Teachers in Oklahoma recently went on strike to protest their low wages and insufficient classroom funding. They initially demanded a $10,000 increase in pay over the next three years and an additional $200 million in classroom funding to go towards textbooks, technology, and other learning aids. It sounds like a lot of money when considering the whole number, but $200 million divided by the 41,775 public school teachers in Oklahoma amounts to about $4,700 per teacher; when the $200 million is divided by the approximate 670,000 public school students, it amounts to about $300 per student. As you can see, there’s a bigger picture at play here than teachers asking for a pay raise.

And it’s not like they shouldn’t be asking for one. Teachers make up one of the most important functions of society–education–and without them, our country wouldn’t have grown half as much as it has since its birth. It has been well-established that universal access to public education is one of the great equalizers of man, and one of the very tenets on which free democracy rests.

Now, the education system in the United States is far from perfect, and it is a bit of a stretch to even say that it treats all students equally, but that isn’t the fault of the teachers. Teachers don’t make the decisions that go into zoning, local property tax laws, and allocation of public funds for schools; that is the job of the government and our elected officials. The major decision that teachers make is how they will teach complex lessons about the world to their students with the limited resources they have.

We don’t usually appreciate how difficult of a task this may be. As students in Frisco ISD, we are surrounded by state-of-the-art facilities dedicated solely to the task of making us informed, competent people. Most of our teachers don’t simply hand us packets and expect us to learn a topic by ourselves; they take the time to engage us in the subject matter so that we see learning as an adventure instead of a chore.

Our administration actually addresses the underlying mental health issues involved in drug and alcohol abuse and dedicates time to teaching us about depression, anxiety, and suicide instead of just chalking up our problems to teenage angst. We are given ample opportunities to engage in high level subject matter and learn outside the classroom. It is easy to take for granted all that we have when we suffer some small, insignificant injustice like having to take two tests in one day. Personally, I know I could do better in appreciating the phenomenal support system I’ve had throughout my public school experience.

So, to all the teachers who marched in Oklahoma because they felt it was time the government appreciated the crucial role they play in the future of America, I salute your courage and your tenacity. And to all the teachers who’ve done exponentially more for me than simply grading my papers and assigning exams, thank you for your guidance. I know us students don’t normally take the time to really thank our teachers for all they’ve done, but rest assured our appreciation is coded into every instance we fall back on the wisdom you’ve imparted onto us.