Oklahoma's governor compared teachers to bratty teens. We should stand with them.

Mark Shrayber
04.05.18

While every school district is different, most of us have at least heard about the many schools in our public education system that are just not doing well.

Materials are out of date, there aren't enough resources for every student, and teachers, who are already overworked — no, they don't really get summers off — aren't getting paid enough. In fact, as the National Education Association points out, teachers can actually earn less pay each year as the requirements for their job become more and more daunting. That's why so many of them have second jobs.

That's not all: Teachers often have to pay out of pocket for required ongoing training and dip into their own bank accounts (or turn to GoFundMe or Donors Choose) to source crucial classroom supplies. On top of all that, they are often expected to be not just instructors but counselors, de facto parents, and confidantes for many of their students.

A protester at the state capitol in Oklahoma. Photo by J Pat Carter/AFP/Getty Images.

All that and no living wage? It'd be enough to make most people walk out of their job.

That's why the teachers strike in Oklahoma is so important. But the teachers aren't just striking for themselves. Although Gov. Mary Fallin signed a measure that would give teachers an annual pay raise of around $6,100 (they had asked for $10,000, and $5,000 for support staff), educators abandoned their classrooms this week to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves: the students.

According to CNN, Oklahoma has seen school funding drop by 28% over the past decade, leading to unthinkable class sizes (one special education classroom, a teacher said, had reached 40 students), textbooks that are embarrassingly out of date, and harsh limits on even the smallest items — with some schools being limited to making only 30 paper copies per week. And that's at the heart of what educators are fighting for: More funding for their schools — aka a brighter future for students.  

What does Gov. Fallin think of all this? She compared the instructors to "bratty teens."

Speaking to CBS on April 3, Fallin basically compared the educators' protest to something you might see on an old episode of that show about spoiled teens, "My Super Sweet 16." You know, where a kid has a meltdown because their parents gave them their Lexus too early.

"Teachers want more," Fallin said, "but it's like kind of having a teenage kid that wants a better car."

Yes, except for the fact that a "better car" is something one wants, while a strong educational foundation is something that children absolutely need.

A student at the state capitol during the teachers' walkout in Oklahoma. ​Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images​.

And it's even less of a pertinent talking point when you realize that before Fallin approved this raise, Oklahoma teachers hadn't had one for 10 years.   Or when you consider that Oklahoma ranks at 49 in the nation when it comes to teacher salaries, even though median wages in other professions in the state aren't so far behind.

One teacher did the math on her wages and found that her salary broke down to just about $12 an hour. As the BBC video below shows, one teacher has only 29 books for more than 80 students. There are no art classes. No nurses. In some districts, children only go to school four days a week.

The reality for teachers in Oklahoma is grim.

"Our students don't have BOOKS, guys," educator Beth Wallis wrote in a now-viral Facebook post. "Our classrooms are sitting 30 deep and my district has it MADE compared to any of the major public schools in the state (40-50 students per class). We had over 1,800 emergency certifications this last year in the state. You think your kids are being taught by the most qualified, experienced teachers? They're gone. The few of us who've stayed behind do it ONLY for the kids."

That's why we need to stand with both the teachers and students in Oklahoma.

First of all, these teachers aren't being bratty when they demand more support for their students and for themselves. And Fallin's dig at teens doesn't reflect reality either. After all, America's teens are currently at the forefront of a national conversation on gun control.

‌The bottom line is this: Teachers deserve better than they're getting. And so do the students.

They deserve up to date books, engaging learning materials, and instructors who are fairly paid, if still overworked (it's unlikely that will ever change). When the next generation is better educated than the last, we all win.

Until we move closer to that solution, though, we shouldn't malign teachers as bratty teens for leaving their classrooms empty. We should champion for the changes they're working so hard to create.

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Florida city forecloses on man's home after fining him $30,000 for not mowing his lawn.

Youtube

Should a man lose his home because the grass in his yard grew higher than 10 inches? The city of Dunedin, Florida seems to think so.

According to the Institute of Justice, which is representing Jim Ficken, he had a very good reason for not mowing his lawn – and tried to rectify the situation as best he could.

In 2014, Jim's mom became ill and he visited her often in South Carolina to help her out. When he was away, his grass grew too long and he was cited by a code office; he cut the grass and wasn't fined.

France has started forcing supermarkets to donate food instead of throwing it away.

But several years later, this one infraction would come back to haunt him after he left to take care of him's mom's affairs after she died. The arrangements he made to have his grass cut fell through (his friend who he asked to help him out passed away unexpectedly) and that set off a chain reaction that may result in him losing his home.

The 69-year-old retiree now faces a $29,833.50 fine plus interest. Watch the video to find out just what Jim is having to deal with.

Mow Your Lawn or Lose Your House! www.youtube.com

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Michelle Obama named 'most admired woman in the world,' because of course she is.

The world can't get enough Michelle.

Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

The world officially loves Michelle Obama.

The former first lady has overtaken the number one spot in a poll of the world's most admired women. Conducted by online research firm YouGov, the study uses international polling tools to survey people in countries around the world about who they most admire.

In the men's category, Bill Gates took the top spot, followed by Barack Obama and Jackie Chan.

In the women's category, Michelle Obama came first, followed by Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie. Obama pushed Jolie out of the number one spot she claimed last year.

Unsurprising, really, because what's not to love about Michelle Obama? She is smart, kind, funny, accomplished, a great dancer, a devoted wife and mother, and an all-around, genuinely good person.

She has remained dignified and strong in the face of rabid masses of so-called Americans who spent eight years and beyond insisting that she's a man disguised as a woman. She's endured non-stop racist memes and terrifying threats to her family. She has received far more than her fair share of cruelty, and always takes the high road. She's the one who coined, "When they go low, we go high," after all.

She came from humble beginnings and remains down to earth despite becoming a familiar face around the world. She's not much older than me, but I still want to be like Michelle Obama when I grow up.

Her memoir, Becoming, may end up being the best-selling memoir of all time, having already sold 10 million copies—a clear sign that people can't get enough Michelle, because there's no such thing as too much Michelle.

Don't like Michelle Obama? Don't care. Those of us who love her will fly our MO flags high and without apology, paying no mind to folks with cold, dead hearts who don't know a gem of a human being when they see one. There is nothing any hater can say or do to make us admire this undeniably admirable woman any less.

When it seems like the world has lost its mind—which is how it feels most days these days—I'm just going to keep coming back to this study as evidence that hope for humanity is not lost.

Here. Enjoy some real-life Michelle on Jimmy Kimmel. (GAH. WHY IS SHE SO CUTE AND AWESOME. I can't even handle it.)

Michelle & Barack Obama are Boring Now www.youtube.com

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France has started forcing supermarkets to donate food instead of throwing it away.

via EarthFix / Flickr

What will future generations never believe that we tolerated in 2019?

Dolphin and orca captivity, for sure. They'll probably shake their heads at how people died because they couldn't afford healthcare. And, they'll be completely mystified at the amount of food some people waste while others go starving.

According to Biological Diversity, "An estimated 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is wasted every year, costing households, businesses and farms about $218 billion annually."

There are so many things wrong with this.

First of all it's a waste of money for the households who throw out good food. Second, it's a waste of all of the resources that went into growing the food, including the animals who gave their lives for the meal. Third, there's something very wrong with throwing out food when one in eight Americans struggle with hunger.

Supermarkets are just as guilty of this unnecessary waste as consumers. About 10% of all food waste are supermarket products thrown out before they've reached their expiration date.

Three years ago, France took big steps to combat food waste by making a law that bans grocery stores from throwing away edible food.According to the new ordinance, stores can be fined for up to $4,500 for each infraction.

Previously, the French threw out 7.1 million tons of food. Sixty-seven percent of which was tossed by consumers, 15% by restaurants, and 11% by grocery stores.

This has created a network of over 5,000 charities that accept the food from supermarkets and donate them to charity. The law also struck down agreements between supermarkets and manufacturers that prohibited the stores from donating food to charities.

"There was one food manufacturer that was not authorized to donate the sandwiches it made for a particular supermarket brand. But now, we get 30,000 sandwiches a month from them — sandwiches that used to be thrown away," Jacques Bailet, head of the French network of food banks known as Banques Alimentaires, told NPR.

It's expected that similar laws may spread through Europe, but people are a lot less confident at it happening in the United States. The USDA believes that the biggest barrier to such a program would be cost to the charities and or supermarkets.

"The logistics of getting safe, wholesome, edible food from anywhere to people that can use it is really difficult," the organization said according to Gizmodo. "If you're having to set up a really expensive system to recover marginal amounts of food, that's not good for anybody."

Plus, the idea may seem a little too "socialist" for the average American's appetite.

"The French version is quite socialist, but I would say in a great way because you're providing a way where they [supermarkets] have to do the beneficial things not only for the environment, but from an ethical standpoint of getting healthy food to those who need it and minimizing some of the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that come when food ends up in a landfill," Jonathan Bloom, the author of American Wasteland, told NPR.

However, just because something may be socialist doesn't mean it's wrong. The greater wrong is the insane waste of money, damage to the environment, and devastation caused by hunger that can easily be avoided.

Planet

Single dad asks his daughters for fashion advice before a date and strangers on social media responded with some helpful suggestions.

The world is dark and full of terrors, but every once in a while it graces us with something to warm our icy-cold hearts. And that is what we have today, with a single dad who went viral on Twitter after his daughter posted the photos he sent her when trying to pick out and outfit for his date. You love to see it.




After seeing these heartwarming pics, people on Twitter started suggesting this adorable man date their moms. It was essentially a mom and date matchmaking frenzy.

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