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NPR Ed
A few thoughts
from some of the nation’s top teachers
For months now, we've been watching public school teachers walk off
their jobs to protest poor salaries and low funding for education.
These walkouts all seem to have a few things in common: Teachers are
angry and they're getting lots of public support. Most Americans agree
teachers should be paid more and that they have the right to strike.
In many states, the protests have been part of a broader grassroots
movement of teachers rather than a union-led movement. And educators
who've never seen themselves as "political" are stepping up to voice
their opinions -- not just about low pay and inadequate school funding.
Lindsey Jensen, a high school English teacher and 2018 Illinois Teacher
of the Year, says she was once a-political. But not anymore.
"Teacher protests, strikes and walkouts across the country are not so
much out of anger but out of necessity. We've had enough," says Jensen.
Jensen and other teachers convened in Washington, D.C. this week for
visits with policymakers, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and
President Trump.
“Being able to have a platform in which we could advocate for our
students is really what we were most excited about,” says Katlin
Thorsell, West Virginia’s Teacher of the Year.
During their meeting with DeVos last Monday, teachers shared stories
about their students and challenges in the classroom, and, “There were
some tears shed,” Thorsell says. “Each party was very respectful in
hearing what the other party had to say, but it definitely was
emotional for all of us.”
Many Teachers of the Year agree that it's not just politicians who need
to hear what educators have to say.
"Most Americans don't realize how huge the opportunity gap is between
poor and wealthy kids in this country. Some kids have an amazing
education because the zip code they live in,” says Michael Soskil, an
elementary school science teacher and Pennsylvania's 2018 Teacher of
the Year. “Others don't, and what you see in Colorado, Kentucky,
Arizona, West Virginia and Oklahoma is teachers saying something is
wrong, things have to change."
There's a deep desire among teachers to fight back and push for
policies that don't disadvantage the most vulnerable children, and it
has reached a tipping point.
"That's what you see happening around the country," says Soskil. “More
and more teachers are saying 'I'm determined to change the things I
can't accept.’"
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