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Common Dreams reports
Teachers in Oklahoma applauded the state Senate's passage of a $447 million bill to fund educators' first raise in a decade by raising taxes on oil and gas production as well as cigarettes and fuel--but warned that the plan is not enough to keep them from striking.
The proposal was approved in a 36-10 vote on Wednesday night [March 28] after weeks of speculation that teachers would stage a walkout beginning April 2 to demand salary increases as well as more funding for their overcrowded schools--where teachers are frequently forced to pay for supplies out of their own pockets.
"While this is major progress, this investment alone will not undo a decade of neglect", said Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) President Alicia Priest in a press release.[1] "Lawmakers have left funding on the table that could be used immediately to help Oklahoma students."
The mobilization by teachers in Oklahoma follows a multi-day strike in West Virginia earlier this month during which educators and school employees also occupied the state capitol to demand raises and a permanent funding solution for their health insurance program. The West Virginia strike kept the state's schools closed for nine consecutive school days and continued after lawmakers passed a one-time five percent raise, with teachers insisting that all their demands be met.
[...] "This package doesn't overcome shortfall caused by four-day weeks, overcrowded classrooms that deprive kids of the one-on-one attention they need. It's not enough", Priest said. "We must continue to push for more annual funding for our schools to reduce class size and restore more of the 28 percent of funds they cut from education over the last decade."
[1] Content is behind scripts.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by insanumingenium on Friday March 30 2018, @05:20PM (1 child)
I suspect number one is the closest to the naked truth, but if they are going on strike they are totally willing to let the kids suffer, they are acknowledging that short term suffering beats long term insufficiency. Just because a strike works in coal mines doesn't mean it is the best way of manipulating the school system.
They may overhaul the system, but they can't simply discontinue public education, if that was an option the strike would fail and they would just send the teachers home for good and wash their hands of the mess. Notice how that was never even on the table.
You really want to generate change while still providing supplies for the kids, print communist, anti-theist, pro-abortion, etc... propaganda on the back of every page you pay for yourself. Make sure it is well known, that only the personally bought supplies would be tainted. They will use whatever methods they can to stop you from providing supplies after that. You don't have to go so obviously repugnant, advertise your side business as a sad clown. Or make it nationalist pride propaganda, nothing but presidential tweets, a covfefe on every page, dress it up in republican pride.
The point being, if you are going to rock the boat, stop actively calming it as well.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 30 2018, @05:36PM
Yeah, I'm not an expert in social sciences and/or economics, so I can't say if strike is going to help or not.
However, I'd say there is a difference both in length and in degree between not buying school supplies and a strike.
Strike will last for a few days, at worst weeks, and during that time kids either won't be going to school, or will spend their time at school playing. It's loud, it's obvious, and you know very quickly if it will work or not.
Not buying supplies would have to be sustained for years to have any impact, making the school experience actively worse for several generations of children.
If the strike lasts for longer than a few weeks, I believe the negative impact on kids will become too large. Since teachers are generally more decent people than politicians, it may be a completely viable approach to wait them out and, after they give up and get back to work, keep using their humanity against them.
As for your propaganda idea, that seems like the fastest way to turn most of the country against them, as well as get fired :/ I can imagine the Fox News/MSNBC headlines, and they are not pretty.