Service: Oklahoma Teacher Walkout Day 6
Today in Dallas, while Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was touring an elementary school, she was asked about the ongoing teacher walkout here in Oklahoma. According to The Dallas Morning News, Sec. DeVos responded, “I think we need to stay focused on what’s right for kids. And I hope that adults would keep adult disagreements and disputes in a separate place, and serve the students that are there to be served.”
Like many of my friends and family on social media, I reacted to this quote in multiple ways, as anger, hurt, frustration, and a little bit of shock filled my mind. “Serve the students?” Really? As if what our teachers have been doing this past week isn’t the utmost example of service to their students? As if their sacrifice and the risk they’ve taken by walking out of their classrooms isn’t the embodiment of service? As if these amazing people who give their time and energy to our kids for little financial reward don’t understand better than anyone what it means to serve their students?
Similar to comments from Governor Fallin and several Oklahoma legislators, these remarks came across as hopelessly out of touch, condescending, dismissive, and downright ridiculous. I know enough about Sec. DeVos to know that she has no idea what public school teachers go through. She has no idea what it’s like to give up her weekend grading papers or attending her students’ activities. She is clueless about spending her own hard-earned money on supplies her employer can’t provide. She doesn’t know what it’s like to worry whether her meager salary for one of the most important professions in society will pay her bills. She doesn’t have to place buckets underneath her ceiling at work when it rains or tape her textbooks together or try to reach 30 to 40 students crammed in a room without enough chairs.
I read this article in between a morning farm call and my afternoon chores at the track, shortly before heading back to the Capitol to support our teachers and see what was happening today. My wife and I had watched the coverage of thousands of teachers and students marching from here in Edmond early this morning, headed down to join their colleagues in their continuing effort to demand increased school funding, and I was eager to return to the Capitol to see how many would be there.
As I drove there, I tried not to let Sec. DeVos’s comments affect me too much. It was a beautiful day today, a nice change from the freak snowstorm we had on Saturday, and I was curious to see what was happening. Once again, Oklahoma teachers didn’t disappoint. As I got to the grounds, I was greeted by tens of thousands of teachers, parents, and students, who were dancing to “The Walkout Band” and listening to the speakers and going through the Capitol to meet with the legislators and staffers who had the courage to listen to them. The energy was palpable again, and their resolve was more apparent than ever. It was once again clear that they aren’t going anywhere.
I am not a teacher, but I’ve spent a fair amount of time in a classroom. After undergrad and before vet school, I worked as a substitute teacher in Texas and loved that experience. My mother taught middle school for many years, and I was fortunate enough to be in the same school with her when I was a kid. Her colleagues and friends were my teachers, and they played a huge role in whatever success I’ve attained. My childhood is filled with memories of hanging out after school with the other teachers’ kids, as our parents graded papers and planned lessons and got their rooms ready for the next school day. I watched how hard my mom and her colleagues worked and how much they loved their students. I felt so at home walking around the grounds today, seeing the teachers under their canopies or milling around with their impossibly clever and creative signs and t-shirts. I felt such a sense of gratitude for them and what they’re doing. I felt inspired, uplifted, encouraged, and moved by their smiles and chants.
But I also felt frustrated. I felt angry. I felt some of that hurt I’d felt when I read the article about Sec. DeVos, and some of the disgust I’d felt when I heard the Governor’s and legislators’ out-of-touch and disrespectful comments last week. I felt disappointed with our citizenry and with our politics. I felt betrayed by our elected officials, yes, but I also felt guilty.
As much as we want to support our teachers, and as amazed as we’ve been to see this movement grow and build, we need to have honest conversations about what got us here. We need to talk about the failure in leadership. We need to talk about the short-sighted approach and the selfishness with which our leaders have managed this state. We need serious discussions about the ridiculousness and the pettiness and divisiveness that have dominated our politics lately, from the local to the state to the national level.
We are partly to blame for this. It’s easy to wave our hands and put the proverbial pox on all the houses of our elected officials, but the reality is that we put these people there. Either with our vote or our apathy, we’ve empowered them to wreak this havoc and bring us to this point. We’ve surrendered to the tribalism and the division by retreating to our separate partisan corners without holding them accountable. We’ve been silent as year after year funding was cut and excuses were given, and yet the same group of people responsible for this mess remained comfortable in their ensconced positions of power.
Many are asking whether the teachers will be successful in their efforts. Many are searching for the concrete results that will meet their legitimate demands. Many wonder how long this will drag on and who will blink first. Many are curious if lip service will be met with serious and sincere policy and funding change.
Already the headwinds blow. Already the newly created opposition groups and the dark money lurk. Already the talking points have emerged and the misinformation is being spread. Already the plans are being made to weather this storm and get back to the business of making sure the special interests continue to prosper while the rest are left fighting for scraps. Already those who seek the status quo are dishonestly playing on the fears of those who worry their lives may be negatively affected by the changes required to fix this mess. Already they are trying to convince us that doing next to nothing is acceptable.
But we have the power to stop that. We have the power to put our support for our teachers into action. We have the power to tell those who for too long have ignored the collective good of the state in favor of a privileged few that their time is up. This week is filing week in Oklahoma, and I have no doubt that many qualified and inspiring candidates will emerge. It is up to us now to do our research. It is up to us to attend candidate forums and town halls and learn what those seeking office stand for and propose. It is up to us to support and vote for candidates that are both inspiring and, perhaps more important, competent. It is up to us to become engaged in a way we haven’t been before and make our voices heard. Our time is too short and our children are too precious to do otherwise.
So keep it up, teachers. Keep fighting. Keep marching. Keep dancing. Keep demanding. We continue to be awed by your resolve and your courage, and we continue to stand with you. For as long as it takes.
