The GOP war on education has created a teacher shortage.
Republicans slash teachers' wages and public school funding. Issue educational gag orders that politicize education. Block safety measures to curb school mass shootings. Any surprise there are so many teaching vacancies? Students and teachers deserve better.
"School is a place where childhood happens. A place where children of different places and races learn from the past, make sense of the present and prepare for the future. We want our children to have an education that imparts honesty about who we are and integrity in how we treat others. Children should have the freedom to learn and pursue their dreams.
While educators work to deliver our children accurate and honest education, some politicians are trying to censor the lessons taught in our classrooms, deny certain children resources and write people who look like them out of our history books. Our children deserve the freedom to learn: to develop the knowledge and skills to reckon with our past, shape a better future, and pursue their dreams." - AOS Communications
Check this map to see how Republican gag orders, funding cuts and refusal to do anything about mass shootings are hurting both students and teachers in Republican governed states like Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama.
GOP drives teacher shortages
Teachers are critical for student learning. Recent news and policy reports suggest there are shortages of teachers in many parts of the country, and these shortages hurt students and public education since these positions are either left unfilled or are filled with less qualified or uncertified candidates. - Teacher Shortages
Mapping the GOP war on education
How do slim teacher salaries, school funding, educational gag orders and mass shootings result in teacher vacancies? Overlaying data for each criteria helps identify patterns. This map created with ArcGIS Online combines data from multiple sources. Notice how states like Mississippi, Florida and Texas with the lowest salaries, most gag orders and mass shootings have the highest number of teacher vacancies.
Educational gag orders
The GOP's nationwide war on public education— teaching of race, U.S. history, and LGBTQ+ identities—has led to a 250% spike in state-level " educational gag orders " bills. These bills target discussions of racism, gender and history. These bills censor the free speech rights of students, educators, and trainers who are women, people of color, and LGBTQ+. The bills’ vague and sweeping language means that they will be applied broadly and arbitrarily casting a chilling effect over teachers.
Collectively, these bills are illiberal in their attempt to legislate that certain ideas and concepts be out of bounds, even, in many cases, in college classrooms among adults. Their adoption demonstrates a disregard for academic freedom, liberal education, and the values of free speech and open inquiry that are enshrined in the First Amendment and that anchor a democratic society. Legislators who support these bills appear determined to use state power to exert ideological control over public educational institutions. - Abstracted from PEN America
Teachers underpaid
Teachers are underpaid for taking on one of the most important tasks for a new generation: educating our youth. The national average K-12 teacher salary is just $64,524. Mississippi has the lowest average teacher salary of $45,574, followed by West Virginia with $47,826. The other states with average teacher salaries under $50,000 a year are New Mexico , Florida , South Dakota , Kansas , and Arizona . - World Population Review
GOP blocks gun safety measures
There are hundreds of shootings that have taken place at schools in the past 20 years, leaving broken homes and broken childhoods in their wake. Eleven are classified as mass shootings, incidents in which four or more victims, not including the suspect, are killed. Though the National Rifle Association has recently been diminished by scandal and financial turmoil, Democrats say that the organization still has a strong hold on Republicans through its financial contributions and support, hardening the party’s resistance to any new gun laws. Despite the shooting in the same state, top Republicans are expected to appear this weekend at the NRA’s convention in Houston. - ABC News
Republicans’ steadfast opposition to any new gun regulations, even after the massacre that occurred at Uvalde .
PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression. It champions the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world.
Since 1922, PEN America, a registered 501(c)(3) organization has worked to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others. Our strength is our Membership—a nationwide community of more than 7,500 novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, and other writing professionals, as well as devoted readers and supporters who join with them to carry out PEN America’s mission.
TakeAway: Teachers deserve better. Vote for #FreedomToLearn
Deepak
DemLabs
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