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Colorado: Teachers Plan to Walk Out, Descend on Legislature to Demand Higher Pay, Better Funding

By dianeravitch
April 16, 2018 //
5

 

The Denver Post reports that some teachers in Colorado plan to assemble at the State Capitol today to air their grievances, namely, low salaries, which have contributed to teacher shortages.

Inspired by walkouts in other states, teachers will meet with legislators to make their case.

“Earlier this year, 100 CEA members told lawmakers about a survey of more than 2,200 CEA members that showed the average educator spent about $656 a year out of their own pockets for student needs. Many CEA members presented invoices to the General Assembly for the past due amount.

“The CEA said educators in Colorado have had their pay cut by more than 17 percent when adjusting for inflation. A recent study from the Education Law Center, a group that advocates for more school funding, ranked Colorado dead last in the competitiveness of its teacher salaries.

“The typical 25-year-old teacher at the beginning of his or her career in Colorado makes just 69 percent of what a peer with a similar education level who works similar hours earns, the Education Law Center said….

”The CEA on Monday will lobby lawmakers to restore and increase education funding — K-12 public schools in Colorado are underfunded by $828 million in the current school year — and to secure a stable retirement program, CEA president Karrie Dallman said.”

It remains to be seen whether Colorado teachers will enlarge the protest and close down schools across the state. Public schools have been shortchanged by the Legislature.

 

Categories Budget Cuts, Colorado, Education Reform, Funding, Resistance

Why I Am Supporting Cynthia Nixon for Governor of New York

By dianeravitch
April 15, 2018 //
42

 

If you read the previous post, you know that Governor Andrew Cuomo declared war on public schools and their teachers in his 2014 campaign. He continued to lash out at teachers and the UFT as selfish and greedy even after he was re-elected. In 2015, after his election, he told the editorial board of the New York Daily News that the union (the United Federation of Teachers) had turned the public schools into a “teacher employment program.” He echoed the talking points of the charter sector, saying that 250,000 children were “trapped in failing schools” because of the greedy teachers’ union and the rest of the “education establishment.” He declared himself the champion of the state’s charter schools, which enroll about 5-6% of students, as opposed to 90% in the public schools. Cuomo gets large donations from hedge fund managers and Wall Street executives who have been the financiers of charter schools. His $30 million campaign chest consists mainly of donations from the same people who back privatization of public schools.

After Mayor DeBlasio was elected in 2013, he wanted to charge rent for the use of public school space to charters that could afford it. However, Cuomo persuaded the legislature to require the New York City Department of Education to provide free space to charter schools, to allow them to expand as much as they wished, and to pay the charters’ rent for private facilities if they could not find suitable public space.

Cuomo made his contempt for public schools clear in 2014, and nothing he has done since then has changed his image as a foe of public education. He insisted on a 2% cap on local taxes for public school districts that need to raise their revenues; a district can’t raise its own taxes unless the increase is approved by a supermajority of 60%. Cuomo’s hand-picked State University of New York charter committee authorizes charter schools, including Success Academy; it has been extremely lax in holding its charter schools accountable.  Only months ago, it voted to allow Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy to certify its own teachers, without benefit of the professional preparation offered by education programs at SUNY or elsewhere.

Cuomo has cynically helped Republicans retain control of the State Senate. In 2014, he won the endorsement of the Working Families Party by promising to help Democrats get elected to the Senate (a bizarre commitment by a Democratic governor). The day after he won the WFP endorsement, Cuomo broke his promise and continued to support the Independent Democratic Caucus, a group of eight “Democrats” in the Senate who caucus with the Republicans. This is not the behavior of a progressive Democrat.

Even now, Cuomo is bullying unions and progressive groups to support him “or else.” The UFT, which Cuomo ridiculed three years ago, has joined Cuomo’s efforts to marginalize small progressive groups or other unions that dare to support Cynthia Nixon. The leader of the Working Families Party said that Cuomo told small activist groups—Citizen Action, Make the Road and NY Communities for Change— that if they don’t support him, they can “lose my number.” Meaning, don’t bother ever to call me in the future. He pressured the unions to stop funding them, deriving them of needed income to survive. These are not the words or deeds of a man with a commanding lead in the polls (currently, 40 points ahead of Nixon). Or a man who knows how to live with dissent.

I will vote for Cynthia Nixon, who is challenging Cuomo in the Democratic primary and now has the endorsement of the Working Families Party. I admire her willingness to step away from a very successful career as an actress to run against Cuomo. Unlike Cuomo, she is a public school parent, and she understands that urban schools in the state have been shortchanged. She has also criticized the insular atmosphere in Albany, where “three men in a room” make all decisions. She has promised an open and ethical government.

Four years ago, law professor Zephyr Teachout ran against Cuomo. Teachout had no money, no name recognition, no media exposure, and a threadbare campaign. Cuomo refused to shake her hand or even to look at her when they came face to face. When they met at a parade, he turned his back to her. Teachout nonetheless won 34% of the vote in the Democratic primary and swept large swaths of upstate New York, which is in deep economic trouble. Teachout, an ethics expert, is now the treasurer of the Nixon campaign.

Cynthia Nixon is fearless. When a journalist asked her why she was qualified to run against Cuomo, she responded, “My chief of staff was not convicted on three counts of bribery. That’s number one.”

A few days ago, Cynthia Nixon blasted Cuomo as a “corporate Democrat.” 

“The time is up for corporate Democrats, for politicians who campaign as Democrats but govern as Republicans,” Nixon said to a gathering of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee in Washington, D.C.

“It can’t just be business as usual anymore,” Nixon said. “I know that our country can do better. We have to turn the system upside down.”

Nixon, who is challenging Cuomo for both the Democratic and Working Families Party nominations, attacked Cuomo for “taking charter school hedge fund money and making education policy accordingly.” She vowed to halt the flow of public funds to charter schools.

Music to my ears, after eight years of watching Obama, Duncan, Jerry Brown, Dannel Malloy, and other prominent Democrats do flip-flops for campaign money from hedge funders.

To those who say Nixon is unqualified because she has not previously run for political office, I say that I would rather vote for an inexperienced candidate who shares my values than for an experienced politician who does not.

Cuomo is likely to get a lot of union endorsements because the unions want to be on the side of the likely winner. They are afraid to cross Cuomo. They know they will pay a price if Cuomo wins and they don’t endorse him. He gets even.

I am not a union member. I am one person. I am free to cast my vote for the person who has the best ideas and the best vision for improving life in New York State for everyone.

Call it a protest vote. Call it a vote of conscience. It is my vote and I will cast it for the person I hope will be the next Governor.

That is Cynthia Nixon.

Categories Cuomo, Andrew, New York, Resistance

The Guardian: Secret Rightwing Strategy Guide to Discredit Teacher Strikes

By dianeravitch
April 13, 2018 //
14

 

The Guardian published a document prepared by a rightwing group that offers messaging advice to states about how to undercut teacher strikes. 

Peter Greene reviewed the “messaging guide” here. He writes: “The ‘messaging guide’ is only three pages long, but it includes specific ideas about how to fight back against these crazy teachers and their desire to be paid a decent wage and also work in decent facilities.”

The Guardian writes:

“The “messaging guide” is the brainchild of the State Policy Network (SPN), an alliance of 66 rightwing “ideas factories” that span every state in the nation. SPN uses its $80m war chest – funded by billionaire super-donors such as the Koch brothers and the Walton Family Foundation that flows from the Walmart fortune – to coordinate conservative strategy across the country.

“Another financial backer of SPN is the billionaire DeVos family of the Amway empire. Betsy DeVos is the current education secretary in the Trump administration.

LSPN’s previous campaigns have included a plan to “defund and defang” public sector unions. Now it is turning its firepower on the striking teachers.”

It doesn’t suggest an attack on collective bargaining because all the affected states are already “right to work.”

It doesn’t suggest attacking unions because not only are these states “right to work,” but the leadership of the strikes is grassroots.

It does say that state leaders should emphasize that children were being hurt, especially poor children. (So touching to hear this from rightwingers who fight the minimum wage and the expansion of Medicaid, which hurts the families of poor kids as well as the poor kids, ).

 

Categories Betsy DeVos, Dark Money, Education Reform, Koch Brothers, Propaganda, Resistance

Kentucky: No Teachers, No Schools, Walkouts Grow

By dianeravitch
April 13, 2018 //
17

 

The teacher walkouts continued and grow larger in Kentucky, where teachers are massing by the thousands in the State Capitol to protest changes to their pensions. The two largest districts in the state are closed.

“School districts across Kentucky will once again shut down as teachers plan to flood the state Capitol on Friday to rally for public-school funding and protest newly signed changes to public pension programs.

“As of Thursday afternoon, at least 36 districts had decided to close Friday, citing teachers calling in sick or the likelihood that they would. The closures include public schools in Louisville and Lexington ― the two largest school districts in the state….

“That frustration began to boil over last year when the Legislature, fully in Republican control for the first time in nearly a century, passed a bill to allow charter schools in the state.

“The issue was the potential “diversion of public money into charters,” said David Allen, a former president of the Kentucky Education Association…

“That laid the groundwork,” Allen said.

”Then, in January, Bevin proposed drastic cuts to schools and public education programs, even though funding was already tight. In inflation-adjusted terms, Kentucky’s K-12 budget was down 16 percent since 2008, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

“Bevin’s proposal prompted dire warnings from school superintendents around the state, who said some cuts would push Kentucky’s poorest school districts to the brink of insolvency….

”Many Kentucky teachers, meanwhile, have come to believe that Bevin’s approach to education isn’t driven by the interests of taxpayers or its public schools. They see it as part of a broader movement, led by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, to further privatize education by deliberately undermining public schools.

“It’s a dismantling, step by step by step, of public education,” said Pam Dossett, a teacher in Hopkinsville. “So they can sit back and say, ‘Our public schools, they’re not working.’ And then they can replace them all with charter schools.”

Categories Budget Cuts, Charter Schools, Education Reform, Funding, Kentucky, Pensions, Resistance, Teachers

Kentucky: Show Up Friday And Saturday!

By dianeravitch
April 12, 2018 //
4

 

Tomorrow and Saturday, the Kentucky General Assembly 2018 will end its 60 day budget session. Thousands of parents, teachers, students, staff, small business owners, taxpayers, constituents and voters from across Kentucky will be joining together to fight to not only save public education, but more importantly the democratic process in Frankfort.

There are a number of harmful bills still in play. Please help us #OccupyFrankfort and tell our ALEC funded legislators understand their tactics will not be tolerated! We will #HoldTheLine against the corruption, lack of transparency, swindling, privatizing and hijacking of our democracy.

The teachers have held the line. It’s time for the rest of us to jump in and carry the torch. We need to fill the rotunda and Capitol grounds. Save Our Schools KY Coalition is planning 2 full days of speakers, music, and advocacy opportunities. Please join us.

Here are the goals:

1. STOP BAD LEGISLATION – There is still some bad legislation that can get sneaked in at the last minute. HB169 would harm students, especially our gap students, because it will target poor youth in minority neighborhoods. There is also the proposed harmful “scholarship tax credit” legislation, and any other number of bills that may have made it out of committee that could be passed during the final two days.

2. PUT LEGISLATORS ON NOTICE – We want to let them know exactly what we think about their terrible legislation. There will be candidates speaking throughout the two days who want to do better for Kentucky. #WeWillRememberInNovember

3. GIVE COALITION GROUPS A CHANCE TO BE HEARD – From right to work, to charters, health service, to pensions, to higher ed cuts, many, many groups have been hurt by the past two years of legislation. We need to lift up each others’ voices and work together to move Kentucky forward.

Before You Head Out

Take the action below from Forward Kentucky.

1. Shoepolish Your Car Windows. Get some shoe polish or window markers to decorate your car windows (not the paint)! Be creative! Use the same messaging you would use on your posters. Be sure people understand this is more than just about pensions, jobs, benefits. It is about the hijacking of our democracy. The destruction and privatization of public schools is integral to their plans. And we must make sure people in our communities, as well as on the road to Frankfort, understand what’s at stake.

2. Pack your I.D., water, sunscreen, hats, snacks. If you bring extra cases of water and snacks, we can help distribute it to rally participants who get thirsty or hungry!

3. Get Tools! Check out Save Our Schools Kentucky’s activists tools for a stop charters stop sign you can make at home, and more!

4. Make a rally sign! 2’x3′ is the size limit & no big sticks are allowed inside.

5. Bring sleeping bags, tents, picnic lunches. Who knows? These last-gasp legislative sessions are full of shenanigans and tend to run late. We may be spending the night!

Once You Arrive

1. Check in at the check in table. We will be at the top of the steps of the Capitol building at 8 am! Look for us at the right hand side of the entrance. We will direct you to actions and areas where you can maximize your visit. Be aware that the capitol is limiting entry to 500 people at a time, but we will work hard to keep the crowds moving.

2. Find one of our “station leaders” in a red SOSKY tshirt! They will be holding SOSKY clipboards and can direct you where to go, as the situation will be changing minute by minute. We can help you track down your legislator, find where legislators are meeting, and other activities in the annex and capitol.

3. Drop off your extra waters and packaged snacks at the loading dock (rear of annex). A volunteer will point you in the right direction.

4. Get there early! For security reasons, the capitol will have limited entry to 500 folks at a time. Once the doors close at 4:00 pm, they will not let anyone else in for the day. However, we will still have volunteers inside keeping an eye on the actions of our legislators and reporting out to the crowd and those following on social media the goings-on. Also, there will be many co-sponsors there with tents and activities on the lawn, as well as bands and speakers on the capitol steps even after the doors are locked, so hang around and enjoy the continued festivities well into the evening hours.

5. Media, Co-sponsors, speakers, volunteers and VIPS: Media will have special passes for entry to the capitol. Cosponsors who want to host tents, tables, etc are also encouraged to bring literature and volunteers for both inside and outside. Everyone working the event, please check in at the table upon arrival.

6. Transportation: KEA has posted some shuttle information on the KEA Facebook page. As more school districts announce closures and any groups offering buses to Frankfort are announced, we will share that information on our Save Our Schools Facebook page. Also be sure to watch for livestreams and check us out on Twitter @sos_ky!

We need to make sure our legislators understand they work for us. They need to vote in the best interests of their constituents, not their big money, outside donors. And if they continue this attack on our democracy, we will

SHUT IT DOWN!
VOTE THEM OUT!

See you tomorrow morning!

 

Categories Kentucky, Resistance

Arizona: Governor Ducey Refuses to Meet with Teacher Leaders as Strike Looms

By dianeravitch
April 12, 2018 //
18

 

Governor Ducey refuses to meet with teacher leaders to discuss their demands, as teachers prepare for mass walkouts to protest cuts in funding and low salaries.

“The governor’s statement comes less than a week after a request by Noah Karvelis of Arizona Educators United and Joe Thomas of the Arizona Education Association “to begin a negotiation process to resolve the #RedForEd demands.” Those include not just a 20 percent salary increase to compete with neighboring states, but also restoring education funding levels to where they were a decade ago.”

Ducey has offered a 1 percent raise, added to an earlier 1 percent raise.

Categories Arizona, Resistance, Teacher Pay

John Thompson: On the Front Lines in Oklahoma

By dianeravitch
April 11, 2018 //
9

 

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

Players and Money Behind Penny Sales Tax Campaigns

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.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/04/09/betsy-devos-to-oklahoma-teachers-serve-the-students/?utm_term=.169205f6f00f

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

OHP on teachers at state capitol: “Best protesters ever”

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.

Prayer vigil draws hundreds to Capitol Sunday night

Girl Attorney group recruits 150 female attorneys to advocate for teachers

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/over-students-statewide-out-of-school-monday-as-walkout-continues/article_eb4dcbe5-24f8-5b99-b7f1-e77a77faf40d.html

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

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/9/17214924/oklahoma-teacher-strike-tax-cut-rich-charts

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?”

Categories Education Reform, Funding, Oklahoma, Resistance, Teacher Pay, Teachers

Oklahoma: Must-See Video of Teachers Chanting “Where’s My Car?”LINK ADDED

By dianeravitch
April 5, 2018 //
16

 

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin mocked striking teachers by saying they were just like “teenagers who want a better car. “

This video shows teachers rattling their car keys at the Governor and chanting “Where’s my car?”

If you read the thread, you will see that the teacher who took the video, Dawn Brockman, has been besieged by media outlets asking for her permission to air it.

@DawnBrockman

 

“Must see video: OK Teachers chant “where’s my car”& rattle their car keys in response to @GovMaryFallin who said striking teachers are like teenagers who just want a new car washingtonpost.com/news/education… twitter.com/dawnbrockman/s…

Categories Oklahoma, Resistance, Teachers

Do You Want to Opt Out of State Testing? Here is Help

By dianeravitch
April 5, 2018 //
1

State and local officials are trying to break the Opt Out Movement. Nothing so terrifies the testocracy as parent refusals of tests.

If you want help in opting out, go to this site.

Opt out is the  most powerful tool available to parents. Don’t let them take it away.

Categories Opt Out, Parents, Resistance, Standardized Testing, Students

John Thompson: A First-Hand Report from the Front Lines in Oklahoma

By dianeravitch
April 5, 2018 //
10

John Thompson, teacher and historian in Oklahoma, just sent this update on the wildcat walkout:


Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin told CBS News that the state’s teachers who walked out in protest against a decade of extreme budget cuts are “kind of like a teenager wanting a better car.”

When her words prompted a widespread backlash, the Republican governor, who presided over the tax cuts which starved Oklahoma schools and thus precipitated this week’s work stoppage, changed the subject, claiming “Antifa is here.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oklahoma-teachers-fight-for-increased-funding-were-doing-this-for-our-kids/

http://www.news9.com/story/37876428/gov-fallin-faces-backlash-after-comments-to-cbs-news

Fallin isn’t the only Republican who is attacking teachers by pretending that their protests have attracted “outside” groups to the state Capitol. Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, said that he didn’t think protesting teachers were setting a good example for students. Rep. McDugle said in a now-deleted Facebook post that he would not vote “for another stinking (education) measure when they’re acting the way they’re acting.”

Rep. McDugle said teachers can, “Go ahead, be pissed at me if you want to.” Then he also complained that the protest has been “pretty rowdy,” and that “legislators have received death threats and alluded to legislative aides being released from duty early Tuesday due to safety concerns at the overcrowded Capitol.”

During the 3rd day of the walkout, Rep. John Enns (R) said that “25% of protestors were paid actors from Chicago.”

Contrary to those charges, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol tweeted that it has merely provided medical assistance, helped with one lost child, handled one minor traffic accident, and “assisted large crowds of teachers and other pedestrians crossing the streets.” The OHP said that the House Speaker had cleared the House Chamber due to noise. The reason why the OHP was limiting entry to the Capitol was that the Fire Marshall restricted entry to to crowd size, requiring a “one in, one out” procedure to avoid overcrowding.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/teacherwalkout/oklahoma-lawmaker-s-rant-inspires-teacher-to-announce-campaign-for/article_7535f223-f90b-5b8f-ad5f-a4f2a742c89b.html

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/teacherwalkout/go-ahead-be-pissed-at-me-oklahoma-lawmaker-upset-at/article_b2ad7075-7b66-50f0-8c1f-a42587e8b739.html

https://www.facebook.com/KOCOZach/?fref=mentions

I haven’t seen any signs of Antifa or violence, but one supposed “outsider” lives three blocks from me. He is a member of a notorious radical group – the Oklahoma County Democratic Party.

However, I did see teachers acting like teenagers in one sense. I mean no disrespect to my former high school students; they were great dancers. But I don’t know that they could compete with the moves of dozens of teachers line dancing to Tom Petty’s “We Won’t Take It Anymore!”

Here are other things I’ve seen as 35,000 or more teachers have rallied the last three days.

The first teachers I met were discussing a former student at my old high school. They were mourning his decision to drop out. Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, who used to teach in my classroom, said that testing contributed to the student leaving school. I later learned about the tragic outcomes of two of my former students. Those conversations were reminders that despite the best efforts of teachers, in a state where more than 60% of students are economically disadvantaged, and where 85 to 90% of urban students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, funding for a system of student supports is essential.

I’ve also seen information that has been left for the legislators that explains:

Oklahoma loses 383 teachers per month;
Over 62,000 school kids are being taught by someone who isn’t certified to teach; and
Three of every four student teachers will leave Oklahoma.

https://www.poncacitynow.com/school-superintendent-arrott-issues-letter-on-teacher-walkout-guidance-for-parents/

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/05/us/oklahoma-teachers-possible-strike-trnd/index.html

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/feeling-unsupported-by-state-student-teachers-bolt-for-better-pay/article_fa6d99e0-4be0-5a94-a536-e756dabfb07c.html

We’ve also had a chance to look at Oklahoma education through the eyes of national journalists who are documenting the ways that teachers struggle with huge classrooms, the lack of teaching materials, and the exhaustion resulting from working multiple part-time jobs, not to mention the indignity of selling plasma and going to food pantries to feed their families.

I have to admit, however, that I’ve enjoyed PBS’ coverage of teachers posting photos of today’s raggedy remnants of the textbooks. We used some of them in a school that was closed over a decade ago.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/it-just-hurts-my-heart-low-pay-big-classes-are-the-plight-of-oklahoma-teachers/2018/03/30/e5e10eb8-2c88-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html?utm_term=.010c339d211f

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/02/teachers-wildcat-strikes-oklahoma-kentucky-west-virginia?link_id=6&can_id=790e8d3653612cbd5257360c47a6e4fe&source=email-wave-of-teachers-strikes-kentucky-and-oklahoma-interviews-available&email_referrer=email_328219&email_subject=wave-of-teachers-strikes-kentucky-and-oklahoma-interviews-available

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-43578465/oklahoma-teacher-strike-i-have-29-textbooks-for-87-pupils

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/oklahoma-teachers-are-posting-their-crumbling-textbooks-online

The Oklahoma walkout is a grassroots uprising. Like the teachers unions, the rank-in-file educators who revolted were aware of the many dangers that they took by stepping up. But as the National Education Association president Lily Eskelsen Garcia says, this is the “education spring.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/us/teacher-strikes-oklahoma-kentucky.html?action=click&contentCollection=us&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

And as American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten advised marchers, in every job action, there is “always a moment of truth.” She predicted that Oklahomans would do both – stand firm and respond wisely to evolving circumstances.

It is no surprise that educators have kept the focus on our children, who have suffered through state funding cuts of 28%. Neither can we be surprised by the juvenile way that so many Republican leaders have responded to the moment of truth. Every day, we are feeling our hope grow. The whole world is watching, and outside of the besieged conservative leadership that created this crisis, there is no doubt as to who is battling for our kids.

Categories Funding, Oklahoma, Resistance
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