Chapter 7: “I Walk for …”: Teacher Activism in Action

In the spring of 2018, teachers across the country voiced their concerns with the state of public education. Notably, there were teacher walkouts in West Virginia, Kentucky, Arizona, and in our home state of Oklahoma. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the experiences of 4 secondary school social studies teachers as they navigated their roles of teacher, citizen, public employee, and community member during the Oklahoma teacher walkout. In this portraiture research, we interviewed 2 early career teachers (3 years of teaching), a middle career teacher (more than 20 years teaching experience), and a veteran teacher (more than 40 years of teaching experience). We share the ways in which these teachers were actively involved in their immediate communities and the overall movement.