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I wish they would. Teacher pay in Oklahoma, along with Arizona, is nothing short of shameful. The teacher glut is ending, these states that essentially froze teacher pay, while taking away benefits at the same time, for the last decade need to start repairing the damage. A teacher with one or two kids shouldn't be paid so little their kids qualify for free or reduced lunch.
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Here's hoping that the WV teachers strike will lead to a nationwide teachers strike, and MAYBE some reform to the education system, though the later is a lot less likely.
I'm glad that the WV teachers are showing the higher ups who's REALLY in charge and how powerless the big wigs truly are!
P.S. Don't think of me as an authority hating person. As I've said I have a healthy dose of fear of authority and can't stand people who blindly support and respect it. Justified, accountable, reasonable authority is alright, but those who cry "Respect muh authority!" and expect people to fall into line I do not respect one iota!
Think of me as Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men (great movie BTW). All the other men (people with blind admiration and respect for authority) had already condemned the accused man (sided with the higher ups) while the lone juror in dissent seeks more evidence and doesn't just go along with the consensus (questions and holds authority accountable and doesn't view orders from them as god-given edicts that must be obeyed, merely the flawed orders of flawed men and women that deserve prodding and scrutiny!)
"It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority." - Benjamin Franklin
"Anti-social behavior is a trait of intelligence in a world full of conformists." - Nikola Tesla
I wish they would. Teacher pay in Oklahoma, along with Arizona, is nothing short of shameful. The teacher glut is ending, these states that essentially froze teacher pay, while taking away benefits at the same time, for the last decade need to start repairing the damage. A teacher with one or two kids shouldn't be paid so little their kids qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Aridzona has had a teacher shortage for years. Many or most parts of Aridzona are not all that desirable to young people. How many college graduates dream of living in some empty part of the desert where temperatures of 115 are just a regular day? There are often unfilled positions and the schools just have to figure out how to make do with what people they have, which of course puts added strain ont he teachers they do have. They struggle to keep teachers past two years.
My daughter went to a small district outside of Yuma. She loved he job, particularly because they loved having her there and made her know it. She even liked Yuma (she wold try to escape during the summers). However she disliked (hated) working in the Arizona school system. The benefits were a joke too, but until she turned 26 she was able to stay on my health insurance. She went there committed to staying at least five years in order to have some continuity. She lasted two years.
It is not just the low pay, my daughter went there knowing the pay would be low, it is the propensity to treat teachers like juvenile delinquents. To put them in impossible positions requiring them to handle all the problems and then taking away the ability to address those problems. It also did not help that as an elementary school music teacher, she was teaching 900 students. (Kinda hard to make much progress). It also bothered her the school did not teach history, or social studies (among other things). The teachers were supposed to work those things into the other teachings.
When she taught the 5th graders how to sing the star spangled banner she discussed what was going on when the song was written. "What is the war of 1812? Why were we fighting the British- I thought they were our friends? What is the revolution? Wow that is cool, why did that happen? We had a king? Cool!. (Although some students thought the United States had a king now).
After a few days of mostly history, they went back to the song. It was amazing how much they did not know. Frustrating to try to teach something ou never studied in college because the State or District or whomever had decided they needed to focus on English language and STEM only.
Still her reason for leaving were the general treatment of teachers by the State and upper levels of administration (no respect whatsoever). The other things she was prepared to deal with, but they were added issues.
I still find it laughable that the people in power are desperately crying that this strike is "unlawful and illegal", expecting people to fall in line just by the mere mention of it. Apparently no one has told them if the people "under" you will not obey you, then you have no power or authority.
Metallica summed it up better than I ever could, the WV state big wigs need to take this lesson to heart:
Then it all crashes down,
And you break your crown,
And you point your finger,
But there's no one around,
Just want one thing,
Just to play the king,
But the castle's crumbled,
And you're left with just a name,
Where's your crown king nothing?
Teachers in WV need to hold strong and force the "people in charge" to knuckle under to the will of the people. Either they do that or they'll remain powerless as they are right now, unable to force teachers back into the classrooms and unable to replace them with "scabs". Power to the teachers, show them who's really running the show!
In order to be an effective "leader", you must EARN the respect of the people you lead. Expecting it to come automatically through your title or position in life will only earn you disappointment!
Still no end in sight for the WV teachers strike!!!
Show those people in power who's REALLY in charge! Keep the teachers happy or work grinds to a halt, and there's no way to "puff out your chest" and force them back in line, and that's exactly as it should be!
I wish this was possible in other industries as well, companies would really watch what they're doing if they knew their workforce could strike at any time and they'd be unable to replace them! Maybe they'd mind their P's and Q's!
I don't know how it happens in WV, but in PA if a teacher strike threatens to extend past the end of the fiscal year (6/30) the teachers will be Court ordered back to work, so the Seniors do graduate.
The law was tightened up a few years ago to make that process quicker.
As to scholarships, etc., I don't know. I do know that when I student taught a couple of my friends were assigned to districts than struck in October. That imperiled their student teaching and graduation and the Professor in charge of student teaching essentially told them that they'd have to suck it up. He taught an evening class related to student teaching which we all had to attend. I made his life Hell in that class because of that. Got the only B grade in the class.
Oh, the kids in the striking districts went back after a month out.
North Beach,
Actually in PA it is the following:
Quote:
If a strike or lockout will prevent the public school entity from providing the required days of instruction by the later of June 15th, or last day of school's scheduled school year, the parties must submit to mandated final best-offer arbitration consistent with the arbitration option negotiated (if the parties could not agree on one of the options, the mediator must select the procedure).
The last day of school in my district is May 25th this year. The latest school year I have heard of in PA is Mt. Lebanon whose last student day is June 14th and they add snow days to the end of the year.
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