Thousands of Denver teachers are on strike, and students are joining them - Joziah German

Denver teachers sacrificed their pay Monday morning going on strike about their salaries. The teachers proclaimed they wanted higher, stable salaries since their school districts would inconsistently try and cover low pay bases with unpredictable bonuses. Kelsey Brown, a teacher for 9 years now, said her bonuses were so erratic, that she made more money two years ago than she does today. The cost of living is also rising in Denver forcing some teachers to work extra jobs. Teachers were irritable for 15 months, arguing with school districts, but they reached a point of dropping their classrooms and marching."We're hoping for a quick solution to this whole thing," DCTA lead negotiator Rob Gould said Monday. "We're hoping (school district officials) come to the table tomorrow ready to listen so we can get back to work. Because our teachers want to be in the classrooms with their kids." Denver Public Schools held their ground. They offered $23 million in new funds next year to teachers base salaries, raising them almost $6,000 dollars. Also, $55 million over the next three years in total investment, and another $2 million invested in specialized staff members. Despite the strike, DPS wants students to still go to school this week, and that all of them will be running normal schedules. About 56% of teachers went to the strike in Denver, leaving 92,000 students without any idea where their teacher is. Since teachers aren't getting paid while on strike, not every teacher who wants to strike can do so. These teacher strikes show educators sacrifice they are willing to make.

This article created by Holly Yan was published the day of the strike. The information in the article was fresh from the events and what was occurring Monday. I had some prior knowledge about some teachers going on strike in California but did not know about what was going on with them in Denver. This article reminds me of the Steel Mill Strike that occurred in the 1920s because it was a strike that involved higher wages like the teachers in Denver. Both were looking for recognition, and an answer to their problems. The Steel Mill Strike has to do with the money workers made for how much they were doing, connecting with teachers who are working their butts off for children's future. This article is targetted for teachers and students/families all across the U.S. to recognize the seriousness of this issue. This article was written to describe why teachers in Denver are going on strike, and why they are just leaving their students in the classroom alone without assistance during this time. This article is important because it's about teachers, the educators for future societies. Without teachers, how is the nation supposed to sustain itself if it can't trust the children it's raising. A conclusion needs to be drawn from this strike because kids are going without an education, and teachers are wanting to quit their jobs, which could potentially ruin our future.  

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/11/us/denver-teachers-strike/index.html