By Noriko Nakada
Like most fall weekends, this past one was busy. There was a Friday night festival at my child’s school, there was a homecoming football game; there were soccer games and birthday parties.
But this weekend was not like all the others, because I’m an LAUSD public school teacher, and like every other year, I had many papers to grade and many students on my mind as I made my way through the weekend, but unlike other years, this year held an added stress. All weekend I carried the weight of a looming work stoppage, and very public contract negotiations that put my public school colleagues and me in the crosshairs of public conversation on the sidelines of sporting events or gathered around a table waiting for the cake to come out.
And in all of my interactions this weekend, I had to gauge, fairly quickly, where friends, old and new, stood when it came to public education. What did they already think about our public schools and what were they willing to learn? Did they ask me about what was happening with the teacher strike? Did they want to hear my perspective? Or, did they know nothing about this issue, because their kid goes to a charter, or a private school, or they don’t have kids, or upon hearing I teach in a public school they want to explain to me why community public schools just don’t work?
I wish I could come up with an answer for everyone; a simple statement that could reveal all of the complexities within the current battle for Los Angeles public schools, because that is what is happening. Teachers are going to bat for schools because reasonable class sizes, teacher librarians, nurses, counselors, and other support staff help our students develop academically and as people is what our students deserve.
LA’s public schools serve all of our students. Not just the ones who can afford to attend, or the ones who get in by lottery, or the ones whose families choose us. No. Public schools teach everyone: the gifted and the struggling. The rich and the poor. The native English speakers and the new arrivals. And because our schools are such a complex places, the reality is, there is too much to tell.
There is too much misinformation to un-teach about our schools. No, our schools are not failing. Yes, there are struggling schools and struggling teachers, struggling students and struggling communities, but in every single one of our schools, there are educators working hard under worsening teaching conditions. There are kids showing up to learn every single day. There are families, worried about how their kids are doing, worried if their child is being seen within swelling class-sizes, worried about what to do if teachers go out on strike.
Many people think this strike is about a 6% raise (because this is what media outlets are touting), but what I keep insisting when people ask what are you striking for, is this:
People don’t strike for 6%; we strike for justice.
We strike for just teaching and learning conditions.
We strike for smaller classes (and yes, that charter school that shares our campus may have to find a different space if public school class-sizes are lowered).
We strike for fully staffed libraries, and nurses on every campus every day.
We strike for the schools our students deserve, and because we want to be able to meet the very diverse needs of our very diverse students.
This is about the heart and soul of public education.
That is why I will strike.
Noriko Nakada is a public school teacher and the editor of the Breathe and Push column. She writes, blogs, tweets, and parents in Los Angeles. She is committed to writing thought-provoking creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry.
Well said Noriko!!! I agree completely!!! I remember you from the district intern program!!’ We used to sit together and go out to lunch with Carlos and I believe Wendy and other teachers!!! Great seeing you again!!! ?
So great to hear from you, Claudia! I remember that cohort of interns. A very fun group. Thanks for reading!
Thank you so much! Well said. It’s scary to think about the coming weeks and just after the holidays. I am being so careful with finances as I am ready and willing to fight for fair pay, smaller class size and nurses and librarians at school every day of the week. Imagine a child gets hurt or is very sick and our school nurse is only at our school on Tuesday! Chances are something will go very wrong one day when she is not there to offer proper care in a bad situation. Yikes!
So true! The nurse situation is so unsafe and students can tell. When they aren’t feeling well, they think about what day it is before asking to go to the nurse. They know their health and safety is not a priority.
Hi Noriko,
I enjoyed reading your post and perspective. My writer friend, Cassandra Lane passed the article along to me. We were having a discussion about my husband and my decision to send our son to a private Independent school.
Let me start by saying that I support you as a teacher and stand with you for what you are doing to educate LA’s children. My mother is a retired LAUSD teacher who spent 33 years at the same elementary school in South Central Los Angeles. She cringes, somewhat, when she hears what my husband and I go through to educate our only child. But she understands when she visits the school why we make the sacrifice we are making. Let me tell you what I tell her.
Sadly, the LAUSD is broken and in need of a massive overhaul. It makes no sense that teachers are underpaid and not given the tools needed to be able to adequately do their jobs. I support your dedication and all the teachers’ plan to strike to fight for what they deserve. The problem is, we don’t have the luxury of time to wait for LAUSD to get it together. My child’s education and future is at stake. By the time we see real, fundamental change, he will be off to college. We are just not willing to subject him to the chaos, the overcrowding, and the lack of qualified teachers at his home school. Our job is to prepare him for a world that is rapidly changing and sadly, I don’t see that happening in our home school. I know because I had to volunteer there one summer (long story, but I got a traffic ticket and chose to do volunteer work to get it off my record) and it was a great time for me to really see how inadequate the school was, and really made me feel for the children there who don’t have a choice.
My mother spoke about the changing and challenging landscape of education in Los Angeles more than 20 years ago. It was hard to focus on all of her students because so many were ESL students and that is where the focus was and so all of the other children suffered. That was 20 years ago. I can imagine it is even worse now. And I have experienced teachers who really don’t want to teach which is sad.
My son’s school is the most diverse private school in Los Angeles. And we are in need of dedicated teachers who have an opportunity to do what they love to do — teach children. I’m sure you would never consider it and I don’t mean to write off public schools or children educated in them. Most of the women in my family are educators. I have attended both public and private schools.
Our decision is purely about the best education for our one and only child because we don’t get a do-over.
I’ve gone on far too long I am sure.
Best of luck to you and thank you for advocating for LA students. I wish there were more dedicated teachers like you.
Hey Sheri,
Thanks so much for your thoughtful read and response. I’m glad you’ve found a school that works for you and your child. You seem very aware of the complex issues our public schools face and I understand your feeling that your child needs a different school now. Please also know that there are many public schools that are working well and if you ever want to come back, we will teach your child. In my experience as a public school educator there are wonderful (and not-so-wonderful) teachers at every school, public, charter, or independent, and there are students of many backgrounds and abilities thriving in our public schools. I have the privilege of kids who, so far, will be well-served by the diversity and language acquisition of a dual-immersion program in what was, until recently, our neighborhood school.
Hopefully, our work strike demands will help our schools grow and improve so your kids, my kids, and those kids you feel “don’t have a choice” have a public schools in their neighborhood that meets their diverse needs. For that, we need fully funded schools, so hopefully our demands will be met and our schools can rise to meet the needs of our city.
Thank you for being engaged in our fight! We need the whole city’s support and even though your child isn’t in a public school, these are the schools that should be meeting your family’s needs.
In solidarity,
Noriko