Today’s Teacher Crisis

By Alec Nunez

This last Tuesday, a Louisiana teacher was arrested for her impedance on a school board meeting when she proposed a question about wages. This question stemmed from a frustrating lack of understanding as to why the superintendent was receiving an increase in pay to fatten his wallet while other educators and support staff were not. The teacher was then ejected from the meeting, handcuffed and escorted to a patrol vehicle. The English teacher, identified as Deyshia Hargrave, has generated a large amount of conversation and raises inquiries as to the status of teachers in American society.

This unjust treatment towards educators is no new phenomena, their pockets have been picked for years, especially after the budget cuts of 2008. This newest case only establishes the fact that educators are severely underappreciated in our country. This is no career-specific issue, educators in countries such as Finland are held among the most prestigious and respected individuals in the workforce, the complete opposite of their status in the U.S. where they are plagued by a lack of respect.

Countries such as that aforementioned, recognize the importance of educators, acknowledging their importance to the central pillars of society. Here in the U.S., they are among the least respected professions, albeit still  one of the most influential roles in the education system. The effort they put into building the future of tomorrow goes unnoticed, and thus they receive sickeningly low pay stubs. As our country rounds new corners, continuing to progress, it appears it also continues to lose sight of those who are key to the very progression it seeks to achieve. Our educators are what make our nation, but are progressively becoming more neglected. Educators, as a whole, play the part of a mother nurturing the infancy of our nation, only the relationship grows more and more parasitic each year.

The flawed ideals influencing today’s American population is an internal corruption, corroding the constructs of our country and bringing it to its knees. A not so outlandish end to the powerhouse of a country we call home is foreseeable if this misplaced ideology of which professions are valuable continues to thrive.

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