NAACP Fellow for Equity, Access and Opportunity, Dr. Ashley L. White, Released the Following Statement on Teacher Appreciation Week:
The NAACP joins organizations like the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers to celebrate National Teacher Day on Tuesday and Teacher Appreciation Week. During this time, many educators experience early hours, late days, testing, and the overflow of paperwork due at the end of the year. I served as a classroom teacher for over a decade. While I appreciated school- and district-efforts to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, I really wanted the opportunity to quit my second job, make a decent living wage, and instruct in a way that best supported my students.
The current pandemic has foregrounded the importance of teachers and the profession at large. Still, teachers have yet to receive the monetary or professional recognition that matches the value of their work and its impact. Through thoughtful legislative priorities and initiatives, our nation can honor teachers in a way that surpasses stale rhetoric and recognizes their unprecedented contribution to educational sustainability during the pandemic.
More than 40% of experienced teachers are currently saddled with student debt. Approximately 20% of public-school educators also hold jobs outside of their teaching position, making teachers about three times more likely as other U.S employees to work more than one job. Additionally, first year teachers are more likely to hold second jobs than more experienced educators, a testament to subpar wages. As the NAACP continues to push for the cancellation of student debt at a minimum of $50,000.00, it is clear that educators would greatly benefit from this relief. Not only would loan forgiveness demonstrate the kind of appreciation that current educators are seeking, it would reinvigorate one of our nation's most essential professions by creating more financial freedom for educators.
As we fight for the kind of teacher appreciation that will substantially benefit educators throughout the country and uplift the profession, the NAACP invites you to join in its current 50K & BEYOND campaign; support increased pay for teachers and funding for education at local, state, and federal levels; and unite toward the continuous support of teachers during this most unprecedented time in our nation's history.