Supporting Our Teachers

During the 1950s and ’60s, African Americans in this country led demonstrations as a means to both protest civil injustice and advocate for equality. From bus boycotts, to sit-ins, to marches on Washington, this group of individuals utilized the power of occupying public space in order to occupy the public conversation and thereby facilitate change. The movement led to major achievements such as the desegregation of the public school system and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In the late 1960s and ’70s, young Americans around the country rose up and protested the Vietnam War. From marches to draft dodging, the American populous decided that our involvement in Vietnam was unethical and needed to end. While the government was slow to act, the demonstrations did aid in swaying public opinion. This public outcry guided President Nixon into pulling troops out of the territory. While the work was slow, it was started because people demanded it to happen.

In 2016, then quarterback for the San Francisco 49er’s, Colin Kaepernick, knelt during the playing of the national anthem. He did this to voice his concern with that year’s recent wave of police shootings involving unarmed black people and people of color. In the months that followed, more than 200 NFL players joined with Kaepernick and knelt during the anthem to show their solidarity and support for the cause that Kaepernick raised awareness for. As a result of this action, Kaepernick was let go from his team, was not signed to play for another one, and was belittled by the President of the United States. As of 2019, he has yet to step back onto the football field. Yet in spite of this, Kaepernick forced a conversation about the issues black communities and communities of color face into the national spotlight and raised over one million dollars for various charities.

In 2018, teachers from West Virginia went on strike from February 22nd to March 7th. They did this in response to a bill signed by Governor Jim Justice that only allotted a 2% pay raise for 2019 and to the rising health care costs of the state. The action inspired similar demonstrations in Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado, and North Carolina. At the end of the strike, the teachers had reached an agreement with the state and garnered a 5% pay increase.

It’s important to look back at these examples of activism because on Wednesday, May 1st, 2019, teachers across the Carolinas will perform a walk-out. They will march to their state capitals and demand to be heard by their governed officials. For South Carolina specifically, the demonstration comes after months of debate over the general assembly’s proposed education reform bill. The bill, which has passed the House and is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate, was predominately made without teacher input and is therefore seen as inadequate in terms of actually ameliorating the myriad of issues in the South Carolina education system. And while the entirety of this essay could be spent picking apart the bill’s shortcomings, I feel as though the letter, drafted by SC for ED, covers this topic quite nicely.

And while it would be irresponsible, to put it lightly, to compare the deaths, beatings, and jailings of the Civil Rights movement or the anti-war demonstrations to a walk-out by a group of disgruntled workers, looking back on these incidents aids in addressing two of the primary arguments against the SC for ED’s proposed activism. The first is that this action will be inconvenient. If you have ever worked in a school, you can attest to the hassle and headaches that accompany massive teacher absences. Substitutes can be hard to procure which can lead to teachers having to give up their planning time and cover for their colleagues. This action, while met with gratitude, is done without compensation and done often. Canceling school due to this lack of supervision is also a massive inconvenience for the surrounding community as parents have to create additional plans for their children and hourly workers can perhaps go without pay. The second argument is that this proposed action will do nothing to remedy to the situations ailing our state’s education system. Those who consign to this idea believe that while something should be done about our public education system and, more specifically, that something should be done to help teachers in this state, they do not believe that walking out will have any affect.

The former is rooted in a misunderstanding of what activism actually is while the latter has its origins in a long line of discourse designed to suppress the voice of the masses. Both, however, fail to come to terms with a simple fact about political progress. It does not spring up out of thin air. It is something that occurs because people speak up and take action.

Progress happens because of activism not in spite of it.

It is in that vein, then, that we should all support teachers who choose to walk out. Yes, it is inconvenient. However, activism should be. If the actors of those instances mentioned above had chosen to speak out in ways that made others comfortable, then we would not share in the progress that they brought about. It is precisely because the bus boycotts cost the city money that they were successful. It is because students marching and presenting themselves as a powerful voting block made the Washington establishment uncomfortable that we exited Vietnam. It is because Kaepernick chose to make his stand in a way that was deemed inappropriate that we talk about the issues he championed, and it is because teachers walked out of schools in West Virginia causing parents and students to be inconvenienced that they gained the grounds they did. Activism is supposed to make us all aware of the injustices around us. Shedding a light on where we have faltered should make us all uncomfortable and it should be inconvenient.

Yes, the wheels of government turn slowly and rarely do the actions of those in power match the vitality and vociferousness of those demanding said action, however, to say that that reality should quell or stifle the need for activism is preposterous. We as teachers make up a sizable voting block. It is important, then, that we show those who rely on our votes that they cannot have them without first thinking of us. We as teachers are responsible for the education and the future of our country, and it is important that we show we will no longer be taken advantage of. Our power exists in our numbers. And whether or not you choose to walk out of your classroom, it is important that we show solidarity for those that do. And as a community, it is important that we show solidarity for those that are responsible for our future.

Finally, to those that would argue that here in Greenville County we have it too good or progress is being made so there is no need to walk out, I implore you to first look back at our history. Arguing that advocacy and activism are not necessary because progress has been made is to ignore the voices and actions of those who came before us making such progress possible. Again, progress happens because those before us have spoken out. Second, I implore you to take a closer look at all of Greenville County. The reality is that while some actions have been taken, it is not going fast enough nor far enough. While this county has been successful in raising teacher pay and providing funding for some schools, it still has failed on providing smaller class sizes, providing adequate breaks for elementary teachers, providing across the board compensation for after contract hour demands, or providing every school in this district with total access to technology. And these are just a few of the grievances that have been brought forth by teachers here. So while progress has been made, the reality is it is not enough. Therefore, advocacy, of our own volition and voice, is necessary.

Again, I realize that not everyone will see eye to eye on this issue. You may think that there are other ways, better ways, to air these grievances, or that the problem is not really that bad. To those people, I would first say that any problem with education is really that bad. But after that, I would argue that there is no good way of shining a light on problems within our society except to do it. And this is the way we have chosen to do it. If that makes you uncomfortable or inconvenienced then so be it. We, though, have been uncomfortable and inconvenienced for too long.