Everyday for the past few weeks, students and teachers have woken up and wondered whether we would make it through the remainder of the week, whether the district would come to a compromise with the teachers’ association, whether the teachers would be on strike.

For the past few years there have been issues between the district and the teachers and they have never truly been resolved. To say the district has done nothing in effort to resolve them would be a blatant lie, but are they truly doing enough, or are they trying to pacify the upset part?

For years, issues have been covered with bandages and swept under the rug, deemed something to worry about another time.

But now, that time has come, and a very real issue that not only affects teachers is now playing a role in students’ lives.

As of now, 97 percent of teachers that voted on the issue have agreed to go on strike if the STA and SUSD do not come to an agreement. That means that if a compromise cannot be met, a strike will ensue at the expense of our district, as a whole.

Are students and teachers meant to act as if talk of a strike has not been all over campus? Lesson plans are made as per usual and students are expected to treat everyday as if it truly is like any other day, but it is far from it. Teachers are picketing, calling for action from the district, but is the district listening?

Negotiations have gone unsuccessfully much to the dismay of both parties. The district readily describes itself as “generous” to which the STA calls the offer “unsatisfactory.”

If it comes to a strike, then an issue teachers previously had to deal with alone will be forcefully brought to the attention of students and consequently, the families of those students.

While some students are excited by the the idea of missing school, the sad reality is that the campus would no longer be a learning environment.

It would essentially be a mass babysitting center, where students are assigned a certain room and put in front of a TV or given busy work, and every day wasted doing this may have to be made up at the end of the year, according to the district.

The aspects of school that students dislike may be taken away, but so is every beneficial aspect as well, and then some.

It has nothing to do with not caring about one’s students when a teacher strikes – it is a call to action. Teachers are not paid on the days they are on strike and it ultimately affects their retirement, as they will not receive credit for the full year.

It requires sacrifice.

There is no “bright side” to this issue but instead a hope that in the end, the teachers’