In the past month, we have seen numerous headlines indicating that there is a disparity among underpaid teachers. It seems that after the West Virginia teachers strike (played out one month ago), a new sense of determination has swept to teachers in other states. Oklahoma teachers are now on the level of national attention as they fight for better pay.
The stories are all too similar in both states. Teachers whom are highly-experienced and qualified have been forced to take second and third jobs. As overworked teachers are consistently spread too thin, education systems in these states continued to cut cost. This means some teachers were laid off, and in turn the overworked teachers' classrooms got larger.
One specific story that touched my heart was that of a gym/special education teacher in Oklahoma. He is making only maybe $1,000 every month with the recent budget cuts. Before these cuts, he used to volunteer at a soup kitchen in his community. Unfortunately, this gentleman is now forced to eat at that same soup kitchen he once volunteered for.
The situation in Oklahoma will likely be fixed by an increase in teacher pay, and by vote of state legislature. However, they must be persistent in their efforts to strike. Teachers in West Virginia won a pay raise of five percent after a grueling nine-day strike. Along with Oklahoma following suit, teachers in Arizona and Kentucky have been demonstrating similar sentiments.
It must be understood why teachers are not being paid enough in the first place. State governments rather put public funds in other areas, rather than bolster teacher salaries and the education system as a whole. It might be advantageous to consider federal reform of educational funding. Although it may be incredibly complex and even impossible, the federal government could mandate a specific pay range for public school teachers. This law would come with action plans on how states would create the funds to increase pay i.e. taxes.
Social problems are systemic in this country. This means that is ever-growing disparity among teachers in poorer states will inherently spread to other areas (as we can already see). Teachers in wealthier states will begin to see increased pay cuts, or simply become tired of being complacent. The domino effect will be at full play here. Just watch and wait.
