OKLAHOMA EDUCATION NOT OK

And it is not just Oklahoma by any means!

Oklahoma’s education issues are, sadly, replicated all over the nation.

Yes, miserable salaries (in relation to the years of training and education teachers must have and the actual time spent doing the job) are a serious issue.  In America we seem always to measure people’s worth by their pay stubs, so we don’t lift an eyebrow at the lawyer’s $150+billable hour, or the doctor’s thousands+ bill for the gallstone operation that took all of three hours, or the CEO’s salary being over 900 times the average worker’s. These are all positions held by people whose education and actual job experience are often comparable to those of classroom teachers.  But neither do we cringe overmuch at shelling out big bucks for mechanics and plumbers.  But just put teacher salaries on an education bill and watch it get shot down!

Bless their hearts, the OK teachers are highlighting another serious problem—one that OUGHT to enrage anyone who cares about the state of public education in America (That lets Betsy Devos out).  Have you SEEN the condition of some of the equipment and textbook those students are using?  Now, I grant you that a literature text might be a bit dated—a Shakespearean sonnet is not likely to change from year to year.  But a science book???  Or a history book that has no mention of 9-11 or the events following??  Copy machines.  Classroom computers.  Paper.  Ink.  SUPPLIES, people.  Just ordinary supplies with which to do the job.