important, they have dropped out of competition for new residents and have sent a clear message to those currently living there to move to a better place, if they can manage that. As much as some kids like to visit home after they’ve gone away to college, when a state is in decline because of idiotic public policy decisions, it will only be a visit, they will not move back.
Jon Lubar: good point.
😎
Why would extractive industry CEOs care?
Because they need to attract employees to that location.
Corporate-libertarian privatization involves ignoring and ultimately eliminating the will of the people. It will happen if we elect people paid for by oil companies, investment banks, hedge funds, tech companies, and so on. I love seeing the teachers get so much support, and the privatizing pols get roiled. Their careers will be shortened. Democracy will win.
We already have elected these people, “paid for by oil companies, investment banks, hedge funds, tech companies, and so on.”
That’s the problem. Money equals speech because of Citizens United.
One of our OKC students posted a picture of her history book. It has once been used by Blake Shelton in the 80’s. The lack of importance placed on public education is disgusting. And most of those oil and gas guys have children in private schools so no, they don’t care.
Yuma teacher doubles salary by leaving Arizona to teach in California — https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/arizona-education/2018/04/04/yuma-teacher-doubles-salary-by-leaving-arizona-to-teach-in-california/33561707/
Watching Real Time w/Bill Maher on HBO–about 40-45 minutes into the show, he gave a splendid commentary RE: teachers–why they’re striking, how little they’re making (he quoted Sarah Palin, who said, “…her reward is in heaven.” Maher’s response: “But her rent’s due on Earth” to loud cheers). In fact, his commentary–approx. 15 min.–drew enormous audience response. He called the movement, referring to “Time’s Up,” “Pencils Down.”
It’s a must-see. (&, no, I don’t have a link–I’m bad at that–but I’m sure some reader here can post video>)
Thanks, Bill. This movement is looong overdue. Glad it’s finally happening, but wish we would have done it long ago.
Girls see striking OK teachers as their heros! https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/07/girls-women-oklahoma-teachers-march
“They’re our heroes,” said Genevieve Burk, as she and her friends cheered on the teachers on a frigid day.
As Hamilton elementary school special education teacher Danielle Trielle walked by with her three-year-old dog, the girls rushed over to pet the blue-heeler.
“Oh my gosh,” Trielle said, “it’s such girl power right now, it is.”
Jana Burk had driven her daughter and her friends down to the march, to show them positive examples of women taking action.
“We brought them out for the women’s marches last January for the same reason,” Burk said. “We want to show them that their voice and their support matters and that they can make change.”
For supporters like Burk, the Oklahoma teacher’s strike is more than just a struggle about the power of labor. It is a struggle over the power of gender.
More than 77% of US teachers are women. Many say their salaries are low because they work in an undervalued field that is not dominated by men.