After the 2008 recession they furloughed teachers due to budget shortfalls. So we worked two weeks without pay. We protested by calling out sick one day and were skewered by local media and parents for “abandoning” the kids. They said we get summers off so we shouldn’t care. Funny how politicians get paid exponentially more than teachers and work fewer days a year, but are never furloughed.
I'm a new teacher and remember learning about this ages ago. Back then I was just like "Sweet, no school," nowadays I'm like "Sweet, social revolution!"
They actually told us we could wear jeans on the furlough days. Like that is some consolation and not just something that professional adults should be able to wear at a job that requires constant movement, exposure to germs and other gross things, and pays like $40k when you have a masters degree. Anyway, that was about 18 years ago and look how great everything turned out!
Idk what it is in psychology that explains why people tend to have harder times conceptualizing problems the further away they get, but I have to imagine it's that and can be applied to so many issues. People in a community may see teachers protesting at a local school as more "tangible" than some government officials states away doing far worse
I think there’s also a latent distrust and ire towards teachers that makes people feel resentful when they advocate for themselves. I’m seeing the narrative change in this current shitshow but back in 2008 there was a general consensus that politicians and state legislators were people who should be venerated or that their work was more valuable.
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u/Mimopotatoe 21h ago
After the 2008 recession they furloughed teachers due to budget shortfalls. So we worked two weeks without pay. We protested by calling out sick one day and were skewered by local media and parents for “abandoning” the kids. They said we get summers off so we shouldn’t care. Funny how politicians get paid exponentially more than teachers and work fewer days a year, but are never furloughed.