Why im striking

I am tired. Granted, I get great holidays — although I run holiday schools, revision sessions and plan schemes of work during this time. But we're now being told we must work until we're Do you want a 68 year old teaching your kids PE?

Is this what's best for children? On top of that, I am striking for the kids I teach. In recent years Gove has removed the Educational Maintenance allowance. I received this as a sixth-former. I doubt I would have remained in full-time education without it. The knock-on effect of this for many of the students I teach is becoming obvious. Last week I comforted a student who was in tears over the fact that their parents think that in July they should be starting work.

This student longs to be a nurse and would be the first in the family to go to university. Will they make it? EMA would have helped in 'narrowing the gap' in this specific circumstance. This means that many young people when leaving school at 18 are not even considering university.

The Conservatives last week announced that ''We know that profit, wealth creation, tax cuts, enterprise, … really are the solution because it's not government that creates jobs, it's businesses. Why is it that big businesses are getting a break from paying tax at the expense of children currently studying at school and college? The double-speak of what we're being told to teach is baffling.

On one hand, we have Old Etonians like Nick Hurd telling us that young people 'lack grit and character'. The participants in the collective bargaining process may vary across districts.

For example, in one large, urban district, the team for the district includes building principals and senior district-level staff, but not school board members. The team for the teachers union consists of local union members, but no representatives from the Washington Education Association. Community members and other stakeholder groups are not involved, nor allowed to observe the negotiations. In another small, rural district, the team for the district included the superintendent, business manager, and building principals.

The team for the union included the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer as well as the UniServ representative at one meeting. Again, members of the community and other stakeholders were not present.

Please submit it to info educationvoters. Love what we do? Support our work. Want to find out the latest in education news in Washington? Subscribe to our newsletter. Want to learn more about League of Education Voters? Find out here. Skip to content Strikes FAQ. Watch now What is a strike? Why are people talking about strikes?

Why do teachers strike? What are negotiations and how do they work? How are teachers paid? How much money can districts raise through local education levies? What did the Supreme Court say about teacher salary in the McCleary decision? What is a CBA? How do I find the current teachers contract in my school district? Can schools stay open using substitute teachers and administration? I have to work. Marisol Alvarez is an educator who falls into this category.

She is a psychiatric social worker who works with high schoolers at the Academic Leadership Community in the Miguel Contreras Learning Center. She provides mental health services for students and she needs more people in roles like hers, as well as nurses and counselors, she said. Judith Barnett, a kindergarten teacher at Cantara Street Elementary School, spelled out why students need this. They deserve to have a librarian so that they can actually go in and check out books on a daily basis instead of once every two weeks.

Special-needs students deserve more attention. Luis Fernandez has been a special-ed teacher for more than 13 years and was a special-ed assistant before that. He is passionate about his students and he wants to make sure they get everything they need.

Although LA has a growing number of charter schools, traditional schools service a disproportionate number of students with special needs. If they are going to be taking federal money, they should be servicing all students," said Fernandez, who teaches at Cantara Street Elementary School, which is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Chantile Emerick is an inclusion specialist who works with high school students with special needs. She serves some students who were at charter schools but now attend her school, the Academic Leadership Community. She is getting more special-ed students, but isn't getting any more resources to help them. We must work with these communities to identify the impact of climate change to inform solutions.

The climate crisis is not a single issue; it is the framework that shapes our lives. Healthcare is a climate issue. Infrastructure is a climate issue. Our next president must understand this and make address in climate a top priority. Our voices are stronger together; as grad students, we showed this in , when our protests defeated a proposed tax bill. Now, we need everyone to tackle the climate crisis with the scale it requires.

Every action counts! Visit the global climate strike website to RSVP at a strike near you. In many cities, youth have been on strike every Friday. Local chapters of organizations including This Is Zero Hour and Sunrise Movement are also organizing towards the strike. Many universities also have environmental organizations that may be planning events.

Encourage any organizations you are affiliated with to endorse the strike. Here is a template letter for endorsement.