Why Teachers Go On Strike In Pennsylvania

School striking is often caused by the disconnection between the school board and the teachers. This happens due to the inaccessibility of those in charge of changes in teachers’ benefits. By changing the job guidelines of the principal to include the opportunity to increase the wages of teachers, this would reduce the need for striking. Since only 13 states are still allowed to strike and 60 percent of the strikes in the last ten years have been in Pennsylvania, the best solution to school striking is to change the protocol of the principal and make striking illegal in Pennsylvania (Lange). In order for this to be possible, changes would need to occur in the way schools are operated in Pennsylvania. In the article “Why Do Teachers Go on Strike?”, …show more content…
Instead, they normally are in careers associated with a leadership role. This person is not a practical person for the teachers to talk to. They do not realize what these teachers do for their students and often never even see the teachers perform their job functions. They look at test scores and budgets and do not see the students change in the amount of knowledge they have received throughout the year. The teachers’ salary increases are often reflected by the test scores of their students, which does not accurately represent the amount of comprehension or intelligence obtained from year to year. Making the principal the direct boss of the teachers’ salaries would be better for the teachers, which in turn would be better for the students, families, community, and school board. Having the principal be the boss who determines pay would give the teachers an easy person to talk to who is also related to the field they are in, since all principals start off as teachers for at least three years. This also helps the teacher because the principals have already observed the teacher and can determine who is better suited for the …show more content…
Most compromises from both sides do not ever reach what the other side wants. By adding the members of the community and families, including the students that attend the school, this could help the negotiation between the two parties. Having the addition of more parties can better assist in reaching a decision. This would not result in a strike, but a solution with compromises made by every party that would be affected. One person stated that “The community is sort of last to learn that a crisis is brewing because we're not there…” (Sawchuk). This illustrates that most members of the community are not aware of the circumstances happening in the school district. With the people afflicted being involved, they could have a better chance of fixing the adverse reaction caused by the strike. With the families being involved, they can have a say in their education. Having the school board, community, and families involved in the construction of a new contract will ensure that relationships between these parties are not