Appreciate teachers by tearing down inequities in classroom
The first full week of May is annually celebrated as Teacher Appreciation Week. As we head into a May like no other in recent history, it provides an opportunity to reimagine the possibilities of this week — to reimagine what it means to show appreciation. A week typically filled with new mugs, flowers, gift cards and hand-written thank-you notes will necessarily look different in this time of social distancing. While teachers would undoubtedly still appreciate those tokens, what is called for now is an awakening — an awakening of parents who have a renewed appreciation for the work of teachers.
An awakening of voters who believe that lawmakers should lead with our students’ safety and best interest in mind. An awakening of Floridians who in the face of a pandemic will stand with teachers and their public schools to lift up what is right for children.
True appreciation would mean that our community demand fully funded public schools and expanded educational opportunities for students upon their return.
The swift transition to virtual school and distance learning has brought attention to the widespread inequity and economic suffering Florida’s teachers were seeing in the classroom every day. Already, 46% of Florida’s families could not afford basic needs such as housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care and technology, according to the most recent “ALICE” report from the United Way.
At the start of the current school year, there were more than 42,000 homeless students in Florida’s PreK-12 schools. That is greater than the PreK-12 student population of Jefferson, Lafayette, Liberty, Franklin, Hamilton, Glades, Gulf, Calhoun, Dixie, Union, Madison, Taylor, Gilchrist, Bradford, Holmes, Washington and DeSoto counties combined.
Educators stand in the gap and have done a yeoman’s job of ensuring hot meals and access to technology during the current crisis, and have even tracked down many of the homeless students to check on their safety and well-being.
As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, rather than just thanking educators for going above and beyond the call of duty, true appreciation would be transforming longstanding policies that allow injustices and stifle educational growth in our schools.
Over the past four weeks of distance learning, we have seen increased parentteacher communication. Under “normal” circumstances, many parents must work two or three jobs to make ends meet; spending time to help their child with homework or to attend parent-teacher conferences becomes a luxury that too many cannot afford. Ensuring a fair wage for working people would allow many more of Florida’s students to have quality time with their parents, who could now afford to work only one job.
Teacher appreciation would have new meaning if we could have more parent volunteers, more participation from mom and dad, and frankly more support at home for students.
I am well aware there will be those who criticize my statements for “politicizing” Teacher Appreciation Week. Make no mistake about it — education is political. I graduated from a school of education, and while most lawmakers are concerned with the business of education or the politics of education, our teachers continue to work for the only special interest that matters, your children. They should never be partisan, but policies passed from local school boards to the halls of the U.S. Congress and everywhere in between have impacts on the children we serve.
To pretend education is apolitical is to cede power to policymakers, and we will never do that. Nor will we apologize for advocating for policies that are in the best interest of Florida’s children. This week, this month, this year and always, we will show our appreciation for teachers by fighting for structural changes to society necessary to break down the inequities seen in classrooms statewide.