School experiences are one of the few factors that we all have in common. The lives of all Americans are influenced, if not often largely shaped by, our teachers, yet we see example after example of teachers being forced to sacrifice parts of their lives to make the necessary impact that the foundations of society rely upon instead of being rightfully rewarded for their work. The root of the problem is simple: the salaries we provide them with are barely livable.

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Think of the headlines relating to school events from 2018 alone. In February, 20,000 West Virginian teachers went on strike for two weeks demanding a salary increase, successfully adding five percent to their yearly income. This triggered other states including Colorado, Oklahoma, and Arizona to take similar action last spring, organizing effective demonstrations with the same goal. School personnel in North Carolina and Kentucky, although not yet as public and dramatic, are also taking steps to try to correct some of the financial burdens teachers and school staff must live with. Just last week, there were 80,000 students in Washington state whose first days of school were impeded upon by the teacher strikes, again centered around wages. Around the same time, Illinois governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill with the potential to raise the minimum salary of the teachers up to $40,000 in the next five years. The current listed minimum salary for the state is the figure that stands from 1980: $9,000. The fact that this number, although unlikely to be the true salary of any teacher in the state, is legally passable should be shocking to all.

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The treatment of our teachers is disgraceful. Golden Apple Awards and Teacher of the Year nominations do not provide our teachers with housing payments or feed them and their families. They are not enough to draw in new teachers and sustain their livelihood. It is a problem we cannot avoid fixing, and one that we should feel compelled to correct. Teachers reliably work more hours than they are asked, use their personal (already inadequate) reserve of money to buy classroom supplies, and nurture their students which gains them nothing, but gives the students everything.

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These selfless civil servants provide more than we take into consideration; they provide the basis for the way American civilization functions as a whole.  To continue to abuse out teachers would cause a chain reaction that we are not prepared for. If we continue to resist giving our educators the decent, sensible salary that they are so reasonably asking for, we will find ourselves with a disintegrating education system and, for that reason, a struggling country. We must listen to their pleas, support them in every way possible, and act beyond empathy. Had it not been for the teachers in your lives, reading this very article on the campus you stand on would be nearly impossible. Teachers across the nation should be receiving endless thanks and support, but for now, they only accumulate impetus for picketing.