Go, Teachers, Go!

Oklahoma teachers have descended on our state capital.  You know this, unless you’ve been under a rock this week.  (Oklahoma City is the capital if you are geography challenged – however Kansas City isn’t the capital of Kansas and mostly not even in that state – go figure.)

Even if you don’t live in Oklahoma…the teacher walkout has made the news. 

Now Oklahoma is not exactly a hot bed of activism which should tell you all you need to know about the teachers’ cause.  The last time they got a raise that put them anywhere in line with the cost of living was 2008.  Other items voted in at that time like class size limits have been eroded since.  Some money may have flowed to the schools, but was ear-marked and the schools may have been constrained on how they could spend it…new gym- check, new books – no, salary increase – no.  So with salaries near the bottom of the list for the US, no materials, poor pay for staff and support staff and large class sizes, yeah, they needed to walk out, and what is interesting to me…the superintendents (mostly) are fully in support of this.  That should tell you something right there!

When did Admin ever say, “Yep, close school!”  That’s when you know that is a BIG PROBLEM, one which admin sees and agrees with.  

One superintendent said if his teachers didn’t return he was going to replace them…joke is there are some 1,100 provisional teachers (teachers without a teaching credential) in the State of Oklahoma already.  Basically if you are breathing schools have been hiring you.

Determined….teachers are at the capital (OKC for short), marching from Tulsa to the capital  (weather is going to turn cold this weekend with rain and they are sleeping on gym floors along the way…and as a former DoDEA coach – where sleeping on the gym floor was standard when visiting another school for sports…that alone sucks.) or teachers are standing on street corners in the rain today doing informational picketing.  To judge by the cars honking at 41st and Yale the last few days, THE PEOPLE of Oklahoma are in support of their teachers.  Hope they can hear those horns in OKC in the capital building in whatever corners the legislators are hiding in.

Encouraging things…The capital building of Oklahoma has needed serious renovations (not cosmetic) and that work was started, but right now the workers (UNION WORKERS) will not – out of respect – cross the teacher’s lines.  So the work on the building is at a halt.

‘Funny’ things…teacher picket signs are the BEST.   Shows what kind of wit you can have with an education!

And ‘funnier’ things…I understand the legislators at the capital building were talking about closing the bathrooms to the teachers.  OMG…the only people on the planet with better bladder control than teachers might be astronauts.   Please, these people have no idea what a teacher’s day is like!

To be honest… some legislators are meeting with teachers.  Some have kept their doors open and have been available.  But others are setting strange times to be in session and ducking out the back doors early.  Today is Friday…seems they don’t meet on Fridays…not that they don’t NEED to meet, they just don’t meet.   So it seems the teachers are there but the people we PAY to be there are not.

One last thing…I want to say is fall voting season is not that far away and trust me…teachers have LONG MEMORIES.  As my third grade teacher said the first day of class (at the time I did not understand what she meant)…”I’m going to learn all your names.  Some of them sooner than others.”  Teachers remember almost every kid they have ever had, especially the ones that were difficult, teacher speak for ‘little hellion’.

Oklahomans are learning your names and we’ll be checking that ballot in the fall.  You better hope we remember your name for the right reasons.