Chapter 6: Educators as Political Activists: The Oklahoma Teacher Walkout

The purpose of this article is to examine the 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout and the impetus for teacher participation in civic engagement. Using Rawls’s (1971) conceptualization of social justice, I pose the financial challenges that Oklahoma schools faced within the last 10 years left teachers feeling dehumanized, deprofessionalized, and influenced low morale which led to the historic walkout. Conclusively, I propose that educators’ responsibilities to serve as activists must continue for the sake of social justice for the teaching profession.