In Kentucky, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Arizona, and Colorado, teachers have refused to teach until lawmakers agree to raise their pay. Some have stormed statehouses; others have closed their schools and walked out. The mainstream press affords them lavish and highly sympathetic coverage, and Americans are naturally disposed to admire teachers. But is the striking teachers’ plight really so dire?

Consider Arizona, where the teachers walked out on April 26. Average teacher salary in the Grand Canyon State ranks near the bottom nationally: 45th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the National Education Association (NEA). Arizona teachers had wanted an immediate 20 percent pay increase. The statewide protest caused the closure of some 60 school districts in the state, which left no fewer than 750,000 students without schooling.