I asked three teachers a simple question that you would think has a straight-forward answer: "Do you have textbooks for your class?"

Years ago, the answer would have been yes, and they would have been brand new. That's because years ago education was respected and Oklahoman students had access to simple school supplies and up-to-date information, but every year, the situation gets worse.

The answers I actually got were incredibly sad.

"My husband does not have textbooks for his 8th-grade math," one teacher said, in regards to her husband's classroom, "and my bio books are 5 years old, but the school has no plans to order textbooks again, ever." While it could be argued that perhaps the reasoning for lack of textbooks is because education is becoming more technology focused, she quickly told me that the issue went far beyond the textbooks.

"I don't typically use the books anyway, but I don't think it's as effective to teach science without lab supplies or possibilities for field trips. I can't take my Bio 2 class on a field trip this year unless I find alternate funding, which is just sad. When I showed up at this new school to teach, there were no supplies. I had to spend my free time finding and applying for grants to buy the supplies I needed."

I got a similar answer from a math teacher at a different school. "My textbooks are in the trash. I haven't used my geometry books in 2 years, instead, I just make copies. The pre-algebra and trig books have been gone longer than that," she informed me. "I have supplies only because my friends and family have donated them or I bought them myself."

The final teacher I talked to basically told the same sad story about the lack of supplies. "In my last two teaching jobs, there had been at least five different teachers in that position in the previous 10 years. The lack of supplies is not just from money shortages, but from the turnover rate. Teacher turnover does not just affect the current school year, it sets the tone, culture, and our supplies list."

Another sad similarity between talking with the teachers is all three of them have considered different jobs or moving, and two of them work two jobs just to stay afloat.

One of them tells me that she's worked two jobs for 14 years. She used to work for extra money or a vacation, but now she works 85 hours a week because she has to. "If you add up all my hours, I've actually worked a week over the normal work just to break 50k."

Opponents of the walkout often argue that teachers knew what they were getting into, but that does that really justify this? If you have children you should 100 percent be onboard with the teachers in Oklahoma, not just for them, but for your children.

Oklahoma students deserve supplies. They deserve field trips. They deserve to have teachers with one job so that they can focus on doing it well.