Listen to the truth-tellers - AFT Voices

Listen to the truth-tellers - AFT Voices

Listen to the truth-tellers

As the year draws to a close, I am so grateful to the educators, healthcare professionals and public employees we represent for the extraordinary work they do every day to make a difference in our lives. I’ve always encouraged others to thank them, but this year, I’m asking that we go further: Let’s also listen to the teachers and nurses in our lives. They are truth-tellers who can reveal things we need to know about our country.

Let’s listen to teachers about how they stretch themselves to fill the void left when schools lack counselors, nurses and librarians. And, as some politicians brag about “the best economy ever,” educators can tell us about the other side of an inequitable America: the more than 1.3 million homeless students in our public schools, and the 40 percent of Americans who can’t put together $400 in an emergency.

Let’s listen to teachers about childhood hunger, which makes it difficult to concentrate and learn. Educators know that, for children who experience food insecurity, school meals should be as standard a school supply as paper and pencils, and the inability to afford school lunch should never be used to shame a child. Educators are outraged that, two years after the GOP gave away $2.3 trillion in tax cuts, mostly to the wealthiest Americans and corporations, the Trump administration is cutting SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits for more than 700,000 people and free school meals for nearly 1 million children living in poverty.

Many people marveled at the unprecedented “Red for Ed” movement — and then moved on. We should listen closely to the message that sparked this CONTINUE READING: Listen to the truth-tellers - AFT Voices