Aug 4, 2018
Rachel Leyland and Kendra Abel are public school teachers in Oklahoma City who participated in the walkout in April of 2018. We discuss how the walkout shed light on the problems caused by chronic underfunding of public education, the power of standing together to demand change, and the importance of supporting pro-education candidates for office.
Support for Public Education Bolsters
Democracy
Chronic underfunding and continued cuts to public education have
grave consequences. In Oklahoma, teachers and parents are
supplementing educational programs out of their own pockets in
order to level the playing field with education in other states.
Teachers are underpaid and are forced to take second jobs, or even
leave the state for better pay.
Our Humanity
A good education transforms lives. Our humanity is at stake when we
forsake the future of our children. We need to teach them to have
critical thinking skills, a vision for a better tomorrow, the tools
to participate in our democracy, and an innate understanding that
their voice is important. What we do today will affect us for
generations to come.
The Power of Civic Action
The teacher walkout in Oklahoma raised awareness on the issues
facing public education, ranging from large class sizes to hostile
state representatives. The public now understands how meager the
education budget is and what that means, as well as how their
elected representatives have voted on education. Oklahomans are now
engaged in an open conversation about how to improve public
education.
Find out more:
Rachel Leyland and Kendra Abel are both teachers in the Oklahoma
City Public School system. They participated in the teachers’
walkout that took place in Oklahoma in April of 2018. They continue
to be involved with this issue through the American
Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the OKCPS Board of Education.