Teachers are paid too little for all they do, this is a decades-old truth. They do more for our country’s future than any CEO in any corporation. However, that greedy capitalist will report an income of as much as 3-5 million each year after several years of employment with additional bonuses paid annually, while our teachers average just over $65,000 for all grades K-12.
Mass shootings, censorship of factually based history about slavery, racism, the LGBTQ+ community, and even the Holocaust resulting in suspension and firings have become more than the average teacher is willing to accept. America is in danger of losing thousands of teachers and nurses in the coming years according to their union representatives. How many teachers and nurses will America lose because of mass shootings, fear of another pandemic, and censorship?
Around 55 percent of teachers claim that they are planning to seek other employment or none at all. In California alone, an expected shortage of 45,000 nurses will become a reality by 2030.
The pandemic, which was allowed to spread without sufficient efforts to control the virus, affected nurses and teachers disproportionately. What is your life worth?
Nurses and teachers felt that they were fulfilling a dream while in college. Sadly, the real world is far different than the time spent working to achieve our goals.
The one thing we know is who to blame for the probable loss of indispensable men and women who care for our children and our infirmed. For decades right-wing politicians controlled by their benefactors, the NRA gun lobby, ignored the truth. For four years we were cursed with a “president” who was a science denier, and more than one million Americans lost their lives to COVID-19.
Republicans have refused to place the safety of the American people in priority over the profits of gun manufacturers and gun sellers. The second amendment is an excuse but has no place in this discussion. There is nothing contained in the Constitution about military weapons not being available to civilians, or the prevention of comprehensive background checks for all gun purchases.
Both nurses and teachers have been ignored for decades. They are overworked and underpaid. However, their devotion to patients and students kept them imprisoned by capitalists.
Sadly, in the 21st century, additional factors which threaten their lives and their ability to perform to the best of their abilities demand answers to questions ignored by their employers.
When the safety and security of our most trusted and necessary workers who care for our children and our infirmed and aged is ignored, how can we expect them to continue sacrificing their own welfare for those of others?
The praise we offer to teachers and nurses is not only warranted, but also well deserved. Sadly, our nation seldom cares for those who deserve our deepest gratitude.
What has anyone in your government done for you recently? “The truth lives here,” and I am betting that you are unable to think of a single issue of importance.
Our loyalty and respect must be offered to those who offer the same to us. Our government has become the enemy.
Our only defense against apathy from those intended to serve us is our vote. If they refuse to serve us, to care for our teachers and nurses, our caregivers, and our military when they return home from a war zone, why should we give them our votes?
The truth is that most of those we elect and expect to care for our needs and wishes do nothing when elected. Instead, corruption is rampant in Washington as politicians hide behind the tired phrase: “It’s a matter of national security.”
My hope is “incumbents out, and more women and younger men replace them, accepting term limits, and do their jobs by accomplishing something for those who voted for them.”
Dreams can come true.
Op-ed by James Turnage
Edited by Sheena Robertson
My nine novels are available on Amazon
Sources:
The Hechinger Report: COLUMN: Mass shooting in Texas raises the same old questions about how to protect America’s children
RAND Corporation: Restoring Teacher and Principal Well-Being Is an Essential Step for Rebuilding Schools
National Education Association: Survey: Alarming Number of Educators May Soon Leave the Profession
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Jonathan Cutrer’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of US Department of Education’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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