The Teacher Strike- Is it Justifiable?

One of the top stories in the news lately is the Kent (not far from Seattle) school district strike. My immediate thought when I first hear about it was" "What?! A strike at a time like this?" The economy is still in shambles and many are jobless. I found out later that the central issue is smaller class size. Other demands are fewer adminstrative meetings for more time with students and an increase in salary. Having been a teacher for many years, these issues are all too familiar, particularly about class size and workload.

In a family conversation about the strike and the central issue about class size, the question came up, "Is there really a difference for a teacher of a class size of 32 compared to a class of 30?" I've been thinking about this. I think it really depends on the demographics of the class and the characteristics of the 2 additional students. It also depends on the total number of classes that teacher has.

I think about the classes I myself have taught. For example, one year I had five classes of 39-40 students. I had 4 different lesson preparations and the classes were of different levels and subjects. In one particular class, I taught general science. It was a class of forty 14 year-olds. About thirty do not have a good grasp of English, two of whom can barely write their names, at least six with serious discipline problems, seven of whom want to learn but can only make it with extra help. Adding even a single student to this large mix is unthinkable. In contrast, when I was teaching in junior college, the students were more able, more mature and relatively motivated. Two hundred 17 year-olds in a lecture theater was not ideal but still doable. In my opinion though, the real learning still took place when they were in their smaller tutorial classes of 20-30 students. I had more time for out of class one-on-one help. At this level and with these category of students, was there a difference between a class of 24 and a class of 30? A definite yes!

When I was teaching, class sizes of 40 was the norm in secondary schools in Singapore (equivalent to middle and high school in the U.S.). I had expected class sizes in the U.S. to be no larger than 25 or at most 30, so it's a surprise to find out that (though I expect rare) some classes are as large as 45 in Kent. Surely it did not get this bad overnight.

If one were to claim there is no difference between a class of 32 and a class of 30, how would a class of 34 and a class of 32 compare? Or a class of 36 and 34? Or 38 and 36? You get the idea. My point is, someone allowed things to get THIS bad.

I have not verified this, but I read that the Superintendent of the Kent School District, who is a Government employee, gets paid more a year($240,000+$833 car stipend) than the Vice President($227,300) of the United States. Assuming this is true, for a salary like that, I would expect problems to be fixed before escalating to this point and in fact, Kent should be expected to progress to nothing less than a top class education system for that salary to be justifiable. It makes me wonder how else educational funds are being (mis)used. It is conceivable that, despite the economic situation, these funds could be better prioritized.

Where I come from, strikes are unheard of. The only means of protest for poor job conditions in teaching, as in most jobs, is to quit. There have been changes made over the years. Efforts were made to improve promotional opportunities and improve salaries for teachers. I think this has really made it more competitive to get into the teaching profession and, as a result, has made it possible to hire better teachers. There are also plans to reduce class sizes, starting with the elementary schools, which is reason to be optimistic about the future of education. Still, too many great teachers had to leave the vocation before the higher-ups took notice.

Though I think the goals of the Kent teacher strike are worthy, I am still unclear if the strike is a justifiable means. Is mass quitting the only other alternative to get the wheels turning in the right direction?