Parents and Teachers Are Natural Allies
The oppression of parents has become painfully clear during COVID-19. We parents have been put in an absolutely impossible situation. We have to make a living doing a paid job and at the same time do the unpaid job of taking care of our children.
Capitalism puts little or no value on the work of caring for human beings. It is perhaps the most valuable work in society, but caring for human beings doesn’t make profits.
In most countries, parents are paid nothing for doing the job we do, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Yes, we may love the job, but it is nevertheless an enormous job. At the same time, people who produce weapons, or executives in the fossil fuel industries, who hurt our earth and hurt human beings and all living things, are paid enormous amounts of money.
There are additional people who have jobs taking care of humans. Examples include daycare workers, people who work in nursing homes, school bus drivers, school cafeteria workers, and school janitors. They are paid very low wages.
Teachers in schools get paid a little more, but not much more. In some places in the United States teachers have second jobs so they can support their families.
Teachers and parents are natural allies. They both care for and teach young people. There are many examples of teachers and parents standing up for each other. For example, about two years ago teachers went on strike in many states in the United States, and parents stood with them. Thousands of parents demonstrated with the teachers.
Right now, because of COVID, parents are in impossible situations. They are desperate to send their children to school so they can work at another job that pays money. At the same time, teachers do not want to be exposed to COVID, so they may object to opening schools even though many of them miss their work and miss the young people. This ends up with parents and teachers being angry with each other and blaming each other for what many believe is an unsolvable problem.
This problem could be solved if parents were paid to stay home with their children rather than going to their paid jobs. Teachers would not be forced to risk their health by going to school. Teachers who are not parents could work from their homes and be paid. Teachers and parents could work together to do some remote education, although it does not have to be done according to the factory-like production that schools have been forced into. Also, the time is ripe for a movement of parents, teachers, and others to change everything.
I’d love to hear what others think about this.
Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of parents
(Present Time 202, January 2021)