The teachers of P.S. 118 go on strike because of inadequate funding. Arnold and his schoolmates are initially excited by it and treat the strike like it's vacation from school. But Arnold and his schoolmates eventually learn that the longer the strike goes on, the more days are taken out of their regular summer vacation from school. After learning this, Arnold and his schoolmates work together to end the strike.
Plot[]
In order not to burden the budget any further the students have to share tables, chairs and books. When Principal Wartz tells the teachers to use only one piece of chalk per week, Miss Slovak is fed up with him: She and the other teachers go on strike. So Principal Wartz orders all students to the auditorium to teach the students all by himself. However, since it does not work out too well, Wartz dismisses the kids at 12:30 already instead of 2:45 p.m. Principal Wartz even decides that the kids have the next days off until the strike is over. The kids enjoy their free time — that is until they notice that at all of their favorite fun places like the Arcade, the bowling alley or the city aquarium teachers are working now to earn money during the strike and are giving them academic questions.
The kids don't know where to go, so Arnold suggests playing on the school playground, and they all hurry to school. But after a few minutes Principal Wartz appears and explains to them that are not allowed to be on the school ground during the teachers' strike. On top of that, they will have to be in school during their summer vacation to make up for all the days they missed because of the strike. The kids don't want to spend their vacation in school, so they decide to ask the teachers the reason they are on strike and to find a solution. However, the teachers don't want to explain the situation because they think that kids wouldn't understand their problems. Then they see Mr. Packenham buying loads of coffee and conclude that the teachers needed more coffee.
So, Arnold and Gerald persuade the owner of Mindy's to donate coffee to the teachers. They can choose between "Mocha Java, Java Mocha, Arabian Mocha, Krakatoan Estate Java, Zimbabwe, Sumatra, Antigua, Guatemala, Kenya, Hawaiian, Kona Kona, Koala, Walla Walla, Dark Roast, Light Roast", and "Dark Light Roast". Principal Wartz and Miss Slovak do appreciate the coffee but to the kids' disappointment, that doesn't solve their problems. But Arnold has an idea: They simply go in their classroom and learn on their own. The teachers and principal Wartz are confused when they happen to notice it. The kids then explain to them that they don't want to be in school during their summer vacation just because the teachers and principal Wartz can't come to an agreement. Wartz admits that he may have gotten carried away with his so-called "economizations", and compromises with Miss Slovak so that the school lessons can continue. The episode concludes with the kids lamenting their many days of summer wasted in class.
