Walk Out or Stay Put?
Loading ...The annual mean wage for teachers in Oklahoma is nearly half of that for teachers in Alaska. While teachers in Alaska are paid an average of $82,020 a year, teachers in Oklahoma are paid $42,460 on average. Oklahoma pays its teachers less than any other state in the nation. This year, teachers across the state have decided to take action.
On April 2, 2018, many teachers are planning to come together and do a walk out in an attempt to show legislation how underappreciated they feel. According to a poll taken by the Edmond school district, out of the 1,200 teachers polled, 90% said they would participate in the walkout.
“I think for the walk out to be effective, the entire state needs to participate, and every district needs to be included,” Kacey Thompson, Canton High School teacher, said.
Conversely, some teachers are against the walk out. There is a chance the walkout will not have the impact educators are looking for. It is possible the walkout will have no effect on legislation, nor the annual wage for teachers. Instead, it could simply be a disruption for students.
“I can’t really speak for our entire district. I personally do not want to go on a teachers’ walk out. If our district votes that they would like to go on a walkout, then I would support the rest of the teachers, but personally, I don’t want to take a walk out. I don’t think we’re ready for it at this point,” Penny Heath, Canton High School teacher, said.
Leading up to the April walkout several calls for teacher pay raises have been turned down by legislation. Many teachers are struggling to make ends meet, and their teaching salary just isn’t enough. This is causing many teachers to resign from their jobs as educators. With teachers in high demand, it is becoming harder to fill teaching positions.
The teacher walkout also has the potential to change education in Oklahoma. If jobs in education become more appealing, schools will be able to hire more teachers. With more teachers coming into schools, classes will be cut down to fewer students. A class of forty could be split in half. This would allow a better experience for teachers and students alike.
At the time of this article, there is a proposed plan to fund a state employee raise, however, the OEA still plans the walkout for April 2.
Johnie Burton • Mar 29, 2018 at 3:09 pm
I think that teachers should do the walk out because they need the money and if they don’t have money then they don’t work.
Isaac Tsatigh • Mar 29, 2018 at 3:02 pm
I think that the teachers should walk out, the pay is really low and needs to be brought up in order for many teachers to stay.
Braxton • Mar 29, 2018 at 2:55 pm
I think that our teachers should walk out to protest the fact that Oklahoma’s teacher pay is ranked 48th and that needs to change.