Would you keep your DC home from school to support about-to-strike teachers?

[limabean]

The teachers in my DS's school district may go on strike, and it's been suggested by a group of parents that we all keep our kids home from school tomorrow to show the district that we support the teachers.

Would you keep your DC home or send him/her to school?

[Aka mommy]

Keep them home, absent days cost the district money. Hitting the pocket books seems the only way to get change, sadly. Of course here you'd not be able to say that and you'd have to lie about them being home 'sick' when you call them in or they could slap a truancy on your childs record.

[phathui5]

It would depend on why they were thinking of striking.

[Drummer's Wife]

If I believed in the reasoning behind the strike, I'd have no problem keeping them home.

[eclipse]

Assuming that I supported the strike, I absolutely would.

[stik]

I would keep my kids home if the teachers were actually on strike. I wouldn't do it if the teachers were considering striking but had not yet walked out.

Large numbers of absences affect school funding, and cuts to school funding aren't good for anyone. Also, I am sure the teachers' union is negotiating, and keeping kids out of school to support people who are negotiating to avoid a strike might undermine their efforts, especially if the administration (however wrongly) thinks that teachers were involved in planning a student "walk out."

[PotreroHill]

heck yeah!
opcorn

[Chamomile Girl]

I think that a walkout performed after the teachers were striking would be more effective. Then join 'em on the picketlines for a few minutes!

[lifeguard]

Well, as all the local teacher strikes have been about political stuff I cannot stand behind I certainly would not. Maybe in a different situation.

I must say using the students as pawns like that would really rub me the wrong way though.

[carfreemama]

I voted yes, but as a pp said, I would only keep them home in the event of an actual strike; or if the teachers' union specifically asked parents to do this. Both dh and I are union members/supporters and this actually would be an amazing opportunity for us to teach dd about these kinds of issues. Not that I would be hoping for a strike or anything, but I would probably try to get us involved. FWIW, I don't see it as using children as pawns. I see it as supporting teachers. I pay babysitters really well for two reasons. One, I believe it's the ethical thing to do and two, I believe well-paid caregivers are far more likely to provide excellent care to my child.

I could never cross a picket line for something less than life or death.

[JBaxter]

I would have to believe in why they were striking. At this point if it was a pay increase I would definately say NO. Nearly all my friends ( or DH's) have taken pay decreases to keep their jobs.

[SunshineJ]

No I wouldn't. There are very few types of jobs where I would support people going on strike, and those are only in situations where it would not negatively affect innocent bystanders, and this is not one of those situations. Also, as mentioned by a previous poster, every day that a child is not in school affects the funding of the school, and right now many states (and especially California!) simply can't afford to lose that. I'm the exception in that I didn't pursue a teaching career unlike the rest of my family, so I'm not unsympathetic to people in the educational field, but I do not agree that a teacher's strike is an appropriate action to take.

[One_Girl]

I am homeschooling this semester, but if my dd was in school I would if it was something that would send the district a message and help them avoid a strike. This late in the year the money has already been calculated and handed out so it wouldn't affect the schools that way (they calculate it very early on in the year). I think doing something to prevent a strike is a good thing because I really don't like many of the subs that my district has and I would hate for my dd to wind up with one while a settlement was negotiated. It was bad enough when she had them for a couple days.

[New_Natural_Mom]

I personally don't support teachers on strike. I think it is incredibly entitled. Teachers went on strike at the local college when I was enrolled. I missed 3 weeks of class, that couldn't be made up and had to drop the class. I actually dropped the program b.c I was so disgusted with the teachers. What were they protesting? They were upset b/c they were being asked to start contributing to their health costs. GET OVER IT! This when people in non-education jobs were getting laid off left and right? It smacks of entitlement and an aversion to reality. I couldn't just stop working for 3 weeks b.c I was unhappy with something. They committed to providing an education for these students and should work on contract terms during the summer when the students wouldn't be impacted. Period.

/rant - sorry, I am super anti-union and this just infuriates me.

[limabean]

Originally Posted by One_Girl

I am homeschooling this semester, but if my dd was in school I would if it was something that would send the district a message and help them avoid a strike. This late in the year the money has already been calculated and handed out so it wouldn't affect the schools that way (they calculate it very early on in the year). I think doing something to prevent a strike is a good thing because I really don't like many of the subs that my district has and I would hate for my dd to wind up with one while a settlement was negotiated. It was bad enough when she had them for a couple days.

Thanks for all the replies. The above quote is the idea behind the walkout: to prevent a strike by sending a message to the district that the parents support the teachers.

I don't know, it's a tough decision for me. I was raised to never cross a picket line, but in this case there isn't a picket line yet. And the possible strike is about pay, which I would normally support but as a pp said, I know lots of people who haven't had a raise in several years or have even had to take a pay cut to keep their jobs.

I think the best I can do for today is focus on how it would affect DS. If he were one of only a very few kids attending school today, it might be a strange day for him and he might stand out in his teacher's mind as one of the few who didn't support the teachers. So I think I'll do a drive-by at drop-off time, and if there are only a very few cars then I'll keep him out but otherwise I'll send him. It doesn't feel completely right, but none of the options do.

[To-Fu]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

If I believed in the reasoning behind the strike, I'd have no problem keeping them home.

Same here.

[hildare]

not just yes but HELLZ yes.

[JollyGG]

Originally Posted by phathui5

It would depend on why they were thinking of striking.

This. It would depend on how I felt about the issues that were leading them to consider the strike.

[tinuviel_k]

I would keep my child home:
a. If I supported the cause
b. If it did not cause a financial strain for an adult to be home.

[pauletoy]

I would not support a strike for pay increases. Who in this economy doesn't need a raise? I would do some research and find out if there is actually money available. Our school system is having to cut the budget way back due to a reduction in federal funds. Our school's budget was reduced by $23,000 this year and that will be doubled next year. There is no money.

Now if there is money available and the school board is just refusing raises, then that is another story.