SDUSD’s Measure U is so ironic it’s painful

because many teachers cannot afford to pay escalated rent with their current salaries. According to Zillow, the median yearly rent in San Diego is around $31,000 for a one-bedroom unit. Meanwhile, according to the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), the average yearly pay for teachers is around $88,000, meaning that even comparatively higher paid teachers spend more than a third of their income on their living space.

When one thinks of the most influential individuals in their life, more often than not a teacher will come to mind. Maybe the first grade teacher who showed you the magic of books and the power of words. Or the teacher in high school that helped you through a panic attack and dried your tears.

Teachers hold immense responsibility. They have the power to inspire intellectual curiosity in young minds. They mold brilliant scientists, climate change activists, innovators and above all, good and kind people.

Again and again teachers have proven themselves to be the backbone of society. And yet, they continue to be grossly mistreated and undervalued.

This ill treatment is glaringly apparent in the outrageously low wages teachers receive. This has become such a drastic issue that many districts in expensive areas of San Diego are seeing high rates of outward transferal

In an effort to combat this issue, in October of 2022, SDUSD passed a $3.2 billion bond, Measure U, in which $206 million would be allocated for the building of affordable housing for teachers on school-owned land. This bond, like all other local school bonds, is a measure voted on by citizens that allows school districts to borrow money that they can pay off by levying local property taxes.

While at first glance this may seem like a beneficial action for teachers, in fact, it is unabashedly a slap in the face. Its irony is so painful it is almost laughable, akin to something out of an SNL skit.

Rather than raising the salaries of teachers so that they can be part of the communities they serve, the government sits by and does nothing, leaving districts to scrap for any measures they can pass to combat the housing crisis gripping their teachers.

Measures like these do not address the root of the dilemma, but at least the districts are trying. One cannot say the same for the state and federal governments.

Why can SDUSD voters, who are already paying a multitude of taxes, spare another fee for the betterment of public education, when the government for some reason cannot? Why is the brunt of support towards the public education system falling on taxpayers rather than the federal government that spends $1.9 trillion dollars annually on its military?

Yet the passing of this measure does not come as a shock. The government consistently neglects teachers and the integral role they play in society because they do not produce concrete profits.

However, teachers are the building blocks upon which every profession stands. Teachers care about the world, they care about the ideas and dreams of our society’s youth.

So why is it that we do not reciprocate this care? Why does the government not show how much we need our teachers? Why have we reached the point where we are desensitized to something like the passing of this bond, a desperate measure that SDUSD had to resort to because the government refuses to help? Teachers do not deserve this. They deserve the utmost respect. We owe everything to our teachers, and it is about time for us to pay them back.

According to a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult, only 16% of American Gen Z adults (aged 18 to 25) are proud to live in the United States. Ranking lower than Baby Boomers at 73%, Gen Xers at 54% and Millennials at 36%, the survey places Gen Z as the U.S.’ least proud generation. But pride and patriotism are not one and the same.

To feel patriotic about one’s country is not to blindly agree with and be proud of each of its policies and believe it to be perfect, but to recognize both its strengths and weaknesses. Gen Z’s unprecedented willingness to call out America’s flaws solidifies them as one of the most patriotic generations ever.

From America’s deceitful war on terror abroad to its sharply divided domestic political landscape, the past 25 years of American history have featured far more pain than progress. And thanks to the internet, Gen Z has had a front row seat to every ugly detail.

As the first generation to grow up surrounded by cell phones and social media, information on any and every American controversy is simply a click away. Social media has offered today’s young adults a means of instantaneously communicating their thoughts, feelings and experiences to anyone, at any time. Although this has united millions, our connection has come at a price. According to a 2019 study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, the average human is more physiologically activated by negative stories than by positive ones.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that the content reaching the highest levels of “virality” on social media tends to depict drama, violence and controversy.

Gen Z has used social media to gather support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Tyre Nichols. Those graphic videos of American dysfunction point out the contradictions between the U.S.’ principles and actions – every flaw in the country’s pledge of “liberty and justice for all.”

From rampant school shootings, to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the enactment of “Don’t Say Gay” laws in states across the country, Gen Z has borne the brunt of America’s recent failures. Likewise, they have been at the foreground of nearly every major protest and political movement over the past decade. Surrounded by an endless stream of negative news and information, defiance and protest is not a choice for America’s youth – it is a necessity.

Although the statistics may label Gen Z as the U.S.’ least patriotic generation, their distrust in American government is something to be commended. Gen Z is disillusioned by America’s unfulfilled promises. And that is a good thing.

In a country that prides itself on open debate and freedom of expression, Gen Z’s criticism of America is a positive sign for the nation’s future. Rather than remaining complacent through America’s many controversies,