The institution of education should be a sacred place. Learning, discovery, and experimenting are at the core of humanity. At the epicenter of existence is learning. Our brains are continually processing information and learning, whether we are cognizant of it or not. Neuroscientists call this neuroplasticity. Essentially, the brain learns new pathways everyday, even once our brains stop growing. In fact, as you’re reading this, everything you’re thinking about is your brain making new connections!
So what’s the big deal with learning, anyway? Even if you’re a neuroscientist and you can explain neuroplasticity more scientifically, it seems redundant to talk about learning and cognition. Yet as we have established institutions for learning a spark has burst into a flame. While we hold education in the highest regard, over the past forty plus years, public education has been a primary target of politicians. The calls for better education have reached a point where teachers' voices are being drowned out through legislation that misinforms and emboldens the people who actually hold the most power regarding education: parents.
Section 1: How Did We Get Here?
Education and the federal government have a long history of working together. The Supreme Court makes landmark decisions to ensure that students have access to the best education. Under former President Jimmy Carter, the Department of Education was created in 1979 to make education more equitable. Yet, as is characteristic of politics in the US, someone from across the aisle criticized the federal government’s initiative. The Chronicle recalls how then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan argued that the Department of Education was a boondoggle. This criticism is the foundation for Republicans and some Democrats targeting education in various policies then and now. For example Brookings discusses how redlining policies specifically target Black people from being approved for mortgage loans. Since a city’s taxes help maintain educational facilities , Black families who lived in apartments weren’t granted the same access to schools as families who were approved for mortgages. Currently, states like Florida, Texas, and Idaho are continuing the practice of enforcing legislation that is racist, anti-trans, & anti-woman but now they’re directly targeting teachers. Therefore it is not an exaggeration to say that the long-standing attack on education has become a human rights violation.
Section 2: Human Rights and Education
According to the United Nations, human rights are about equity, freedom, and liberation without the engulfing shadow of discrimination or threat of danger. Some of the pillars of human rights are freedom of expression, housing, and access to education. When the phrase ‘violation of human rights’ is used, specifically in reference to education, it’s easy to point the finger at other countries, religions, or other man-made institutions. Yet our grandmother’s wisdom gently reminds us that pointing the finger means three are pointing right back at us. Due to the current state of education in America, teachers and students alike are under the threat of danger due to increasing wage disparities between laborers and employers, education laws becoming increasingly restrictive, and the constant threat of gun violence. The forty-four year war on education is playing out on state standards and education code from Transitional Kindergarten all the way up to the university system. Yet the laws surrounding education are meant to protect teachers and students in the classroom. Teachers' planning time, due to restrictions or revisionist history, is more convoluted, especially when those teachers are Black, Brown, LGBTQIA, and/or disabled bodied. With education in such a dire place, it’s flabbergasting to hear of teachers who have hope.
Section 3: The Power of Unions
In Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers, formerly known as Captain America, picks up what’s left of his shield to fight Thanos and his army. Far too many people see teachers as Steve Rogers: a superhero who can do this all day. But the reality is that teachers are highly trained professionals, not genetically enhanced individuals. They are people who are drowning due to the increasing demands of their careers. Considering the dire state of their profession, hearing that many choose to stay, albeit that they may have no other choice, is puzzling. So here’s some clarification, while teachers are not superheroes they are in fact people who are hopeful and passionate about your child’s success and trajectory in life. In their time off, or rather when they schedule time to relax, they can turn to a stronghold who will fight for them. Teachers unions are the frontline defense between teachers and the state they reside and the district they teach under. A union representative for a school or district meets with lawyers and advocates in their unions in order to negotiate higher wages, safer working conditions, and hiring more staff. In the instances where negotiations between unions and districts drag on, and they do, unions step in to help teachers protest or strike. Across thirty-eight states, teachers and other professionals represented by unions are prohibited from striking due to “at-will” employment laws, which is reported by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Teachers who decide to strike in these states run the risk of being fined and/or losing their employment. Yet that’s the power of a union: they step in when workers have had enough.
And teachers have, in fact, had enough for a long, long time.
Conclusion
The truth is, if teachers across the US walked out, society would disintegrate. If the war on education continues, and it will, educators who choose to stay will be forced to leave and start over. Anti-LGBTQ+, anti-trans, anti-femme, and racist legislation are forcing professionals to choose between safety and a paycheck. Responses that teachers or families should just move are not only an individualistic response that therefore enables and reinforce harmful legislation but it completely misses the point: we need teachers. We need education to uplift and maintain society. At the center of a thriving community is a strong foundation of education, whether it’s in the home or a schoolhouse. So if you’re wondering how you can support teachers directly, here are some ideas:
Help them #ClearTheList
Buy extra classroom supplies to send in on the first day of school/throughout the year (Kleenex is like gold in autumn/winter)
Volunteer your time
Attend school events
Chaperone on field trips
Go to school board meetings and SPEAK UP in support of the communities targeted by marginalizing & racializing laws
Follow teachers & educators on social media over organizations/people that spread misinformation
As much as we need education to exist and thrive, educators need their communities. Educators across the nation need your support, however you can show up. The most accessible way to support a teacher is to follow them on social media. Nearly every teacher uses their platforms as an activist to expose the hardships of the job while simultaneously expressing pride and joy in their students' creativity.