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Post by monklady123 on Oct 19, 2017 19:55:36 GMT
e But who's there keeping an eye on the subs? Isn't it really easy to become a sub? You'd think that the school board wouldn't allow unsupervised subs to watch the kids--if for no other reason than their liability insurance underwriter would have a cow. Wow! As a sub, I'm pretty offended by this statement. In my district, subs are educators with teaching degrees and we are fully capable of working without someone "keeping an eye" on us. However, school would be closed if the teachers went on strike (and I wouldn't cross their picket line anyway). And as a sub I wasn't at all offended. It seems to vary from district to district as to what the requirements are. Here we have a HUGE shortage of subs. It's so bad that teachers have had to cancel trainings and workshops because they can't get a sub. Our district requires 2 years of college to be a sub for assistants, and a college degree to be a sub for a full teacher (or resource teacher such as reading specialists, or for ESOL/HILT teachers...basically anyone who isn't classified as "assistant"). You fill out an application, have a background check, have a two-hour workshop on various details, and off you go as a sub.
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Post by pondrunner on Oct 19, 2017 19:55:48 GMT
What an impact to two income families for there to be no class and no supervision for their kids during a strike... and what a loss of learning time. I have never worked for a district that went on strike but I work for a district that has frozen raises for some years now and I suppose it could happen.
I see a substantial portion of the kids in my cluster needing to go to school whether there's a sub or whether it's the janitor keeping the kids from tying each other up in the gym, because, their parents need their daytime routine to be in place. I am not quite in that position but would probably host learning play dates with my kids and their friends who need somewhere to go during the day.
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Post by pondrunner on Oct 19, 2017 19:58:10 GMT
I would send them. The labor concerns are between the teachers and the admin. I pay a lot of school taxes and expect that accommodations would be made. And I have no issues crossing a picket line. If those picketing cannot act like adults then any improper behavior lessens their bargaining position, IMHO. In NYS we have the Taylor law which prohibits strikes by public employees. Of course the idiot Union President for the City of Bflo schools has ignored that in the past and been jailed. TG I am NOT in that shitty district. My reasons for not wanting to cross a picket line have nothing to do with a fear that there will be any kind of non-adult trouble (whatever you meant by that exactly). My reason is because I want to support the workers who are on strike. Most unions don't just go on strike for trivial reasons, so I support them by not crossing their picket line. It might mean keeping my kids home, or shopping at another grocery store, or whatever. I would just be concerned that there are a lot of parents who can't keep their kids home in solidarity. I get not wanting to cross the picket line but that's not going to be possible for a lot of families.
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Deleted
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Apr 29, 2024 14:10:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2017 20:31:59 GMT
Question : Why does support of the teachers trump my kid's right to be educated? Again I don't believe in strikes and live in a state where contracts that have expired stay in place until an new agreement is reached. It is against the law for public employees to strike in NYS. Strikes disrupt many for the alleged benefit of few. Have a rally after school or at a school board meeting. Not reporting to work and disrupting kids education - and disrupting families who have to scramble for care - does not warrant support in my opinion. But a strike isn't just about a few.. it is about ALL the teachers/staff in the district. If parents and lawmakers won't address the teacher's concerns about class size, poorly maintained facilities, lagging pay or whatever the issue is You can bet it DOES affect your child in the long run and the teachers don't have a way to get anyone to pay attention to the issue until parents are inconvenienced in having to find child care in the middle of the school year.
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Post by 950nancy on Oct 19, 2017 21:39:40 GMT
So if teachers and support staff are on strike, AND school is open, who is watching/teaching the kids? In our area they have substitutes. Not sure how other areas work.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 0:59:51 GMT
My college went on strike. In a union town. My husband's family is all union. No way we would have crossed a picket line. BUT There were still classes and Fortunately there were many different ways to get on campus.
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979
Jun 27, 2014 18:32:45 GMT
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Post by tduby1 on Oct 20, 2017 1:07:36 GMT
I think some parents miss the meaning of what it means to send the child to school during a strike. You are having your child cross a picket line which means YOUR child/family does not support the cause the teachers are striking about. Usually it means the teachers are working without a contract in place but it can be other things. Don't focus on the excused/unexcused absence. There are bigger issues in play here. Instead, focus on what the strike is about and decide if you support the teacher's reasons so you won't allow your child to cross a picket line, or you don't support the teachers so your family will cross the picket line. This. Unless the teachers had really ridiculous reasons to strike (which I doubt) my kids would NOT be crossing that picket line. In fact, it is likely we would take the kids out to talk with the picketers, hear their issues first hand and then picket with them and it would not be the first time my kids have hit the picket line either.
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979
Jun 27, 2014 18:32:45 GMT
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Post by tduby1 on Oct 20, 2017 1:12:04 GMT
e But who's there keeping an eye on the subs? Isn't it really easy to become a sub? You'd think that the school board wouldn't allow unsupervised subs to watch the kids--if for no other reason than their liability insurance underwriter would have a cow. Wow! As a sub, I'm pretty offended by this statement. In my district, subs are educators with teaching degrees and we are fully capable of working without someone "keeping an eye" on us. However, school would be closed if the teachers went on strike (and I wouldn't cross their picket line anyway). Here you only need an associates in something- anything. I wouldn't be thrilled with a school full of untrained subs. So I wouldn't be offended it may be the same where the poster is from.
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979
Jun 27, 2014 18:32:45 GMT
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Post by tduby1 on Oct 20, 2017 1:13:19 GMT
The reason I’m asking is because my daughters district is set to be on strike starting tomorrow with both teachers and support staff being out. I'm a teacher is a different district so my thoughts are that I will send her to school. The school may or may not be open. If it's open, i feel she needs to be there. I've been chatting with other parents on Facebook and it seems to be the general consensus that kids will not be attending school. Just curious what the prevailing thoughts are from other people. As a teacher, you are thinking of sending your kid across a picket line of other teachers?
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Post by dualmaestra on Oct 20, 2017 3:42:23 GMT
Went through a strike in high school. We all just sat around and socialized all day, watched movies in some classes etc. There is no way they have enough subs to cover all the teachers that will be out.
Your children more than likely will not be getting anything educational. When I am out, I plan for it, I leave all the lesson plans and materials ready to go for the sub. It actually takes me longer to get ready for a sub than if I just show up the next day.
I do not think that the teachers who are striking will be leaving lesson plans.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 3:58:51 GMT
My college went on strike. In a union town. My husband's family is all union. No way we would have crossed a picket line. BUT There were still classes and Fortunately there were many different ways to get on campus. Even if you don't walk through the actual physical picket line, by going around a different way so you can participate in the status quo, your dh still crossed a picket line.. an invisible one but one that told the admin that not all students supported the picketer's cause; the students in class were more concerned about things staying as they were so they (the students) weren't disrupted than having things change. I'm sort of surprised his pro-union family didn't explain that concept to him.
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Post by hop2 on Oct 20, 2017 4:13:21 GMT
eWow! As a sub, I'm pretty offended by this statement. In my district, subs are educators with teaching degrees and we are fully capable of working without someone "keeping an eye" on us. However, school would be closed if the teachers went on strike (and I wouldn't cross their picket line anyway). And as a sub I wasn't at all offended. It seems to vary from district to district as to what the requirements are. Here we have a HUGE shortage of subs. It's so bad that teachers have had to cancel trainings and workshops because they can't get a sub. Our district requires 2 years of college to be a sub for assistants, and a college degree to be a sub for a full teacher (or resource teacher such as reading specialists, or for ESOL/HILT teachers...basically anyone who isn't classified as "assistant"). You fill out an application, have a background check, have a two-hour workshop on various details, and off you go as a sub. Technically here the only requirements to be a sub is a clean back ground check and be over 21 & awake. But despite the lack of requirements most of our subs are qualified teachers. As for the OP - no strikes here. If there were it would depend on the situation. We’re my kids comfortable with it. What grade mine were in. What afterschool activities there were. Can’t say for sure what i’d Do.
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Deleted
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Apr 29, 2024 14:10:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 4:14:32 GMT
My college went on strike. In a union town. My husband's family is all union. No way we would have crossed a picket line. BUT There were still classes and Fortunately there were many different ways to get on campus. Even if you don't walk through the actual physical picket line, by going around a different way so you can participate in the status quo, your dh still crossed a picket line.. an invisible one but one that told the admin that not all students supported the picketer's cause; the students in class were more concerned about things staying as they were so they (the students) weren't disrupted than having things change. I'm sort of surprised his pro-union family didn't explain that concept to him. It wasn't the faculty on strike. Classes were still held. Professors took attendance. Yes the students held to the status quo and went classes they were paying for.
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
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Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Oct 20, 2017 4:29:54 GMT
The reason I’m asking is because my daughters district is set to be on strike starting tomorrow with both teachers and support staff being out. I'm a teacher is a different district so my thoughts are that I will send her to school. The school may or may not be open. If it's open, i feel she needs to be there. I've been chatting with other parents on Facebook and it seems to be the general consensus that kids will not be attending school. Just curious what the prevailing thoughts are from other people. As a teacher, you are thinking of sending your kid across a picket line of other teachers? Yes, simply because my child’s job is to go to school. What the adults are doing should not impact my child. I am friends with quite a few teachers from the district that is striking, they told me that it doesn't matter to them either way. One way, the district is penalized financially which doesn't really help with the bargaining in this case. The other way, the district is inundated by tons of kids and little to no adults to supervise.
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
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Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Oct 20, 2017 4:38:29 GMT
So, here's the backstory on how we got to this point....l the district has been building their reserves (over 10% at this point) while receiving money for class size reduction at k-3 to have classes at 24:1. The district has been running classes at 30:1 while receiving this money and building reserves. The contract they are bargaining right now is for LAST school year. So, this is the 2nd year of working without a contract. The district is in CA (don't know if it really matters much). The district is not claiming inability to pay. Independent state fact finding (who usually finds in favor of the district) came in and checked out all the info and said that the district should get k-3 down to 24:1 AND give the teachers a 6.5% pay raise retro to last school year. It was non binding so the district chose to say no thank you. The teachers have been bargaining and the district refuses to budge on the class sizes (they've got the state teacher association on them now for not using the money as it was intended and they COULD have to pay it back!) and keeps coming back with the same "accept 2% or go away with nothing”. Basically a slap in the face to the hard working teachers.
When I was a sub, I would never cross a picket line.
If my district were to strike, I would never cross a picket line,
When I was a kid, my dad was teaching in the district I attended school in. There was a strike, we went to school and dad walked the line.
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tracylynn
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,861
Jun 26, 2014 22:49:09 GMT
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Post by tracylynn on Oct 20, 2017 5:54:18 GMT
would you keep your kid home or send them to school if there was a teacher strike? It would depend on what the school's plans were. Will there be enough PREPARED subs to hold classes of educational value, or barely enough subs to control student chaos? My kids went through a teacher's strike. THe school was officially open so they could count it as an educational day; but they didn't have enough subs to really have class, just baby sit, as the subs weren't eager to cross the picket line. I wasn't about to send my kids just to have them sit in an overcrowded room with inadequate supervision, little to do and a potentially volatile political event happening on the school lawn. The school pretty much ignored the student's absences and didn't hold it against the students when the strike was ended. That was my question, would subs cross a picket line? I would hope not to be honest. I wouldn't send my kids because I wouldn't want them to cross a picket line. But that's me.
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Post by miominmio on Oct 20, 2017 7:26:24 GMT
Whenever there is a strike, the school can't use a sub instead, that would be illegal. Mostly, the unions will pick a few teachers in each school so that the kids can attend most classes. And I still fondly remember the year I finished vgs, when teachers refused extra work related to the final exams. Instead of 5 exams, I only had to suffer through 2 (always did well, but I was soooo nervous, I'm sure my parents were grateful for the strike as well).
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Post by phoenixcov on Oct 20, 2017 9:35:37 GMT
I would never cross a picket line myself therefore would not send my child to do so.
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Deleted
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Apr 29, 2024 14:10:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 15:21:01 GMT
Yes, simply because my child’s job is to go to school. What the adults are doing should not impact my child. This. I have no issue crossing a picket line. I pass two union grocery stores to shop at a non union one. Not a union household. I do not expect that the public get involved in my employment issues and I will not get involved in the teachers employment issues. Regarding class size and the funding - I would go to the press and the state board of ed. Shine a light on it. Make some noise that way. I wouldn't walk out of my job.
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Post by Belia on Oct 20, 2017 16:28:52 GMT
So, here's the backstory on how we got to this point....l the district has been building their reserves (over 10% at this point) while receiving money for class size reduction at k-3 to have classes at 24:1. The district has been running classes at 30:1 while receiving this money and building reserves. The contract they are bargaining right now is for LAST school year. So, this is the 2nd year of working without a contract. The district is in CA (don't know if it really matters much). The district is not claiming inability to pay. Independent state fact finding (who usually finds in favor of the district) came in and checked out all the info and said that the district should get k-3 down to 24:1 AND give the teachers a 6.5% pay raise retro to last school year. It was non binding so the district chose to say no thank you. The teachers have been bargaining and the district refuses to budge on the class sizes (they've got the state teacher association on them now for not using the money as it was intended and they COULD have to pay it back!) and keeps coming back with the same "accept 2% or go away with nothing”. Basically a slap in the face to the hard working teachers. When I was a sub, I would never cross a picket line. If my district were to strike, I would never cross a picket line, When I was a kid, my dad was teaching in the district I attended school in. There was a strike, we went to school and dad walked the line. Based on this backstory I am completely perplexed as to why you would not be supporting the strike. And I'm sorry, but if you send your child to school during a strike you are siding against the teachers.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Oct 20, 2017 16:44:41 GMT
If your child is of an appropriate age I would ask them what they feel like is the right thing to do. Our high school kids organized a walk out last year in support of their teachers. There were a lot of contract issues and teachers were picketing after school. One of my children chose to walk out in support and receive the punishment that came with it and one of my children chose not to. Both were well reasoned.
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Post by gypsymama on Oct 20, 2017 17:24:44 GMT
i live in ny and was unaware we couldn't strike, no wonder we have such a shitty contract (aide here)... i knew in tx we couldn't. anyway, i would support a strike, keep my kids home, babysit my kids friends, whatever i needed and when i was subbing i wouldn't have worked.
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Post by Merge on Oct 20, 2017 18:05:41 GMT
We can’t strike in TX. I can guarantee you that neither the district nor the legislature gives a crap about our “shining a light” on enormous class sizes. Many teachers “strike” by simply quitting, or moving to a district or school with reasonable class sizes. Which means that those with large classes are perpetually under staffed, and that leads to even larger classes.
Striking sounds like a good idea if it works.
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Post by angel97701 on Oct 20, 2017 18:23:32 GMT
I worked for Portland Public when we voted to go on strike, it was in the early 90's. We had worked a year without a contract, insurance issues, pay etc were all part of the negotiations. It even made the national comics as Doonesbury did a series of panels about the experience. At the last minute our union along with the City of PDX avoided the strike and teachers worked 10 days for FREE! (Many of us used our sub days though.) Other districts in the state cut the school year short (state was low on money), and lost a month's worth of salary. It was one of the hardest years I had as a classroom teacher. The students were upset, parents were upset, teachers were uncertain. I even checked in with my union to see if going out-of-state and being a ski instructor for a month would be considered Okay. (It was, just not subbing or teaching elsewhere while on strike.) In the end it did work out . . . but was a very stressful.
Now I am a sub (still in Oregon), and here we must hold a teaching certificate to sub, not just be a breathing body over 21. I teach classes for some of my teachers on a regular basis, it is a lot less boring that way! Each state is different, and I am glad to be in Oregon as I know my kids will get an education when a sub is in the room.
I would not let my kids cross a picket line, and would keep them home. Teachers ONLY go out on strike when there is no other option. We do not make a ton of money and often use our own money to supply our classrooms and enrich the education of our students. I would support the teachers.
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Country Ham
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,313
Jun 25, 2014 19:32:08 GMT
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Post by Country Ham on Oct 20, 2017 18:33:26 GMT
My college went on strike. In a union town. My husband's family is all union. No way we would have crossed a picket line. BUT There were still classes and Fortunately there were many different ways to get on campus. Even if you don't walk through the actual physical picket line, by going around a different way so you can participate in the status quo, your dh still crossed a picket line.. an invisible one but one that told the admin that not all students supported the picketer's cause; the students in class were more concerned about things staying as they were so they (the students) weren't disrupted than having things change. I'm sort of surprised his pro-union family didn't explain that concept to him. Perhaps they didn't. It really is OK to think things do not need to change. Not everyone will agree with the demands of striking workers. Once in all my years of working as an RN did we take a strike vote (this was back when I worked in Canada) and I voted against it. Unfortunately it was voted yes. I was really OK with my salary and benefits. I thought it was greedy at the time to ask for more just because our contract was up. I was a designated worker as I was an ICU nurse. At the last second a contract was reached. No strike. I do remember a teacher's strike when I was in 6th grade. I grew up in a small town where kids walked to school and there was no busses. It was that small. Most of the students showed up stayed outside with the teachers and marched with them. If you asked what we were standing up for I am sure we didn't really know. I don't really know of many unions around here in my part of the US. They certainly do not have the collective power that they did where I lived back in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada.
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Post by sunraynnc on Oct 20, 2017 21:36:39 GMT
I'm sorry you live in a state where teachers can unionize and strike. Teacher unions are all about the teachers, NOT education.
I've lived and taught in non-union and union states. Any wages I gained in the union were taken in taxes. I'm sorry I was intimidated by the union rep sitting in my classroom to join.
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Post by christine58 on Oct 20, 2017 22:05:16 GMT
i live in ny and was unaware we couldn't strike, no wonder we have such a shitty contract (aide here)... i knew in tx we couldn't. anyway, i would support a strike, keep my kids home, babysit my kids friends, whatever i needed and when i was subbing i wouldn't have worked. Oh we could strike..but you lose two days pay for everyday on strike. Teacher unions are all about the teachers, NOT education BULLSHIT I was our Teachers' Union president for 10 years. We fought for kids...for smaller class size, for less testing, for a lot of things that impact kids every single day. We fought to get rid of asshole administrators that treated kids horribly...along with their staff.
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Post by sunraynnc on Oct 20, 2017 22:22:53 GMT
i live in ny and was unaware we couldn't strike, no wonder we have such a shitty contract (aide here)... i knew in tx we couldn't. anyway, i would support a strike, keep my kids home, babysit my kids friends, whatever i needed and when i was subbing i wouldn't have worked. Oh we could strike..but you lose two days pay for everyday on strike. Teacher unions are all about the teachers, NOT education BULLSHIT I was our Teachers' Union president for 10 years. We fought for kids...for smaller class size, for less testing, for a lot of things that impact kids every single day. We fought to get rid of asshole administrators that treated kids horribly...along with their staff. I'm sorry you had to fight for children to be treated well. Were the administrators & their staff members of the union? That's a problem. In my experience, the union was 99% about teacher pay & their conditions. The gains I made in pay were gobbled up in higher taxes. My coworkers sent their children to private school. I was asked to leave the building at 3:20 because of our Contract. An alcoholic teacher was protected even though she spent most of the day in the rest room. I was reprimanded for putting something on a bulletin board that wasn't mine (even though it remained blank the whole year). We could probably match story for story, but teachers don't punch a time clock and shouldn't strike. (BTW, professionals shouldn't be in a union.)
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Post by christine58 on Oct 20, 2017 23:05:39 GMT
Were the administrators & their staff members of the union? No..but we had a great superintendent who listened to us about those admins and let a few go. Our Union was and is involved in the community, we give and participate in local fundraising events etc. We are so much more than about pay etc.
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Post by maryland on Oct 20, 2017 23:40:48 GMT
The schools were closed so you didn't have the opportunity to go to school. We had a 5 week teacher strike in Pgh. area school district 10 yrs. ago. It was the month of Oct. and part of Nov. My kids were in 3rd and 5th grade, so it was nothing compared to how awful it was for the seniors (no transcripts sent, no college recommendations, not well prepared for the AP exams in May as they were behind, etc.). No strikes since then. Many of the teachers didn't like it either. Instead of getting out June 1st, we got out June 28th. Many families go on vacation in June in our area, so the kids just missed school for scheduled vacations. Although we were very upset about the strike, we did love the teachers, so we took them cookie and vegetable trays while they were on the picket line.
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