Why Oakland teachers are striking: ‘Quite simply, you can’t feed the minds of our students by starving their schools.’
It’s only February and we’ve already seen in this new year teachers in Los Angeles, Denver and West Virginia go on strike, extending a wave of labor actions by educators that started in February 2018.
Now, it’s Oakland’s turn.
Oakland teachers are going out on strike Thursday over largely the same issues that provoked the Los Angeles walkout: pay, large class size, too few nurses and counselors and other support staff, and the spread of charter schools where nearly 30 percent of the district’s students are now enrolled.
It was teachers in West Virginia a year ago who walked out because of low pay and inadequate access to quality health care, prompting a wave of strikes in mostly Republican-led states, including Oklahoma and Arizona, in what became known as the “Red For Ed” movement. And though California is Democratic, teachers are finding some of the same problems as in GOP-led states.
This year, though, the focus of the strikes in both red and blue states is expanding to include the impact on districts of charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately operated.
West Virginia teachers walked out this week to protest a bill that would have taken funds from traditional districts and used them for charters and programs that use public funds for private and religious school tuition. It was a push against what public education advocates say is a movement to privatize public education, which Los Angeles teachers had made their strike rallying cry as well.
[This time, it wasn’t about pay: West Virginia teachers go on strike over the privatization of public education (and they won’t be the last)This time, it wasn’t about pay: West Virginia teachers go on strike over the privatization of public education (and they won’t be the last)] CONTINUE READING: Why Oakland teachers are striking: ‘Quite simply, you can’t feed the minds of our students by starving their schools.’ - The Washington Post
