A Few Thoughts About My School Being Closed on Wednesday...

So, my students will not come to school on Wednesday because so many teachers have scheduled to be off. This may seem like a victory of some kind, but all I can think is that those who will feel this the most have nothing to do with the reason for the protest. Here are some things I thought about as I read the email informing me that I wouldn't see students on Wednesday:

1. If a student currently is on the Free and Reduced Lunch plan, that student will not receive school breakfast or lunch that day.

2. If a parent of a student is not employed in a situation that provides sick days or vacation days, the parent will have to lose a day of pay in order to stay home with his/her child or pay someone to watch his/her child or leave the child alone. There may be a family member that can watch the child, but maybe not.

3. High school juniors are now about a week and a half away from a test they must pass in order to graduate from high school. Those students will now go a week without seeing the teachers they saw today due to an alternating day schedule.

I think there are many ways to make your voice heard. And I think our government is stronger when the citizens are actively involved in it. I'm just not convinced that this particular protest will affect the people the protesters are hoping to affect. It seems more likely that those in middle and upper income jobs will have the luxury of taking the day off while, in this situation, the lower income members of a community will absorb the shock.

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