It’s been an interesting senior year so far. I went to my first teacher rally a little over a month ago, and my friend and I were the only students there. We picked up some signs and followed an army of Marblehead Education Association banners down to the Humphrey-Lafayette intersection. After a couple of minutes, I finally stopped searching for seven car pile-ups and realized that all the cars passing by were honking in support.
A week ago, I participated in a walk-out at school. My friends and I joked as we circled the building in our red sweatshirts that a 15-minute interruption in our study hall was really going to show the School Committee we mean business. Nevertheless, it was inspiring to see how many students were becoming aware of the situation. It couldn’t have come a moment too soon. The next day, the strike was announced.
Since then, I’ve been glued to my phone, split between the MEA Instagram account, the Marblehead Current and my school email. School is out, but it’s no vacation. I’m in five AP classes, all of which are unable to move the date of their tests, even for extenuating circumstances. I’m applying early to my top college, and I don’t know if my transcript is going to be sent on time for the deadline. I’m the editor of the Headlight newspaper, and I needed to figure out how we’re going to get this week’s articles out. (Shout-out to the Marblehead Current, by the way. )
There are a million things wrapped up in school beside our academics. Just go to any picket line or rally and you’ll hear them chanting “Let them play! Let them sing! Let them go and get that ring!” There’s nothing about grades in that list of demands, because frankly, football is a lot more interesting than Aspen and the Common App.
As a senior, I’m hardly qualified to worry about the academic future of MHS. Afterall, if things really fall through, I’ll be in college right? I’m fully aware I have no right to complain: I slept until 11 a.m.yesterday and hung out with my friends instead of going to math class. Still, this unexpected six day weekend (and counting) wasn’t as restful and relaxing as I was hoping. It’s hard to live in the moment when the future feels uncertain.
At this point, I find myself wondering what will happen when we do go back. Be it tomorrow, next week, or after Thanksgiving break, things can’t just pick up the way they were. Will we be playing catch-up and cramming to stay on track for the AP tests? If we end up out for 11 days like in Newton last year, will our graduation be moved back by the same amount? I can tell you right now — the seniors aren’t going to like that.
Right now, students don’t even know what to hope for. The growing awareness through the past few weeks regarding our teachers’ situation has prepared us for the potential of a strike, but somehow it still came as a shock. After hearing about the behavior of the School Committee and the dangers of working without a contract, the knee-jerk reaction to the announcement was ‘good for them.” We’re packing the rallies and sharing the MEA’s posts like crazy. But what happens after all of this?
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the School Committee is not going to give the teachers everything they’re asking for, or everything they deserve. Not only are we told that the town is not in the financial situation to provide significant pay increases, but the School Committee refuses to treat the bargaining and negotiations with the urgency they need. I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but what happens when we go back to school and our teachers have won only a fraction of what they fought for? If there aren’t pay raises, can we expect them to stay? How can we plan to survive another mass exodus of educators?
Actually, whatever. That stuff’s boring anyway. As long as the students are back in school, they can play and sing and get that ring to their heart’s content. That’s all that matters right? And why am I worrying about our academic situation when I won’t even be here next year? It’s not like the state of our schools can impact the town at large, driving families away and lowering property prices. I’m sure that no matter what happens in these negotiations, Marblehead will be exactly the same place in four years as the one I leave next fall.
Benji Boyd is editor of the MHS Headlight and a Current intern.
