John Thompson, teacher and historian in Oklahoma, reports here on the continuing walkout:
Like most Oklahomans, I misjudged the crowds of 35,000 teachers at the state Capitol. Reading between the lines of press coverage, and listening to people inside the Capitol, I assumed that a deal would probably be struck after a week (at the latest.) On Friday, however, I kept running into former colleagues, who had always been extremely a-political, and saw their fervor. Regardless of what their leaders sought in terms of reaching an agreement, it finally dawned on me that teachers have just begun to fight.
Nobody was surprised, however, when Republican legislative leaders struck back. A week into the walkout, Rep. Chuck Strohm (R-Tulsa) attacked the Oklahoma Education Association and teachers seeking an increase in education funding. He attributed the walkout to “the OEA [which] had to come up with a new reason for existing.” Strohm asserted, “Today, teachers are crying for more money from the legislature to reduce class sizes when the real problem is the education establishment whose sole purpose is to grow their kingdom.”
Strohm wants wages to be driven by free market competition. He says that the current salary schedule “is the essence of Socialism.” He believes “the problem stems from the fact that we live in a culture of handouts without any accountability.”
http://chuckstrohm.com/inside- the-captiol/
Neither was it a surprise that the conservative Oklahoman started the next week with a misleading headline, “Dark Money Group Funding Pro-Teacher Ads.” It followed the money for pro-teacher television ads to Oklahoma’s Children Our Future, the 501(c)(4) whose chief funders were former Senator David Boren and the Tulsa-based Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, and which advocated for a penny sales tax increase to save our schools. The Oklahoman hasn’t bothered to investigate the really secretive investments by conservatives like ALEC, the Koch brothers and Betsy DeVos.
http://newsok.com/article/5590115?slideout=1
As the walkout’s second week began, DeVos also weighed in with the “hope that adults would keep adult disagreements and disputes in a separate place, and serve the students that are there to be served.”
But the Sunday Oklahoman’s lead story sent the more pointed message. It listed the needs of other state agencies: Oklahoma Department of Human Services had to cut $108 million from its budgets, with much of it due to the unnecessary loss of federal funds; the Department of Mental Health has lost $133 million, and reduced services to 73,000 persons suffering from mental illness; Higher Education has been cut $122 million; the Transportation Department has lost $500 million in the last two years; and the Department of Corrections is asking for $1 billion.
http://newsok.com/state-agencies-say-they-have-funding-needs-too/article/5589886
Of course, the question is whether teachers are selfish adults who put their needs over children and the rest of the state, or whether these multiple crises are due to the legislature, the governor, and their secretive out-of-state funders, cutting taxes for the rich.
Clearly, education supporters are winning the battle of the narratives. Even though Gov. Mary Fallin compared teachers to teenagers and tried to link the crowds to Antifa, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol describes them as the “best protesters ever.” On Sunday, a prayer vigil at the Capitol drew hundreds of supporters. Monday morning, 150 female attorneys marched in support of teachers. Thousands of education supporters marched from Edmond, Del City, and Norman. They will be followed by veterans, students marching on Tuesday, and the arrival of the marchers from Tulsa.
Fact check: Antifa, paid protesters and death threats at the Oklahoma teacher walkout
Monday’s turnout was much greater than last week’s. The Tulsa World reported that schools serving about 500,000 of the state 690,000 students remain closed. Sometimes it looked like all of those kids joined the rally!
Seriously, the number of students at the Monday rally was far, far greater than the first week. And it is great hearing the kids explain why they chose to attend, and how they love the civics lesson they are participating in. My favorite sign was carried by a student, “My textbook is twenty years older than me.”
Similarly, a couple of teachers volunteered that their 6th grade student spoke inside the Capitol. He decided completely on his own to research the issue of Oklahoma and national teacher salaries.
Girl Attorney group recruits 150 female attorneys to advocate for teachers
By the way, the determination of teachers, as well as parents and school boards, to keep up the fight is due to both the state’s budget cuts and the effects of corporate school reform. From FY2010 to 2017, the average inflation adjusted Oklahoma teacher salary plummeted by $8,150. As the state’s teacher salaries declined to 49th in the nation, the average salary dropped to a level ($45,245) that is virtually identical to the average pay preceding the 1990 strike.
Because of Oklahoma’s “Education Spring,” 3/4ths of the salary decrease has been corrected, but reversing the damage done to students will take a long campaign. Extreme tax cuts for the 1% drove Oklahoma over the edge, but we must tackle the corporate school reforms that also undermined the teaching profession.
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_211.60.asp
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2011/08/grading_the_education_reformers.html
This battle must lead to a conversation about what happens when teachers and students are treated like lab rats. Whether we are talking about the weird idea that extreme budget cuts will produce transformative economic growth, or the idea that market-driven experiments will create transformative student performance increases, we need to start treating the education sector with respect. And a teacher’s sign asks the key question about the task, “If Not Now, When?”
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