Guess What? Teachers Don't Melt!-Strike Day #1

Since my commute is longer than most teachers at my school, I volunteered for the 6am crew.  This crew consists of our union chapter chair and myself.  We felt it was important to be at school when the parking lot gate opened to speak to all people entering the campus.

Both of us we were running on very little sleep.  I went to bed very early but found myself waking up every 60-90 minutes.  I was nervous that I may oversleep my 4am alarm and equally nervous about the act of striking.  By 3:30am, I decided to get up and start checking my email and social media in hopes of reading about a new proposal from LAUSD.

Sadly there was no magic agreement. I got dressed in my #RedforEd colors and by 5:10am I was sitting in Starbucks waiting for my coffee treat.  I arrived at my school by 5:20am and parked right in front of the parking lot gate.  Cars started to come in the gates around 6:15am which is precisely the time the rain started.  I'm happy (but still disappointed) to report that only 1 substitute teacher crossed the picket line.

I'm also happy to report that my colleagues and I ran a very pleasant picket line.  Most teachers reported not sleeping well but we’re ready for the day.  We warmly greeted our non-teacher colleagues as they entered the parking lot for work!  We high fived and hugged students as they entered the school. We smiled a lot! We had so much energy!

Our entire staff walked to our local metro station to ride downtown for our mid-day collective action.  It was amazing to see the sea of red that would enter at every stop.  The trains were filled with chants and various schools announcing their arrival on the metro.  Our trip downtown was very high energy (I felt kind of bad for the non-rally folks on the train, but they couldn't deny the positive vibes and the message we are spreading). The chanting got even louder once we got off the trains. This experience was truly magical!!!!

Massives amounts of people arrived downtown, our group was separated many times because it was just so crowded.  Again, I noticed everyone smiling.  We're not smiling because we are enjoying our time away from our students, we are smiling because there are so many people out there who share our beliefs about our students deserving better.  We smile because we're energized and ready to fight the fight about getting more resources into our underserved schools.

 Let's face it, we're teachers and we are used to surviving with very little resources and plan to fight the fight until the end.

Who said it never rains in Southern California?  It poured today but guess what?  Teachers don't melt!

‘Twas the Night Before the Teacher Strike

The teacher union that supports the second largest district in our nation called for a strike at the very beginning of our winter break. There has been a lot of talk about a strike over the last couple months but I never imagined it would actually happen. It’s so hard to understand how anyone would purposely want to starve our schools and not provide the resources that students need.

On my first day back from winter break, I decided to have a discussion with my fifth graders. I’d say 2/3 of the students had heard nothing about a strike. The remaining students knew about the strike and had a couple accurate talking points to share.  

I could see the level of anxiety rising with my students as the discussion progressed. I did my best to explain the reasons why teachers are striking. I also explained I’d be outside the school and not allowed to enter campus until the strike ended or I voluntarily decide to return to work.

As a teacher, one of the hardest attitudes to have is, “It’s not my problem or that doesn’t concern me” because I care about my students and I care about what happens to them. I was unable to answer lots of there questions about what their days will look like in my absence.  I’m nervous for my well being on the picket line and I am equally nervous for their well being (emotional well being mostly, my students don't do well with change) while I’m striking. 

I entertained all of their questions. Their first questions focused more on logistics like, “Who will teach us?” “Will the school be open?” “Will we have recess?”  Then their questions changed to “Will I be able to have breakfast and lunch?” “How long will you be gone?” “Are you going to get fired?”  

I work at a school where lockdowns are not all the unusual. The students know the procedures for what to do. Hearing gunshots is not too hard to fathom either. One student asked, “What if there is a lockdown?” There wasn’t anything I could do for the kids during a lockdown if I’m not on campus and I immediately started to feel helpless. I reminded the kids to do what we practiced but I was quickly corrected, “No, I mean what if there’s a lockdown and you’re outside? What’s going to happen to you?” At this moment, a light bulb went off. The thought of a lockdown during the strike never occurred to me. I don’t know why this never occurred to me since we have lockdowns fairly regularly. I did not know what to tell her. Another student yells, “Drop like a pancake! That’s what they tell us!”

A couple minutes before the dismissal bell on Friday, I reminded my students that I will be on the picket line Monday morning. One student said, “Good luck Dr. G. Remember, we love you and we support you. See you soon.”

When I say no one wants to strike, I truly mean no one wants to strike. I’d much rather be in my classroom with my students. This is the last effort for the district to stop starving our schools. 

If we aren’t the voice of the students, who will speak for them? Who will stand up for them? They’re counting on us, their futures depend on us. 

This is why I am a teacher on strike until a fair agreement is made.