Teachers Aren't Gonna Take It Anymore

Yesterday, after striking since February 22nd, Gov. Jim Justice (R) signed a bill that gives all teachers, as well as all other state employees a 5% raise. After 9 days of school closures and hours of testimony to the Governor, the striking teachers got a better pay raise than the 3% raise that was originally offered. West Virginia teachers are among the lowest paid teachers in the United States, ranking 48th in the nation for teacher pay. Before the strike, they had not had an across the board raise in four years. In addition, they’ve seen their health care premiums rise, which still remains a problem. Gov. Justice agreed to form a task force in order to study what can be done to lower those health care costs.

I applaud the teachers for standing up for themselves and for succeeding. As a child of the public education system, I’ve personally seen how teachers give so much of themselves, as well as having personally benefitted from their generosity; whether it was giving hungry students food, or coming early or staying after school to help them with assignments, or just being there when a student needs some emotional support or guidance. All of these things, including school supplies, are paid for out of their own pockets and free time. I’ve also seen how teachers struggle to get by. Many of them have part-time jobs, in addition to their full course load teaching classrooms packed sometimes with over 30 students.

Teachers aren’t respected in our society. It’s not just West Virginia, but everywhere. So much is expected of them. Parents expect them not just to teach their kids, but also to raise them and babysit them. And when their child acts up in class or fails a test, the teacher usually gets the blame. Teachers are now expected to protect the lives of their students. Some of our politicians even want teachers to carry guns in the classroom, which is a ludicrous idea considering how many of the same politicians who didn’t want to give teachers a little raise can now all of a sudden find the money for guns?

Teachers deserve so much more than this. They deserve a bigger raise than 5% and they deserve respect, as they are the ones who shape us and our kids to become adults. Our priorities as a country are out of whack when the highest paid state employees aren’t the ones who shape and nurture the children, but instead are sports coaches for the public colleges, or Governors of the individual states.

Oklahoma teachers are now talking about going on a statewide strike. I hope that they do because if the teachers of West Virginia have proven anything, it’s that when you stand up for yourself and you fight, you can win.