Death of public education?

Evie Fowler writes Yesterday's Tomorrow

Over the past week, teachers from all over Los Angeles have been fighting for rights in their school system. ​

We in the St. Mary’s community are very fortunate to be in an environment with small class sizes, enough teachers and full-time nurses and librarians; however, not everyone has these “luxuries.” For the first time in 30 years, United Teachers Los Angeles went on strike. These teachers were protesting for, among other things, a 6.5 percent salary wage increase, smaller class sizes and more fully staffed campuses.

This is not the first time that LA’s educators had spoken out for their rights. In 1970, teachers from all across the expansive city marched a casket with the label “Public education is dead” to LAX as a message to the state.

According to The Conversation, over 640,000 students are enrolled in Los Angeles’ public school system. Moreover, there is a 40 percent dropout rate in the system when it comes to high school, not to mention a significant shortage of classroom space, supplies and teachers. Teacher shortages were reported in roughly 80 percent of California school districts as well.

During the strike, early childhood special education teacher and United Teachers of Los Angeles chapter chairperson Lela Simsar said, “I miss my students. But I am on strike in very large part on their behalf.  By going on strike, I hope that my students, their families and myself will benefit in the long run.”

Simsar echoed the sentiments of other teachers in saying that she, among others, was protesting for smaller class sizes and full-time nurses, counselors and librarians. She stated, “Given the increasing occurrences of violence, in particular gun violence, in schools, the teachers consider mental health and social-emotional supports to be essential components in decreasing such incidents.” In addition to these concerns, though, the teachers were also on strike for a living wage.

After six school days, on Wednesday, Jan. 23, the teachers went back to school having negotiated a contract with the state. The agreement includes a six percent raise for teachers, future class size reductions and full-time nurses and librarians for public middle and high schools. Hopefully, these efforts will be recognized and rewarded to benefit this country’s next generation of young thinkers.