During a press conference tonight the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced that it will be going on strike, its first action of the sort in 25 years.
Why are these 29,000 teachers and school workers going on strike in the nation’s third-largest public school district?
Because they want what all workers want: fair pay and decent working conditions. They also want what all teachers want — to serve their students to their best of their abilities.
Here’s a few things you need to know about the strike, and why the CTU is right and Mayor Rahm Emanuel — who has failed to fairly bargain with the union — is wrong:
- Powerful Outside Interests Worked With Rahm To Cripple CTU’s Ability To Strike (They Failed):Ai??Last year, outside education privatization groups like Stand for Children worked with the city council and mayor to raise the strike threshold limit to 75 percent — meaning that 3/4 of teachers had to vote to strike. Jonah Edelman, who works for the group,Ai??braggedAi??during the Aspen Ideas Festival that they had essentially eliminated teachers’ ability to strike. But in June,Ai??nearly 90 percentAi??of CTU members voted to authorize a strike, easily surpassing the barrier that the city and education privatization groups had placed on them. But outside groups haven’t stopped taking aim at union rights. They’ve even paid protesters to demonstrate against CTU.
- Rahm Refuses To Pay Teachers What They Were Promised:Ai??Being a teacher takes hard work, and it’s one of the mostAi??poorly-paid professions relative to the work load.Ai??The leadership of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) had agreed to offer teachers a four percent raise last year, but Mayor Emanuel canceled this agreement. The district has refused to address this raise in negotiations. While gutting teachers’ pay increases, CPS is calling for longer school days. Would you want to work more hours without being fairly compensated for it?
- The City Won’t Agree To Limit The Number Of Kids In Classrooms In The Contract: Over-crowded classrooms are bad for students, teachers, and parents. That’s why 32 states have limits on classroom size. Illinois does not. CTU wants to see limits on class sizes in its contract (there are limits in CPS guidelines, but not in the teachers’ contract) but the city refuses to discuss it. CTU analysis shows that Chicago class sizes for kindergarten and first grade are larger than 95 percent of school districts in the state.
- Rahm Is Intent On Shifting Funds To Untested And Unproven Charter Schools:Ai??Rahm has been laying the groundwork for a rapid expansion of charter schools, and wants to create nearly 250 more within five to ten years (this would amount to half the system). This massive diversion of funds from the public system is not based on the facts of what actually works for students. The most comprehensive study of charter schools in the United States found that most deliver results similar to those of public schools. Not surprisingly, Chicago’s charter schools are largely devoid of unions and the benefits they provide for students and teachers alike. Charter school teachers tend to earn 8 percent less than normal public school teachers — which makes them an attractive tool for austerity-prone conservatives. CTU wants a more fair distribution of funds.
If you’re a bold progressive who wants to side with these teachers who are fighting for their students and communities, here’s a few ways to do it:
- Contribute to the CTU Solidarity Fund: The CTU has set up a Solidarity Fund to allow the union to do educational outreach and activism. Click here to donate to it.
- Spread The Word On Social Media:Ai??Use the hashtags #FairContractNow and #CTUStrike to spread the word about the strike. Use the social media buttons on this post (Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit) to explain to your friends and family about why it’s important to stand with Chicago’s teachers. A number of Twitter users have already changed their Twitpics to the logo of the Chicago Teachers Union. Doing so on Twitter or Facebook will help spread the word.
- Join The Fight With The PCCC:Ai??Ai??Sign up to stay in the loop with our bold progressive activism at the top of this page.
We’ll keep you updated on the CTU strike and everything you can do to help the city’s teachers.
UPDATE: The Nation’s Dave Zirin has another way to help: order a pizza for striking teachers. You can call “Gus or Daisy at Primoai??i??s Pizza at (312) 243-1052.”
UPDATE II: Read the story of why one teacher is striking here.
Charter Schools being private entities can preach the kind of science they choose, maybe say the African people were brought here to help with the cotton crops and eliminate facts that dosen’t support their “truth.” This is what Nazis did, control education. Corporate is looking for slave wage labour.
probably more like spreading the jewish liberal agenda but we both agree not a good thing
Spreading racist propaganda is NEVER a good thing.
Jesus was a liberal Jew!
nobody likes the Jews
Jesus never existed
Leave racism out of it. Man, I wouldn’t join your union or help you when you bash religions!
Freitag? Is that German? Lutheran? Can you give any information on private Lutheran schools in Chicago. I love the German educational philosophy. The systematic methodology keeps the children focused and engaged in the lesson plan. I considered the Catholic schools until I did my research and discovered that the teachers are not required to hold a teaching degree. The Muslim and Jew schools do not interest my husband and I. Those people are just heathens. Thanks.
Heathens, just like you christians.
BRAVO
Grew up in Chicago. Went through school in Chicago. I am glad I didn’t know that hatred of Jews is what you are propagating
Of course the hate you. You stole Palestine from the Muslims. Muslims hate everyone, especially the Jews. Now the USA is stuck with your kind of people.
reductio ad hitlerum, look it up and try using a more well reasoned argument
I’m getting really tired of people claiming an argument is invalid simply because the words ‘nazi’ or ‘hitler’ enter the conversation. It’s not just a matter of proper logic; the idea that people will consider a comment worthless on the mere mention of “godwin” abrogates what should be a healthy vigilance against the social illness that is facism.
I remember reading a news report recently where a democrat was excoriated for speaking the truth: The republican party and its propaganda apparatus, rather than acknowledge the empirical reality around them, have adopted a strategy of “lie until people believe it’s true”, just like Goebbels.
Examine the arguments and comparison on their merits, not whether an infamous person or party’s name is present.
The comparisons to fascism these days are becoming more and more apt. “indefinite detention without trial of ‘enemy combattants'” “free speech zones” “war on common public behavior x” “laws against protest in the presence of secret service” “the DMCA” … the list goes on and on.
Well said!
“The republican party and its propaganda apparatus, rather than acknowledge the empirical reality around them, have adopted a strategy of “lie until people believe it’s true”, just like Goebbels.”
America would be better off with a little fascism. Standards need to be raised rather than enabling and accepting inadequacies and inept work, performance, behavior, etc.
Awehr great argument; now ask if your conclusions are the same when pointed at the Democratic party. If not, then you are not an objective critic but rather a biased blowhard. Get over yourself and rotate the signal around the axis…you will begin to see that you are not an independent thinker, more of a parrot. Its okay if you define your eternal spirit in a party line; I no longer pay attention to fools who fail to recognize hypocrisy. If you spew vitriol at those who have a different moral relativism and still think you embody freedom then discipline your mind and think again.
you guys are fuckin retarded why does racism involve everthing when it doesent how do u guys thing the world was fucked up in the first place was cause of racism
Do you believe parents would really allow their children to sit in classrooms preaching any propaganda type message for very long? That is the beauty of charter schools. Parents get to choose where their child goes to school based on what is BEST for the child, not teachers, not unions. The money follows the child. If parents put their children in a charter they aren’t happy with, they can move them. Power to the parents!
As a matter of fact, religious schools are quite popular in the US, so yes, they would and do. That’s the problem with market choice: it suggests that any options offered are equally valid, personal expressions, whether or not they cause problems for society at large.
Relgious schools may provide a good option assuming they are not Muslim. Muslims and blacks usually don’t get along too well. From my experience in Bronzeville, fights would occur constantly between the factions. Please don’t promote Muslim schools. Please
Please don’t promote ignorance about Islam and the black community. Public schools, like public water supplies, are essential in a democracy.
You should not ask other people to take care of your children. People should not be having children if they cannot afford to give them a proper education. The stupidity starts with women popping out kids that they cannot afford and then expect those of us who work hard and are responsible to foot the bill for their offspring. This needs to end now.
Nan, you are so right. And if you are a Christian and have “popped” out a couple or more, and ,zap. your husband dies uninsured, you should have NO hesitancy in turning your pop-pees to a state agency to have them adopted out to people who CAN AFFORD to care for them. don’t look to me. Right on, girl!
Hey Ron:
Ever hear of life insurance? That’s what responsible have. At least $3,000,000 worth if your smart.
Muslims are behind the 8 ball. Christians, Jews, and Asians hate us. Muslims encounter hate. CPS teachers hate our Muslim students. Hate, hate, hate.
Who to says blacks and Muslims don’t get along?…….in Bronzeville?….in Bronzeville most of the muslims ARE black.
Black Muslims are not REAL Muslims. Two different Korans. African Americans amended the original Koran to fit their own needs and desires. This the reason for all of the fighting.
MMS—you really have no idea what your talking about. Most charter schools use public funds—there is no propaganda going on–it’s called differences in opinions. Public school teachers do not all think alike.
Hey Nan – ever heard of reading comprehension? He wrote “uninsured” in the post.
Only problem with you bouncing your child around is that you lose continuity of instruction is crucial in learning plus the yearly student allocation is given to which ever school your child is registered when school starts at the beginning of the scholastic year. So any subsequent school, charter or public, does not get any funding to educate your child. So ultimately all this bouncing around destroys a campus’ budget which means there are few resources for the students and the teachers who are trying to teach the curriculum.
I advise my friends and clients to give your children a better education by removing your child as soon as possible from the public school system and start classes at a community college
The issue is not giving parents power and control over teachers or teacher unions. The issue is much more complex than that. It’s clear you’re not a teacher and have no comprehension of what teachers are facing today in overcrowded classrooms with extended work days for the pay and the benefits that they are offered. If parents are unhappy with their child’s education for whatever reason, they can home-school their kid. Charter schools are not the answer either but a parent-teacher-administrator-school board-community partnership is! We are all stakeholders in public and private education!
You are obtuse to suggest parents will simply transplant a child into another school, like switching grocery stores. Charter schools are primarily interested at feeding at the public trough for profit. This usually means hiring less qualified – less educated “educators”, and using criteria that more closely resembles a form of ‘training’, rather than ‘teaching’ a child how to think critically. Charter schools will prove to be a public scourge, as they will be found not to offer real societal benefit as a viable learning alternative to public schools.
I’m a mother of children who go to Charter Schools and they are LEARNING at a much advance pace then your CPS student. I am sooooo glad I had the choice to transfer my kids because where they were at, they were not being challenged enough. My kids are in accelerated Math and English, which will prepare them for college. What parent don’t want that for their children? Well, if CTU keeps protecting non-effective teachers, like they continue to do, then CPS will never be up to par.
Not all people are created equal, just remember that. These inner city mutts are useless. My kid isn’t going to school with them. Private and charter schools are for people who really care about their kids.
This argument and statement appalls me. I can’t believe you would call children mutts…you should be ashamed of yourself.
Not all children, just the poor trashy ones with no future
Horrifying. What is wrong with you?
Absolutely! Why should my tax dollars go to support scumbags who will never amount to anything. Spend it on the schools and kids with potential.
Its better to protect our children from the wrong type of element. That is biggest reason I send my son to a private Catholic school. At least I know he is being taught respect and values hard work and goals. As a single Mother it is not easy for me to do this and I struggle daily. I would rather struggle and see my son grow up with dignity and a valuable education.
WHAT A SNOB! I pray that you never come to my law office for ANY reason–except maybe for a job application. As Mitt is fond of saying, “I love to fire people.” Of course you would not even reach the stage to be fired. UNBELIEVABLE !!!!
Lordeeee…ya folks y’all fussing and mussing bout por blac babbys wit nary a book ta read..Lawdy. i alway jus tel my babbys to sell cople dime bags far bus fair ta skool.
Ron
You one of those commies? Y’all think everyone the SAME? Brother, we not all the same. Sum of us better than others. Bet you a Jew too.. Jews always opening their big mouths.
You should be ashamed. God doesn’t make junk. Just like he created you and gave you opportunities, those inner city kids deserve the same. I will pray that you never get old or become sick and have to depend on those you hate
They deserve a good beating
Yep..ya gotta beat em else they won’t work
You are ignorant of the social realities that create poor educational systems. Education needs public money, period. Without enough funding, schools like these public ones you speak of do not have enough resources to provide for the school children. This is ultimately a result of inner city schools receiving taxes from inner city families, many of whom are poor. The existence of private and charter schools prevents every human from getting an equal education, a basic universal right, because other money is being funded towards private interests that exclude poor families. If there was more funding going towards public schools, these “mutts” you speak of would have an actual chance of improving their economic and social status. You act as if parents intentionally leave their children in inadequate schooling, but you fail to realize that many low-income families have no choice in where their children attend school. Not all families are as privileged as yours.
Freedom to choose how we live our lives is the central ideology of being an American. I am responsible for my own children and provide for them and choose the schools they attend. That makes me a responsible adult. I would not have started a family if I felt i could not provide adequately for my children. People need to THINK before they procreate. For those who cannot provide adequately for their children, that burden becomes one of society. Those of us who are successful based on our own hard work and merit do not appreciate taking care of other who act irresponsibility.
Freedom is a PART of being an American, but not the only part. There’s also Justice and Promoting the General Welfare. Right wingers always seem to forget those…
What about people being responsible for themselves and accountable for their own lives? Lazy people rely on the government for help.
Not “lazy” just lacking opportunity… Maybe the mayor should make more effort to make sure there is opportunity for all kids, and treat them like they matter.
You certainly do not sound like a Christian. Christ said you are your brother’s keeper. He preached love and concern for your fellow human being – whether poor or rich. Remember the story of the prodigal son, who didn’t act responsibly?
What freedom does a child born in the inner city to a dirt poor mother have to choose his own future? One or two with a combination of natural genius, perseverance and sheer luck make it. No average child can.
Meanwhile the very average children of well to do parents do very well.
This is the law of the jungle not a civilized society. The irony is that the main proponents of this approach frequently describe themselves as followers of Him who said “In as much as ye do it to the least of these my brethren, ye do it unto me.”. Who are they kidding?
Not everyone is a cCristian or do they need to be. Helping these people only enables to maintain the same lifestyle every generation. I say stop helping them. Law of the fitest. The strong will survive and the weak shall die. So be it. It’s better for society.
Your hard work, or your whiteness. I find that racists always claim to “work hard” and forget their inherent advantages. Then they want to perpetuate these advantages for their kids. The lower paying the job, the harder the work. I have done both blue collar and white collar jobs. Trust me, if some white racist is telling you how “hard” they work, in order to justify segregation and injustice, don’t help them by believing it.
Your a damned idiot.
After reading your remarks, I’m convinced you need to go back to school and review the history of our country and what our founders’ vision was regarding AMS5228@aol.comequality and rights. I feel sorry for you and your children if you have any.
How are the children frist. You all are on strike that leaves our children out here on the streets,you all dont live inour neighbor hoods you all are not looking at all the things that s going on out here. Please end the strike before things get worst.We need our children in school where they belong.Try walking out the front door and all you see is children standing on corners. People thats bad tell me again that children are frist, that is not what i see,you all say its for the children its for you all.Face it you closed our schools because you want more money, i get that it should be a way to make it happen with the children in school.Please stop the strike,because some of the teachers should be held accountable for the children grades cause they are not doing good jobs in our public schools,a lot of killss our childrens spirits by the way the talk to them and treat them. You all need to look at this strike ina different light cause you all are really hurting our children. Yours Truly, Linda Faye McNulty
Can’t you read? They ARE striking for better learning outcomes for children. These children are learning how to stand up to power for seeking economic justice and using intellect to argue their case, from teachers they respect. These people also: are striking for fair treatment FOR WORKING LONGER HOURS, how is that wrong? They were forced down this road, and you should be behind them.
Lay off Daniel! Linda Faye be a poor black woman from Englewood. And no, she can’t read! She graduated from CPS, TWICE!
I was born in Birmingham Alabama and grew up in Mobile in the 1950’s 1960’s. Public education did very well by me. Basically, I was a milk drop in a chocolate factory. All of the kids were well behaved in those days.
at least they breathe the truth..
at least they breathe the truth
I stand with the CTU. I recently retired, but my heart is with the CPS and I will help in any way I can.
I don’t understand about no limit on class size. My 2nd grade granddaughter was to be bussed to another school because of the limit of students in the classroom. So that tells me there is a limit on class size.
Confused.
The thing about CPS are that all schools aren’t created equal. I have subbed in classrooms with 40 grade school students and it was nightmarish.
Many schools are out of date and need much repair. Those schools need to be closed. Stop asking the Taxpayers for more money. Be responsible provide for your own children.
Herd them into cattle cars and take them to Auschwitz. You people complain, complain, complain. I hope Rahm fires all of the striking teachers.
I have taught in the urban schools for 31 years and just recently retired. I find your comments reprehensible. it is ignorant such as yours the fuels the racism in this country. if all schools are equally funded all students would be able to achieve. Let’s put all the racists on a desert island so that our children can get what they need – all of them.
This is BS. If you were a teacher then you would know that some kids just study harder and get better grades FROM THE SAME CLASS. Those students were equally funded and yet, they dont all achieve. That’s like saying the richer you are the smarter you are….Just total BS
Society uses racism and money as excuses for education problems. The problem isn’t society. The problem is the individuals from the inner city and personal choices they make with their lives. I have no sympathy for them.
I can understand your sensitivity because I am a Jew too. But, Rosanne, you need to understand if we empty our pockets helping underachievers who likely will never achieve, our own children and future will greatly suffer.
Peace
There are currently limits in the CPS guidelines, but they are applied haphazardly. CTU wants limits enforced by contract, not whim. CPS wants to lift all limits of any kind.
It is my opinion that this is a play of power by the CTU to show the Mayor what they can do, some teachers have a good reason for striking, most are angry because of the Magnum Schools, but for years the CTU have though of the teachers and their wants, defending bad teachers who do not carry their jobs our tying the hands of the Principal to do his/her job. Let’s all be fair, and instead of thinking my me want think about those student who desperately need you in the class room.
I’m an English teacher. If you were one of my students, I would ask you to revise your answer. . It makes no sense.
I concur with the English teacher who posted here in response to your opinion. I teach college seniors who are student teachers and if they wrote something of this nature with the typos and grammar mistakes they would be given the paper back for a redo.
For one, it is MAGNET SCHOOLS, magnums are either condoms or bottles or wine, neither of which applies here. Principals’ hands are not tied by teachers, it comes from higher up in the admin if they are restricted in what they can or cannot do. This I know as I also have an administrative certification in Texas. Teachers are the bottom of the totem pole. The least paid but the ones who go out of their way to purchase materials, supplies, books, and all of the other things needed in a classroom And the tax write-off for these expenditures is only $250 for the entire year which is more like just a couple of months of teacher expenditures.
If you haven’t walked a mile then perhaps you should not talk as your comments indicate that you are not very cognizant of what is occuring in the system there.
I have the strangest feeling that you might have taught me in college. However, that’s probably not true. Also, I agree with everything you said.
You’re such an idiot Mr. Magnum Condom. Why don’t you bend over and I’ll show you some love. I might as well treat you the same way inner city kids treat their fellow students. No respect. These kids are useless, bothersome, defiant, and a waste of time. I taught in the CPS for 4 fours and could not wait to get out. Now I teach in the suburbs. I can tell most of the CPS teachers were no better than the ill behaved students attending school in Chicago. To be direct, the world would be better off if these rodents were exterminated. Do society and yourself a favor, find a job where you can contribute to kids who care and want a future other than welfare and crime.
And you can go lay in the middle of the road and do us all a favor.
I am a teacher in CPS. Currently there are “guidelines” about class size but not rules. Schools try to keep classes below 28 students. But without it being in the contract they could put any number they want in a class.
The issues in Chicago are the same for teachers everyone. we have class-size limits in Connecticut to where I talk for 31 year. Every year they packed the classrooms and it takes months to get them back to the class-size in the union contract. Teachers are not the enemies. I would like to see all of these people attempts to teach in a classroom for one week and observe the dedicated teacher do the same job.
punish the student and put him in the hall if he won’t pay attention or send him to the principal
there are millions of college grads that cannot find work – cut the teachers pay to an economic reality, use the funds to hire more younger, lowering the class size and everyone comes out better
Your tweet is too long, I had to modify it.
Wish Randy Weingarten was our CTU leader; maybe things would have gone better. Took my kids to the library to prepare for the strike.
I don’t agree with parents and teachers dumping their offspring at libraries just to get rid of them. You should take care of your children because they are you responsibility.
I don’t know if parents and teachers “dumped” their children at libraries. Some could have have stayed with them especially if they did not have to work. With the job market as it, many parents would be concerned about missing too many days and losing their jobs that are needed to TAKE CARE of their Children. I’m sure many hoped the strike would have been averted. Some concessions were made which made it look optimistic for a minute.
These parents can dump their kids in a ditch for all I care but just keep them far away from my neighborhood. I don’t need to worry about being robbed while I am putting in a hard days work.
Being an attorney from Louisiana in Chicago for a conference, I was quite taken aback when approached and almost molested by a “lady of the night–whatever you call them.” NOW I am really beginning to understand. You people really DON’T care a damn about each other. I don’t know why ANY of you would have children to bring up in such a hateful society. I have been shocked over and over again since reading these posts.
Give up and move somewhere else.
Louisanna? Man, that says it all. People of Chicago, we need no further explanation why this gentleman is so backward in his ideology. The South has always lagged behind it’s northern neighbors in progressive thinking. Self-respect, self-esteem, and self-worth are strong characteristics that set ourselves apart from those that wish to enable and promote the inner city way of life. Chicago is the City of Big Shoulders. Chicagoans take pride in their families, neighborhoods, and heritage. As a whole we want to protect those boundaries.
In summation: NO MORE TAX DOLLARS for the substandard teachers who teach the substandard population! Taxpayers toil in vain because these tax dollars are wasted.
Hope we didn’t ruin your vacation, Ron.
Ron Redneck Hickman, Attorney at Law
Louisianna
most grown-up people brought up in the great state of Louisiana read at a 3rd grade level…..congratulations Louisiana.. do y’all need some teachers? we gonna give you some goooood ones. shipping down in 2 weeeks. hee haw!
Oh god, not this a**hole again. When does your flight leave?
Hahahahaha!!! that must have been some desperate whore to put out for Ronnie!! fugly mugly
This happening all over the country. There is a big push by “reformers” to limit collective bargaining, reduce teaching to a minimum wage job and create a charter school environment. This started with Teach For America which really says that anyone can teach so the job can not be that difficult and not worth a decent salary. The likes of Michelle Rhee are ruining public education.
Please, I have many CPS teacher friends making well over 85K per year to work in effect about 7-8 months of the year. Join the real world get up and work a 8-9 hr day year round like the rest of us and then you can complain.
yeah, but odds are you probably work in a cubicle blabbing into a phone, tapping on a computer in order to make a profit for some company…essentially doing nothing for the real world, but ‘making a living’. So, quit bitching about people making a decent living doing something important.
Sid, your prejudice is evident. I feel sorry for you. I am in sales and yes I do make a decent living, my work ethic is based on success for myself and my family so my children can grow up to be decent, hard working, law abiding citizens that prosper because of their individual merits, not because they are part of a group that embraces the good with the bad. Have a good day.
So you’re raising Randite sociopaths.
Cheers!
Wow. Do you think NO advance preparation/lesson planning goes into each and every day of classwork? And when do you think homework and exams get graded? Ongoing progress reports to the school, and regular reports to parents? Consultations with remedial learning staff and school counselors on children with special challenges (parents divorcing, etc.)? Teachers are not waitstaff. They don’t just show up at 8:30am and leave at 3, the school day is just part of their workday. I mean, are you kidding? You don’t think this stuff also happens on weekends?
And I don’t know where you live, but $85K is not a huge salary to work in a major city and live like a grownup (i.e., rent or own your own place, not live with live with room-mates like you’re fresh out of college) and it’s certainly not a high salary for someone who is experienced or just really, really good at any job.
No appreciation for the people who teach children! Only resentment that they get an annual break from dealing with nothing but KIDS WHO WANT TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE while their parents are at work among their peers, assuming their little angel is NEVER the problem at school. Teachers do half the job of RAISING YOUR KID. Your are not there. They are teaching them discipline, how to deal with authority figures that aren’t family (like college professors, employers later in life), all kinds of stuff far and beyond academic curriculum. Disdain for them is just gross. Or should I say, I wish upon your children the $35K teacher who really does just show up at 8:30 and leave at 3.
How crass and misinformed are you?
How clueless are you? You have clearly never met a teacher and seen what their schedule is like. Or understand how hard their job is made by people who don’t think it’s vitally important to a child’s lifelong chances at success and a decent standard of living.
Sorry, I went to parochial school. I have no idea what a teacher’s schedule would entail. What the hell is a syllabus, lesson plan, federal guidelines, standardized tests, (ACT, SAT, or GRE). People work more than eight hours a day? A steady increase of pay, pension, benefits, and two months vacation seem ample. “a child’s lifelong chances at success and a decent standard of living”. Parents’ bestow a child’s success and standard of living.
http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/At-a-glance/Documents/EmployeePositionRoster_07112012.pdf
wow we hve some real educated people talking sh–t on this site. I cannot beleive what I’m seeing-hating jews, blacks a nd eveybody else. No wonder Chicago has problems!!!!! Ignorant!!!!
Love the White Sox Though!!!!!!! Go Sox!!!!!
Even the blacks hate the blacks…always killing and raping each other. Our teachers are on danger every time they step into a classroom. It’s like Afghanistan.
Thanks, Anise. Well said. And true.
Well said. Born in Chicago, attended CPS, now an educator (a more nuanced term than teacher in my opinion). I am happy to take a personal day and support my brethren. Enough is enough. Other countries are outpacing us because they understand the value of a good education and honor those in the profession.
Born and raised in Chicago as well and very proud to be part of the educational community. Children are the future of this country and we need to invest in their education. Unfortunately, some of these inner city kids will never make it out of here. Bad parenting, drugs, gangs, etc. are obstacles that cannot be conquered. After years of toiling in the CPS classrooms I have finally accepted the truth and my fate. Inner city kids cannot be helped regardless of how much money I make or how many hours I spend teaching. Its useless. I see test scores declining and kids dropping out of school. I see the kids becoming more violent each year. I fear for my own safety.
Anise:
I never heard such bull in my life!!! If you are raising other peoples children, then you are obviously doing a terrible job! The crime and pregnancy rate about Chicago teens is out of control. You call that doing a good job? Chicago teachers DO NOT deserve anymore than they are receiving. When kids improve, then teachers deserve a raise. Not before.
I laugh when I hear teachers complain about their long hours. Most professionals I know work a minimum of 45 hours a week – that’s 8 to 6, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year. At my company we get 1.5 days off at Christmas and New Years, 1 day for Thanksgiving, and 4 other holidays. And despite those horrid working conditions, I love my job and am thankful to have it. Teachers get something like 20 holidays, plus 2 or more months off in the summer. My experience is that if I go to my kids’ school at 4pm, it’s pretty much deserted, and I live in a district with very well compensated teachers. With your attitude, I’m very happy that you’re not my child’s teacher.
In your case, ignorance IS bliss!
This is an outright lie. Only teachers who’ve been working for 20+ years and have two masters’ degrees or a doctorate make anywhere near that much in Chicago.
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/June-2011/Chicago-Teacher-Salaries-The-Long-View/
Thanks David for enlightening the person who complained about the teacher;s 85k. People are really misinformed about teachers. Teachers wear many hats, referee, counsellor, arbitrator, mother, father, intervenist, mediator, spiritual advisor, and if there is time left in the day, they are teachers. Teachers are the most underappreciaited professionals. Not only do they have to deal with undisciplined children who sometimes don’t want to learn, aren’t ready to learn and are unprepared to learn, but they also have to deal with uncooperative, beligerent misnformed and disinterested parents. Teachers have to deal with students who come to school after listening to their parents saying” The teachers just want that check” Of course they want that check.they have earned it. Teachers are held accountable for students from the time they come into that classroom until they get home from school. No matter what happens to that student in the classroom, on the playground or in the lunchroom, the teacher must write a report. Teachers don’t just wake up and sit behind a desk, a teacher must go to school, get a degree, take and pass the national teachers’ exam, take a test administered by the board,not to mention the numerous workshops, seminars, on site and away) Teachers work before , during and after school.
Those people who are whining about teachers work schedule should realize that teachers do more in the months that they work than you do in a year. CPS teachers are now at the mercy of principals to hire them, when in the past, they were assigned from the board to fill a vacancy. Teachers are at the mercy of the principal, the parents and the students. A teacher must have the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job. It is a thankless profession. How can you expect a teacher to be effective i a classroom of forty or fifty-five students. Be real, with everything you do and say to a student being classified as abuse, the only thing a teacher can do is to keep them busy and quiet. It is unfair to the teachers as well as the students to pile that many children in a classroom. I stand firmly with the Chicago Teachers an the Chicago Teachers’ Union.
” Teachers are at the mercy of the principal, the parents and the students”
As it should be…whats your point? That they should be beholden to no one?
I am also concerned about the increase in drug use among teachers. There is a huge epidemic and its getting worse. Maybe the union should provide drug addiction counseling for its teachers and earmark any increase in pay for that purpose. Everyone needs to take their blinders off before these teachers slide into an abyss.
Or anywhere else. Teachers pay for their own degrees and yes we do get those vacations and months off in the summer for which we are not compensated. We are paid for the days we work but not for the hours put in after school ,before school , calling parents and doing curriculum planning , and lesson planning. We are not paid for a single day off. We don’t get two weeks three weeks or any weeks paid vacation. Get your facts straight before you make comments.
Wow…you really have no idea what a teacher does do you….My husband is a teacher (not in CPS) but he only makes 40k a year. Normal school starts at 7:55, but he is there every day by 6:30 to teach a “zero” hour from 6:55-7:50 to high school students who are behind in their reading and writing skills. School is out at 2:55 but it is rare if (when he is not coaching) he leaves the school before 4:00 PM. Then he comes home and has papers, tests, lesson planning, etc. to do in his “free time”. So he is at the school at least 9 hours a day and then his day is not done when he gets home. He is in his classroom many weekends as well working with his co-teachers. During the fall and winter he also coaches, so he is gone many days from 6:00 am until 6:00 or 7:00 pm (on game days…try more like midnight). He loves what he does and he would not change it for the world. He is not a CPS teacher, but his school is currently teaching without a contract for their teachers. He teaches senior english which is a composition course and has 33 students average in his classes. That is a lot of students to teach how to write a research paper before they can go off to college. He teaches close to 200 different students a day and has $125/year alloted to him for school supplies. Guess who pays for anything new his classroom needs???? He has the same computer from when he started teaching over 5 years ago…which was about 5 years old when he got there. He is very happy to have a job and does the best he can with the resources he has…but who truly suffers the most in these conditions??? The students. So for you to say that teachers need to join the rest of the workforce who does not get the summers off and work 8 hours a day…is completely ignorant. My husband works at the VERY least 8 hours a day, plus many evenings and weekends…and then in the summer time and school, he is taking classes towards his Master’s Degree (which is mandatory for teachers to continue their education…not many other jobs enforce that). He also has mandatory PD (professional development courses that he has to take throughout the summer time. We are a young family…and many times I wish he had a normal 9-5 job somewhere, becuase I would know that he would be able to leave his work more often than not at work and spend more time with his family. I am not saying that every teacher is just like him….but I know a lot of teachers that are just like him. They are not in that profession for the money…that is for sure!
Amen
Exactly. Well said.
well said! Some people just do not understand.
I’m 63 and most successful individuals when asked “Who in your life was most instrumental in your success” will answer “a teacher”. Nuf said for me.
Amen. I couldn’t have said it better but it is all true about all of us who are real educators. It doesn’t stop when we walk out the door. I just brought home the Algebra II teacher edition to study and stay ahead of the students because I am an inclusion teacher in the math department working with the special needs students in my assigned classes. And of course any other student who needs additional assistance.
For anyone who may have seem my prior postsand think I bounce around in my positions, I am a special education teacher in a public high school with certifications in Special Ed EC-12, Grades 4-8 English/Lang Arts, Rdg & Social Studies, and Principal Certification for the state of Texas. I also have two master’s degrees in education, Bilingual Special Ed & Education Admin. I teach student teachers how to teach social studies in elementary and middle grades while making it relevant and engaging. I also do Supplementary Educational Services tutoring and curriculum writing for a company that tutors that studends identified as not having passed the state assessments in math and reading.
So I do know from whence I speak in the education field. Teachers are not in the business because they are getting over and doing little to no work. They do it for the love of working with students and the passion that they have for education. True, a few teachers shouldn’t be there but the majority of teachers are good and caring people who go the extra mile and beyond for their students!
Names? I would love to know who these phantom teachers you name are, because I have never met a CPS teacher who could get away with that. My daughter and her friends are all CPS teachers and none of them are even making $55k. My daughter starts the year the first week of August and ends the third week of June. She then spends 3 weeks in July in professional development. She gets to school by 7 AM each day and leaves at 4:30. Weekdays, she spends from about 7 PM to 11 PM grading papers, planning lessons and calling parents. She puts in at least 6 hours a day each weekend. And so do all her teaching colleagues. So I call BS on your claims.
“Join the real world get up and work 8 – 9 hr day year round like the rest of us and then you can complain.” If everyone did this, who would educate our kids? This is an easy comment to toss out to teachers. Thank you, it feels great to know that you’re okay allowing us to teach your children, but don’t really deserve to be considered a professional or paid like one. No wonder the students sh** on us, their parents think so highly of us.
FIRST OF ALL…. to say teachers have it easy because they only work 7-8 months of the year is insulting. Teachers put in far more time than anyone can imagine. Teachers are consistently planning EVEN OVER THE SUMMER. Lets also be honest that teachers are up at at least 5 in the morning and stay up grading/ planning until the wee hours of the night. WHY ARE TEACHERS UNDER APPRECIATED when we are developing the minds of our future? Don’t undermine a profession when you clearly have no idea how much work goes into educating your children, nieces, nephews etc.
You made your choice.
Yes, but the choice we made was, in part, based on promises (in the form of legal contracts) that were not kept.
I imagine you leave your job at the end of 8 ours and go home to relax. Teachers work far beyond the hours spent in school. Grading papers, planning lessons, following up with parent phone calls and participating in after school activities drag those hours to about 12 for most teachers.
Teachers work more than an 8 or 9 hours a day and they don’t get paid overtime. They also work more than 7-8 months. Maybe you should spend a day in the classroom and see how long you last.
Whine, whine, whine, cry, cry, cry. Blah…so tired of it all. Find yourself another job if hate teaching..
Not sure who your teacher friends are that you think aren’t part of the “real world” but as a teacher myself, I am offended by your comment. My husband and I both teach and barley make 40k a year each. We teach 10 months out of the year BUT we put in over 12 hours every school day, plus nights and weekends. We get paid for 7 hours, 5 days a week, 10 months a year, no matter how many papers we grade, lessons we plan, or parents we meet with. In the “real world” we would both be getting paid time and a half for the amount of overtime we put in.
Would you tell your CPS friends to their faces that the should go “join the real world?” Do you realize that many teachers put in additional hours outside of the hours that school is in session? Think about it. If they are working with students all day long, when do you expect them to grade papers, plan lessons, gather materials, contact parents, further their own education, write Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students with learning disabilities, etc.? And, before you point out the high salaries of CPS teachers, maybe you should look at their salary schedule to understand how they arrived at 85K/year – graduate degrees, many years of service. Regardless of salary, would you work more hours for the same pay you make now, or would you expect to be compensated for your time?
Tom – I’m not a teacher but know a few…you’d be hard pressed to find a teacher that just works 8-9 hours a day during the school year. Grading papers, other school commitments often turn their jobs into a 12-13 hour a day job and sometimes 7 days a week. Younger teachers often take classes during their summer months. I’d be willing to bet most teachers put in more time into their careers than a majority of the corporate workers. Why do we want to cheap out on who is educating our students?
Because the quality of those students is low and its a waste of time
Sorry, when you insist that the worst be treated the same as the best, you are not a profession. Chicago teachers make an average $71,000 before benefits. Most of them would have no chance at such a salary outside of the CPS monopoly. Let them walk off for good.
If teachers “walk off,” the Chicago district will do what other districts did; hire uneducated, inexperienced people, (many of whom were IMPORTED from foreign countries). These people will be given long term temporary housing allowances, free healthcare and other benefits, and tuition reimbursement, (so they can earn appropriate degrees). Then they will be in YOUR classrooms, teaching YOUR children, and earning alot less than the highly qualified, college educated, nationally recognized, professionally developed, teachers who “walked off.” Good luck with that.
Well said DeJordy.
If $250,000 is considered wealthy in this country, then $70,000-$80,000 is a middle-class (actually lower-middle class) job. We hear so many politicians talking about growing the middle class, but when middle-class workers strike to maintain their middle-class status, people take shots at them. The teachers need to stand up for their rights. That said, Chicago schools need to teach students for a full day. Dismissing students before 3 p.m. is not a full day. I was shocked to learn that, for years, Chicago schools dismissed students just after 1 p.m. EVERY day.
Whoever you’re talking to, Mark, is lying to you. Most Chicago schools NEVER “dismissed students just after 1 p.m. every day.” Some high school students may have been dismissed that early, but if so, their day probably began at 7:30 a.m.
What WAS true, even going back to when I taught for CPS in the early ’70s, was that many schools in tough neighborhoods had eliminated recess and had on-site “lunch hours” of only 30 or 45 minutes. So without recess and with really short lunch periods, a lot of elementary schools DID dismiss at 2:20 or 2:30. Pretty different from what your friend told you!
Between the salary, benefits and Union protections from being let go if you are not performing which many are not(parents have a role in the development and outcome of their childrens education) it is a great part time job, and sorry to say the teachers are concerned about themselves and not the students, which is evident when you have 13 year olds moving on to High School that read at a 5th grade level. Lets also not forget all of the educator discounts that are available throughout the banking, insurance and retail world. Rahm Emanuel is going to break this Unions back and lets all remember who he is affiliated with (Clinton, Obama, Democratic Party) when it comes time to vote this November.
I’m a teacher from Oakland but I now live in Argentina. Here unions, and especially teachers’ unions, play a crucial role in the protection of democracy against powerful economic interests. Strikes here are COMMON, widely supported, and considered normal. It’s one of the best (and only) tools we have available to resist privatization. Argentineans have successfully beaten back the same Reagan-style neoliberal politics that were pushed through in the States, and as a result still have FREE higher education, and FREE universal health care. These public goods are the direct result of popular struggle.
Thank you Chicago Teachers! Now let’s get the American Federation of Teachers bureaucracy to stop screwing around and SUPPORT THE STRIKE!
Well said!!! Unidos!
We speak English in America! Thats another gripe I have the CPS schools. All of this bilingual crap going around. If you want to be an American, ACT like an American. That means speak English, no chickens in the background (call out to Logan Square), and lose some weight you Taco freaks.
I’m sure that goes a long way to explaining the Argentinian economic success story.
do you live by Gabriela Sabatini?
Some of the comments show a complete lack of solidarity. Instead of forming their own unions and fighting for higher wages and benefits they complain about successful unions. They then go out and vote for policies that benefit the one per cent!
Amen!
This line confuses me: “which makes them an attractive tool for austerity-prone conservatives” Are you claiming Emmanuel is a conservative because that would be news to President Obama.
You know a man through his actions. Rahm has persistently appointed corporate hacks to the Bored (sic) of Ed and consistently sought ways to hand schools over to corporate control. If claiming to be a liberal Democrat makes him one, then I claim to be a super model.
fire all the teachers. hire new ones. kids out of school who majored in education and are looking for full time work. any teachers who want to break away from CTU are welcome to apply for their old jobs. the union is striking because they want to keep their union power (a.k.a. the power to keep people in jobs whether they’re effective or not) and the administration wants Principals to choose their teams and teachers to get graded. i hope the strike lasts long enough so the citizenry forces the unions to bust.
I agree with F Prinze above. teachers make an annualized salary of $100k/year in Chicago and we have the worst public school system in the world. that means something’s wrong. short school days = solved. accountability for all involved in educating youth = not yet solved. hopefully this strike solves that but we need parents to step up and tell the union to acquiese on the accountability points…
$100K a year? A principal makes that. I make less than half that.
Please site your source for salary information.
Spoken like a teacher! By the way, has anyone considered that students are not always successful because of a lack of support from home and community? Stop asking the schools to do it all. Raise you kids so I can partner with you and educate them. When did homework and attendance become optional?
hello?!
I agree with FP above. teachers make an annualized salary of $100k/year in Chicago and we have the worst public school system in the world. that means something’s wrong. short school days = solved. accountability for all involved in educating youth = not yet solved. hopefully this strike solves that but we need parents to step up and tell the union to acquiese on the accountability points…
Not all teachers make 100k and you can’t blame the teacher for what the children doesn’t want to do. Now days kids don’t want to go too school or they don’t want to listen to the teacher and yes your right the parents need to step up
CPS is substandard all around from the teachers to the kids to the parents who.have them.
let the strike last long enough for the schools to hire non-union teachers. have kids compete with each other for achievement just like what they have to do in life. at some point in a child’s life they’ll have to compete with others. i think they should start getting used to it as soon as they can. and the teachers should get used to it as well. that’s only possible if Principals choose their teams and if the union doesn’t have the power to keep ineffective educators on the job just because they’ve been ineffective for a long time. if Chicago is going to step up and have a horrible education system (i say step up to be horrible because it’s beyond horrible now) then competition will have to occur.
Mister Kotter would not stand for this! We have plenty of good, caring teachers in CPS and they want what’s best for the kids. They also do not mind getting “graded” themselves like people from every other non-union walk of life. and they long for an educational system which is not the worst on earth. the parents and taxpayers need to stand by the Mayor and force the union out…
I have much to say on this subject, but first let me give you a little background on who I am. I have been a teacher in both private and public schools. I have also had to supplement my own daughter’s elementary and secondary education because of many flaws in the public school system. That said, I SUPPORT both the public schools and the Chicago Teachers Union.
First of all, a majority of teachers, despite the official hours of a public school day, work 80 to 100 hours a week easily. When I was teaching, I had very little time for anything besides preparing for classes, conducting classes, evaluating students and conducting extracurricular activities. Fortunately for me, my family consisted of only my daughter, but our relationship suffered during my years of teaching because I had so little time for her. I shudder to contemplate what it would have been like had I been married or had my parents been alive and needed care. (I admit there is an “occasional” teacher who does not put in the requisite hours; my daughter had one of these in third grade and at that point she was in a “private” school; I transferred her to public school for fourth grade.) Currently, I have a close friend who started her second year teaching in public school; she is married with no children. When Friday rolls around, she is utterly exhausted because, while her school dismisses children at 2:00 PM, she is often working until 7 or 9 P.M., plus she spends Saturdays and Sundays planning lessons. She has dropped ALL social activities in which she used to engage; her marriage is hurting because she cannot spend time with her husband. Yes, several of her friends warned her it would be this way before she started teaching, but she WANTS to teach.
Teachers deserve decent salaries. When I taught, I was paid $1,000 per month before taxes. I am 66 now and work in University administration, earning more than that every two weeks. However, salaries ALONE will not guarantee good teaching. Commitment, better teacher education programs in universities, cooperation from school administrations with teachers, more autonomy and permission of innovation in teaching methodology, equality and adequacy in school funding from government sources, emphasis on analytical and critical thinking rather than socialization are ALL critical factors in producing real education for students.
To deal with commitment: As mentioned, most teachers MUST be committed to put in the hours and days necessary to plan, implement and evaluate effective lessons. But students must be committed to learning as well because, simply stated, NO teacher can open a student’s head and pour in knowledge or develop skills. Only students have the power to LEARN. If they resist, there really is nothing any teacher, however competent, can do. Which is why it is an injustice to hold ONLY the teachers accountable for standardized test scores of their pupils; some pupils deliberately put down “wrong” answers as jokes or forms of rebellion.
Furthermore, students’ school success has also been correlated with parental/familial commitment. If parents are involved or are encouraging in educational efforts, children usually perform better than if they come from backgrounds where parents seem not to care.
Education degree programs in universities often need improvement. Too often these focus more on methodology than they do on content courses. Back in the Eighties, educational theory asserted that, given enough indoctrination in teaching skills, anyone could teach anything. The problem here is that all teaching is “communication” from one person to another person, whatever “method” may be employed. In order to properly communicate one must first understand the material to be communicated. More content courses are needed in the Education Degrees.
Administrative cooperation: I am sure administration in some schools is better than some I experienced. I would still be teaching in a classroom had I not been “fired” twice for conflicts with principals, which is the “kiss of death” for teaching. Despite very successful engagements that range from teaching 15 non-English speaking Cambodian refugees to middle schools in rural and urban areas, I was “asked to resign” from one school because I instituted teacher-student conferences midway in each grading period as a mentorship tactic to improve individuals’ performances — this was seventh grade (not first). The principal insisted this was not the “norm” in her school. I had no union to back me in this conflict. The second time I replaced a teacher who attempted suicide on the third day of the school year. Right before Christmas break, I was discharged because the school did not want to be sued by that teacher. (Her method of suicide was drug overdose.) ??? Again, there was no union at this school. I really wish there had been one for me to join. So, Chicago Teachers Union stand your ground in solidarity!
I could continue but this response is already long-winded.
I am ecstatic to read that Bold Progressives is supporting the union here. I am not a huge union person, but in this case, they are so right. The policies implemented under Duncan and Rahm are designed to destroy the public schools and increase charters, thereby huring the poorest and neediest students. Teachers have been vilified and it’s just disgusting. It is about time that the “reform” movement was viewed correctly as a move towards privatization. Thank you so much. I will now support Bold Progressives!!!!!
As a progressive/liberal, I stand with Rahm. Karen is a poor representative of the union. I know the City has the children’s best interest. But I think the union has the teacher’s best interest.
To the idiot who said 70-80k was middle class, you’re a dumbass. 70k is nearly double the average American’s salary. Those teachers making 70k are complaining? Hell, I bust my ass for 40k a year and I’m happy about it. They want to hit an already struggling economy for more money at the worst possible time? I think it’s bs, they talk out of both sides of their mouths. They claim they teach because they care so much about the kids, yet roughly 400,000 kids aren’t getting an education right now because these ‘teachers’ are striking. It isn’t about the kids, it’s about class warfare. I say give all them their walking papers, there’s plenty of other teachers in the U.S. that would GLADLY work for 70k a year, and be ecstatic about it.
This whole back and forth is killing me,, Teachers make half of what average workers make and they are the backbone of this country. religious schools teach propaganda, and some kids as we know are molested by religious leaders. How wonderful and safe is that? Charter schools are good, and if we paid teachers more, our children would benefit. No teacher makes 100K a principal perhaps,, where you got that number is probably Fox news, They have a problem with a word called ‘truth’ Take care of our teachers, they will atke care of your kids. Stop the raciest, bigoted, B S and wake up.
Say goodbye the time of unions getting what they want and incidentally more than the average American enjoys. This is what is happening all across the country with spoil rotten brats throwing a hissy because the well, which could never be sustained, ran dry. Get used to it, the gravy train is over.
gravy train????? I think that’s Wall Street — you need to direct your venom there!
The teachers strike in Chicago is looming. Both the head of the CPS, and the head of the teachers union are acting like children. Yet, I side with the CPS and not the teachers. The union leader said she was insulted at a 2% payhike. Teachers make more money here in Chicago, than in N.Y. The average teachers salary in Chicago, NOT INCLUDING BENIFITS, is around 70, 000, that’s right, seventy grand a year.
Sorry folks, nothing against unions, but sometimes they go too far, Christ, are unions above regulations? I think not. Teachers are government employees, they have a duty not to strike. I say the CPS should stick too their offer. How many Americans have lost jobs, pensions, and homes. I know teachers are important, work hard, and are educated, but there is a limit to their attitude of entitlement. They are holding our kids hostage, I say tell em take it or leave it, plenty of teachers will work without a union, and they can always form another, or join later. the point is this is a militant tactic and should not be tolerated, they are disrupting the lives of millions, for what?
Roosevelt openly opposed bargaining rights for government unions.
“The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service,” Roosevelt wrote in 1937 to the National Federation of Federal Employees. Yes, public workers may demand fair treatment, wrote Roosevelt. But, he wrote, “I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place” in the public sector. “A strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government.”
And if you’re the kind of guy who capitalizes “government,” woe betide such obstructionists.
Roosevelt wasn’t alone. It was orthodoxy among Democrats through the ’50s that unions didn’t belong in government work. Things began changing when, in 1959, Wisconsin’s then-Gov. Gaylord Nelson signed collective bargaining into law for state workers. Other states followed, and gradually, municipal workers and teachers were unionized, too.
Even as that happened, the future was visible. Frank Zeidler, Milwaukee’s mayor in the 1950s and the last card-carrying Socialist to head a major U.S. city, supported labor. But in 1969, the progressive icon wrote that rise of unions in government work put a competing power in charge of public business next to elected officials. Government unions “can mean considerable loss of control over the budget, and hence over tax rates,” he warned.
We democrats all talk about a collective sacrifice during the economic recovery, but when push comes to shove, this union leader won’t do it. IMHO teachers are the people who are models for our children, yet their union leader needs to grow up. This union leader, I think her name is Lewis,, could use a lesson or two in reality.
BTW, I have worked in Public Schools, I have kids in Public Schools, while some teachers may have legitimate grievances, most teachers are getting paid what they deserve. I understand there is plenty of room for admonition improvements, but their resistance to being fired, must end. Work at a job for two years, after that it’s virtuously impossible to get fired? Wow, that needed to end as soon as it started! They don’t want to be evaluated? Really? Christ, after the abuse and neglect I witnessed, there should be a video camera installed in every classroom!
I stand with the Chicago Teachers Union. Their strike is not primarily about their salary, but working conditions–conditions that affect our children directly. But as to the cost of education, and teachers salaries, three letters: TIF. If the city stopped skimming our tax dollars from the schools, libraries and parks for the mayor’s unaccounted-for slush fund to subsidize already profitable private corporations, perhaps we would have the money we need for public education (and parks!). God grant the union success!
If they want better working conditions then they should get rid of the defective kids..good place to start
Totally agree with the wild mongrel analogy…all decent people send their children to Charter and private schools. Let mongrels teach mongrels
Where are your manners? This is what is wrong withour country, simplistic statements that demoralize today’s youth. You problem is obviously with how wonderful you think you are, and for that – I pity you!
Hey Henry:
Put a lid on it. Patrick has a good point. I know many people who would agree with Patrick. Why would any good parent want to send to their children to a mongrel zoo? Some people are born for greatness, others clean toilets. A fact of genetics and life. Chicago’s northside, North Shore, suburbs would a agree. You know whats wrong with our country? People have no standards for themselves. Socializing with decent people is a STANDARD.
Like I said – manners. Zoo? Toilets? How did you become so arrogant? Your senseless rant is seriously deviated from the subject of working conditions. Don’t bother responding, you have nothing to say that will benefit me in any way.
I’m a CPS 6th grade teacher. While I would love a pay raise, I agree that the kids are teach are unteachable. They shout, run, fight, spit, hit, and are out and out disrespectful to teachers. I only I hope I can find another position outside of Chicago.
I am not trying to pick a side but instead, simply understand because i don’t know or understand the reason for Unions in today’s society. Please read my comments with an open mind as I am not trying to offend anyone. But I do not understand the purpose of having a Union to support these beliefs listed as the reasons they went to strike. Why can’t individual teachers get compensated for how successful they are at their job. I am sure that there are plenty of teachers who deserve pay raises and such. But why do all of them have to get together to to fight for it? Seems reasonable to me that you could use standardized tests with the kids then survey review marks with the parents to determine the merits of the teacher. I’m sure certain grades and subjects are more difficult to teach than others. Those could have varying pay grades too. I work in the corporate world and I am judged on my performance. If I am not a performer, I don’t get pay raises and essentially could get fired. When teachers take their jobs, they know what the pay is right? And I’m sure in the interview process they know that a school has larger class rooms because that would be a question I would ask. If they don’t like the job or the conditions at that school, then they can find a job at a different school right? But because they are unionized, they are in it all together. If i didn’t like my job, I would search for a new one. I remember when i was in school and our teacher’s salaries were somehow leaked out. We found that because a teacher was tenured, they earned twice as much as someone who was 3yrs in out of college. And most of the tenured teachers, were horrible. They were too set in their own old ways. While the newer teachers were more effective and able to teach and relate with the students. If they produced the same testing results or even better out of their students, what makes the tenured teacher worth more? If schools were more regulated with limiting class sizes but offering competitive wages and benefits, then everyone would win. Is a gym teacher worth the same pay as a math teacher? If anyone could let me know why Unions are still used for schools, I would appreciate. Thanks!
Should an effective gym teacher make the same as a math teacher, yes. Someone has to address obesity. The obesity rates in the US are astronomical causing an increase in everyone’s health insurance and other economical problems. Cross motor development done in the gym is highly linked to brain development. I could go on and on because I am educated and teach my students how to live a healthy lifestyle. I believe that everyones’ profession is valuable to all of us from fire fighters to trash men to restuarant works to teachers to businessmen. Maybe it is time for the government and communities to value teachers. (Note, I said effective teachers, I believe in being held accountable for our student’s learning. We just need to develop a fair way to assess that.)
Gym teachers are lesbians
Allow me to attempt a sincere response. It seems you have your mind made up to some extent, but perhaps you haven’t had the benefit of having your questions addressed.
Your Question: “Why can’t individual teachers get compensated for how successful they are at their job. I am sure that there are plenty of teachers who deserve pay raises and such. But why do all of them have to get together to to fight for it?”
– This question of yours is actually two-fold but I put it together because you’re trying to understand an answer in terms of why teachers need a Union. I’m going to start by asking you a question in return. How do you define how successful teachers are at their jobs? (If your answer below is standardized tests, please see below.) In a school district, especially one as large as Chicago, teachers share a community of interest although they work in different schools, with sometimes drastically different working conditions. I used to teach in another of the nation’s largest school districts and I both witnessed and experienced how different schools were from one another. Depending on how the district assigns students to schools, public schools can vary drastically in terms of population served. Students in some schools come from more affluent backgrounds, some schools have more resources, academic preparedness of the students can vary drastically. Having a union allows teachers to unite as a community of interest in order to more fairly serve all students. As a Union, teachers can stand up for their peers in struggling schools. The lack of a Union and a Union contract with consistency regarding issues such as class size, teacher salary, etc, regardless of school, makes it more likely that good teachers will choose to teach in struggling schools. If teachers are only awarded by “how well they do their job” then good teachers may be less inclined to teach where they are most needed. It just makes sense – “I can work with these kids and be a great teacher for them AND make more money, or I can work with these kids, who arguably need my talents more, but I won’t get paid nearly as much and won’t have as much support to do my job well” (think class sizes, for example).
“Seems reasonable to me that you could use standardized tests with the kids then survey review marks with the parents to determine the merits of the teacher. ”
-My response to this thought goes hand in hand with my response above. Standardized test scores alone are not generally considered a fair measure of how well a teacher does her job. I taught at a school where my students were years behind in reading level, before they ever got to me. I also taught at a school where the students were, by and large, considerably more academically prepared, maybe even reading several years ABOVE grade level. I worked equally diligently and was equally attentive to my students at both schools, but guess where the test scores were higher? And, if you think about the potential fall-out of parents and students “grading” the teacher, is that a public schools system you really want? Can you imagine the potential scandal? Accusations of teachers bribing students and parents? Parents and students having the ability to extort teachers for grades, college recommendations, etc.? Cynicism. I’m not even sure I can think of all the potential. And you better believe teachers would want the protection of their Union if this was a likely scenario.
“I work in the corporate world and I am judged on my performance. If I am not a performer, I don’t get pay raises and essentially could get fired.”
-I think a big difference is that of the contrast between the public sector and the private sector. The private sector is valuable, and it has its place in this country and our economy. However, we have a public sector which includes the public education system. The public school system cannot turn away certain learners. I’m not well-versed on the private sector, but I believe corporations get to choose with whom they do business. They make business decisions which are designed to make sure that the corporation makes money, and if you work for a savvy corporation, I imagine they choose entities which enable you to succeed and make them more money. (And I know I’m speaking in a general way on this point – feel free to respond.) Schools don’t have that luxury of choice. What you get is what you get.
Additionally, it’s worth commenting that teachers, and their Unions, are not opposed to evaluations for teachers. Not by any stretch. Teachers and their Unions simply advocate that teachers be a part of the discussion regarding HOW they are evaluated. Can you imagine each individual trying to have that conversation with his or her own principal and the district one at a time? Again, room for scandal, cynicism, inequitable treatment. And that’s not only bad for teachers, it’s bad for kids. Worse for kids.
“When teachers take their jobs, they know what the pay is right? And I’m sure in the interview process they know that a school has larger class rooms because that would be a question I would ask. If they don’t like the job or the conditions at that school, then they can find a job at a different school right? But because they are unionized, they are in it all together. If i didn’t like my job, I would search for a new one. I remember when i was in school and our teacher’s salaries were somehow leaked out. We found that because a teacher was tenured, they earned twice as much as someone who was 3yrs in out of college. And most of the tenured teachers, were horrible. They were too set in their own old ways. While the newer teachers were more effective and able to teach and relate with the students. If they produced the same testing results or even better out of their students, what makes the tenured teacher worth more?”
-Sure, teachers know pay rates when they take a job. They can also view a salary schedule and see what they can expect to make a few years down the line. In fact, anyone can see this. A Google search will allow you to locate and view the entire Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Chicago Board of Education and the Chicago Teachers Union, including salary schedules. This information is hardly secret – it’s very much public. Also, the teachers were already promised a salary increase which the Chicago BoE and Mayor Emmanuel later reneged. I’m not sure I understand the other part of your statement, about teachers “being all in it together.” Do you feel like they are unable to search for a different school because they are Unionized? Most people can expect to make more money over the length of their career. Should teachers not expect the same? Every urban school district I’ve ever heard of requires professional development, continued education, and undoubtedly teaching is a career where one becomes stronger and more effective over time. Additionally, there is often an expectation that older teachers will mentor and model strong professional skills for newer teachers. As a young teacher, I had no problem with my colleagues who’d been teaching for years, even decades longer than I making more money. Additionally, I had an incentive to continue teaching, honing my craft, becoming more educated because I had the potential to make a higher salary over time. Teachers Unions understand this and I would argue serve not only members but KIDS well by making sure that people can teach for their entire lives. Also, i don’t know about this statement of tenured teachers being horrible. I had phenomenal teachers. Some of them were new. Heck, some of them were student teachers! However, some of them had been teaching for decades. My BEST teacher and greatest inspiration taught for 40 years by the time I had her. I also had a couple of bad eggs of all ages and levels of experience. A good teacher is a good teacher. A bad teacher should be guided, and maybe even counseled out of the profession. But there are bad eggs everywhere – we can’t go painting with a broad brush.
“If schools were more regulated with limiting class sizes but offering competitive wages and benefits, then everyone would win. Is a gym teacher worth the same pay as a math teacher? If anyone could let me know why Unions are still used for schools, I would appreciate. Thanks!”
As to this point about class sizes, teachers Unions advocate so strongly on this point BECAUSE of their members. With teachers unions, especially with the CTU and its national affiliate the AFT, the issues are identified by the members and pursued by the members and Union leadership. Without a Union, who would even pursue this issue?
I know I didn’t address every question you posed, but I hope you consider this a sincere response and I hope it helps to answer some of your questions.
Leslie
You are so far out of the ballpark it isn’t funny. Wind bagging it will not get you any closer to that raise you really don’t deserve. Also, where is your kindness? You seem more concerned with yourself rather than those underachievers you teach. Make up your mind?
John,
For your information, I’m not a teacher anymore. Just a well-informed citizen who misses her students, cares about kids, and cares about teachers also. The mistake the public seems to make is to assume that what’s good for teachers is bad for kids. If you really delve into the issues at hand, you find that is not the case and I think my response attempts to explain why I believe this to be so.
What about my post is “so far out of the ballpark it isn’t funny”? And as to my kindness it’s shocking that you can make such an assumption based on the fact that I wrote something which with you happened to disagree. You know nothing about me, John. That seems awfully judgmental.
old wind bag
I dunno 30% pay increase seems waaaaaaaay too much. Graduation rate is around 55%, the median income for teachers in Chicago is $76,000. I understand some teachers make little, but I know not many other professions where you get nearly 100 days off a year and still get paid for it. I can understand cost of living increases, wanting a raise. Fine, but 30% seems like a cheap bargaining ploy. from what I understand, the city offered a 2% increase every year for the next 4 years, and the CTU countered with 30%, then 25% and now 19% in one year. Different publications imply different numbers but the one consistent issue above all are poor student scores. Now that’s not all teachers fault, and it would be wrong to say so. It’s much more of a failure, that comes from the entire Education System. However, a raise seems to be far from the right thing to work on right now. If I’m missing something, please tell me.
Sign this petition and ask Obama to come walk on the picket line like he promised he would do back in 2007
“And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself, I’ll walk on that picket line with you as President of the (USA). Because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner.” – Barack Obama in Spartanburg, SC. 11/3/07 (Video: bit.ly/fSCkq3)
sign here
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/have-president-obama-come-home-and-walk-picket-line-chicago-teachers-union-he-promised-2007/r084LdlB
Obama is concerned about one person himself. If you are so blinded by his teleprompted speechs and actually believe he means what he says you need to go back to school. Wake up!
I’m really torn about this issue. Our schools have been failing for the last twenty years. In an economic climate where we don’t have zillions to put into failing schools, what do we do?
I understand teachers want to turn schools around by themselves, but it hasn’t worked. Is it funding or bureaucracy? Is it teacher training, what?
I quit because of teacher tenure – I don’t believe in it. I taught in wealthy schools, so money was not a factor. I listened to teachers waiting to retire in x years.
If schools cannot be turned around, what is so wrong with the private sector coming in to help. Microsoft has done a marvelous job and they aren’t teaching any screwed up religious program as suggested above. They are innovative and the students are thriving.
If the private sector and the teachers could work together toward a common goal of the children, the children wouldn’t be used as pawns again and again. If these kids are used as pawns, they’re doomed to another year or generation of failure and who will take the blame? Who will ultimately lose – the kids.
The world is changing, and the United States ranks so far behind the world in education. We have a CRISIS on our hands. Our kids are being dumbed downed. The kids who need it the most get the least.
Stop bickering for once and put the children first. Here’s a tidbit of information: Cleveland, OH had separate schools devoted to trades, business, higher ed, industry, health – and it worked superbly until someone decided each school should offer everything. This was in the 1940’s.
How is a $70k salary – in a major US city – extreme? And to suggest that teaching is a part time job is absolutely ludicrous. As a professional musician who spends less than 40 hours a week “at work” in rehearsals and concerts, but many more hours on my own preparing for said work, I identify with these teachers.
I love this. Newsflash idiots: A slight decrease to a promised raise IS NOT A PAY DECREASE. You were offered a 16% RAISE OVER 4 YEARS. Here’s what teacher’s unions want: More pay, more benefits, less kids, and no accountability. What a fucking racket.
And to the idiot “musician” above me, 70k, even in a “major US city” is extreme. If that person is married to someone even making 50k, they’re in the top 85 percentile of household income.
What’s with the quotes? Is Chicago not a major US city? And am I not a musician? Regardless, you make a pretty big assumption there by concluding your teacher in question is married, in the first place, and by assuming they are married to someone making another decent salary. It takes a LOT of conjecture to make that one teacher all of a sudden part of the top 85%. Sheesh.
-Teachers DO tend to be married, usually to higher income earners.
-Median HOUSEHOLD income in the US is 40k, so an INDIVIDUAL making 70k is quite well off, even in Chicago (which isn’t nearly as expensive as NYC, Boston, or even DC).
Even by the CTU’s calculation, Chicago’s teachers make more than the teachers of any other city except potentially NYC. Also, even the study posted here (probably biased) shows that school choice outperforms areas that do not have choice. Yes charter schools have little impact in suburban neighborhoods, but parents in those neighborhoods are already exhibiting school choice by being in those neighborhoods. However, in the most disadvantage areas, Charter schools have a noticeable impact. Again, that is from the study posted here, not some radically conservative organization. Not to mention private schools are much more efficient than public schools. Finally, even some of the stronger advocates of public, progressive schooling argue for decentralized schools (implies no unions). Deborah Meier is a perfect example.
The are so many factually incorrect things in this, I don’t know where to begin. Talking about “conservatives” when Chicago has been governed by Democrats for 75 years is a joke. It is not low pay for work load at all. That is a joke median in Chicago is $76k.
Teachers don’t want to be accountable with merit pay. They don’t’ want competition with charter schools. If charter schools suck, then there shouldn’t be a concern- everyone will continue to go to regular public schools. What a joke. They know charter schools will put them out of a job or make them accountable.
Teachers were “promised” a raise of 4%? By who? They have a contract. They should sue if that is in their contract. Teachers (and unions in general) have no clue what reality is. Taxpayers are stretched, unemployment is up, taxes are up, home values are down, incomes are down. Nobody except union workers even has a pension anymore…except corporate CEO’s…the so called 1% that they vilify.
Well said Chicago Citizen.
All striking teachers should be replaced!! Everyone knows the Charter schools are better and the reason is that Charter schools have Better students and teachers!!!! I would never send my child to school with those inner city mongrels. It’s a waste of tax payer money to even attempt to educate them…the truth.
Totally agree with the wild mongrel analogy…all decent people send their children to Charter and private schools. Let mongrels teach mongrels
Unions decrease accountability and standards. Let kids compete for education. The stupid ones should dig ditches. END WELFARE!!!!! Make them work!!! Lazy trashy people
Lazy trashy people – obviously you missed the most important lesson in education, KINDNESS. Grow up, I am afraid your idiotic comments may be contagious.
Trash is trash….and needs to be thrown out
Hey Henry, I agree with Elissa. You CPS teachers mostly waste our tax dollars teaching kids who will NEVER amount to anything. Kindness? Be kind to kids who have potential.
Where do you live, China? They also have policies that only support the elite few – men. Let’s start limiting families that are not deemed high enough quality to procreate. Will this make you extremists happy? Teachers are not to blame, get a grip and quit pointing the finger. Arrogance is and it is in every economic status.
Don’t confuse arrogance with self-respect and concern for one’s own children.
Sadly, the elite are the smartest
First off, there are great teachers and bad ones out there. There should be some kind of meritocracy in place so not everyone gets lumped together. Secondly you are a fiscally irresponsible person if you can’t live off $85k a year in any city in the U.S. Thirdly, for anyone to think that their occupation is better, harder, whatever than anyone else’s is just unreasonable. Have you come up with a factual measurement to compare the world against yourself, this is not aimed at teachers or office workers, it’s all of you. Lastly, can someone with an ounce of reason tell me how increasing wages by whatever percentage helps the kids. So if you made $80k a year versus $85, you would be a better teacher at $85k? Yes, fair wages, I get it, I wouldn’t want to be shafted either. But, I’m not going to prance around saying my extra pay is for the children.
P.S. Most CPS students come from families who make less than $50k combined. You are also asking their families to pay more in taxes. Just a thought.
Definitively not everything you need to know is here. I believe I am not adding anything to the comment thread that had not been said before; but I want to record that those teachers are not getting any sympathy from me. The rest of the salaried employees in this country are working more for less pay; teachers need to adapt to that reality, they do not live in a different world than the rest of us. Further, they are fighting proper evaluations of their work. All teachers are hard working, most people are, but not all of them are effective at what they do, those that are not effective should be replaced regardless of how hard working they might be. The kids do not deserve to be treated like this. The kids and their parents get my synmpathy.
This article gives the weakest excuses for a strike I’ve ever heard. If I were the mayor, I’d fire you all and start over. Everyone would be better off in the long run.
By the way I come from a family of outstanding teachers (2 grandparents, 1 parent, and 2 sisters), so I’m very familiar with what their schedule is like, and it’s a schedule most people would love to have. The first couple years might be tough, but that’s true of any profession. Now start acting like professionals if you want to be treated like them.
You totally get me sista
I hope the court system puts a stop to this strike nonsense. Get some teachers in there that appreciate their job. Not these bloodsuckers who want something for nothing.
All I hear is how unfair things are. Give me a break, what about your supreme leader President Obama talking about shared sacrifice, well maybe it is time for you to give up some of your perks, start paying a bit more for your healthcare and how about year round school for the children that cannot seem to get in line. I don’t know anyone in the private sector that works 9 months out of the year, has ever holiday off, spring and winter breaks and is asking for a 30% pay raise to work a 7 hr day. You should be happy you have a job and the useless teachers that you are trying to protect with your evaluation negotiations are the ones that are giving you a bad name. By the way the evaluations are part of the program which national democrats (Obama, Emanuel, Booker and others) have mandated.
You ppl are crazy. This isn’t a discussion on weather or not we should pay teachers, its just ANOTHER one on HOW MUCH. If they get this one, in a coupe of years, they’ll be saying the same thing and everyone will be talking about how important teachers are. I get it, but stop the madness. They are holding all those parents and children hostage.
The Public Education System has been in decline for 50 years. Any family that can afford to remove their children from this system usually does so as quickly as possible. The NEA, the Teachers Unions, care more about themselves than about the children. If that is not the case, why not give charter schools a chance. Becuase you offer an inferior product and it’s only getting worse. No amount of money will fix it.
Unions, like churches and private schools, are entities aimed at bettering society, yet built for on the SAME grounds as a BIG business. They are just businesses with a different mask. I understand the importance of unions, but I believe that the philosophy behind unions has changed quite a bit since their inception. Proud union workers have turned into inconsiderate workers, working with the understanding that available jobs are endlessly at arms reach. There is no penalty for being crap to the industry, because wherever you look, you are welcomed with open arms.
This is the place where racism is truly alive and well.
segregation would cure all of this back and forth fighting and debating. people need to stay with their own kind and take care of their own kind.
I believe the mayor was elected by the people to do the interest of the people, therefore he needs to get involve to resolve these issues in the best interest of the people and the children of Chicago
I can’t believe that in this day and age we are having this debate. What we need is an IPAD for every kid, with apps that will teach the full curriculum based on the childs likes and dislikes. The kids could pick and choose who they want to teach them the lessons. The older kids could make their own video lessons for the younger kids. I bet with the right set of apps and the efforts of the best teachers and developers that we could develop an app that would let our kids soar way past other nations and in half the time. Why do we keep doing things the same old way? It’s a new era – let’s get on with it! Why pay teachers to teach 20 kids when one teacher could supervise 100 kids with their Ipads?
Obviously not a teacher if deluded into thinking that an IPAD is the answer… Wow! It is going to take new ideas for sure, more early childhood education, smaller classrooms and some charter options. Teaching has to get to a point where it competes with corporate America for the best talent… and that my friends is going to take more $ combined with pay for performance which gets tricky.
Emanuel’s tactics smell too much of the kind of behavior that scares me about the extreme right wing of the Republican party. He’s not what we need to keep democracy alive in this country. It is very telling that Paul Ryan agrees with him. He is in very bad company.
If parents want they children to go to any school, then pay for it yourself. do not use federal money or our taxes. Public schools is the best that this country had provided for their people.
I substitute taught junior high almost 20 years ago in another state (shock) and wouldn’t want to teach any grade below community college again. I taught one class full of the students all teachers dream of and many of the rest were completely out of control monsters, and this wasn’t a poor district. Everybody should have the opportunity to be an extra in movies to see their idols screw up badly and be a substitute teacher to see how those little darlings behave. That way you may have more respect for those who stand before them on a daily basis.
Everyone on this forum is missing the point. We have teachers on drugs having sex with their students and getting DUI’s. Why in the hell would anyone want to give them a pay raise? Every job I’ve held I had to prove I was worthy of a pay raise ( and I didn’t get high at work or sleep with my coworkers). The public needs to think outside of the box and create a new paradigm to dilute the inner city population and take these teachers out of the public education system.
As a life-long left leaning democrat I am hesitant to criticize anyone who strikes for almost any reason, but this year, with so many people out of work and out of unemployment, teachers who are making far more than they do here in Florida, and far more than median household income nationally, appear a little insensitive. I feel that they should take a one year freeze and work without a contract and save this battle for better times. Better yet, negotiate while kids are in school and show that the kids’ education is really #1 in their minds.
I thought they were striking because negotiations failed?
I would like discuss the poor Jew people for a while. The blacks are boring.
The Jewish population requires no government assistance. We support and operate our Jewish schools for our Jewish kids. This is blessing. Seldom do our children come in contact with the poor people of the city. Again, this is a blessing. My mother’s side of the family are Hasidic Jews while my Father’s side are Orthodox Jews. As a boy it never occurred to me that the poor illiterate people even existed in Chicago. It was culture when I ventured out on my own at 18 years of age. Immediately, I tried to convince my family and friends to move to the suburbs where it would be safe and clean as my anxiety continued to grow. The encroachment of the inner city kids created such an uproar in my community and escalated to a point where every good Jew relocated to the northern suburbs. Out faith and safety were at stake and hard decisions needed to be made.
unfortunately, we have become a society where corporations are people with far too much control over policy, the rich have gotten far richer over the past 30 years, the middle class has vanished, and too many people are poorer than ever. i don’t want to be at the mercy of insurance companies, oil companies, advertising companies or any other ‘megalopolis’ as i call them. and i want a government that does what it’s supposed to- protect and support people and make sure that the game is not rigged for anyone – black, white, muslim, jew. it’s not public schools or teachers. absolutely nothing is going to change for real until we, together, do something about the shameful amount of people in poverty. have you asked yourself why we subsidize oil, but not people? and do some fact checking about charter schools and schools in other countries. don’t believe the first thing you read, which is usually written by a special interest.
How do you starve an African American?
Answer: hide their paycheck under their work boots.
Question: How was copper wire invented?
Answer: Two Jews fighting over a penny…
All CPS buildings should have air conditioners and metal detectors, and all the chalk the teachers can use (and a lot of the schools don’t have those things). But it won’t matter if the teachers don’t know anything or care if the students learn anything.
What most people don’t know about CPS (but as someone who has taught working CPS teachers, I know) is that most of the teachers know absolutely nothing. In addition, many of the principals are more interested in hiring black faculty than hiring faculty with content knowledge. Sure, it’s great if the candidate meets both criteria, but the applicant pool just doesn’t have enough candidates who meet both criteria to fill the classrooms.
The charter schools seem like the best solution. They are staffed exclusively by faculty who value education, unlike the mix you get in the regular public schools. The only other solution is to fire all current CPS teachers and have a much more rigid hiring process overseen by actual educators instead of people who got promoted to principal because they can’t teach (a situation not unique to CPS – apparently most public schools have this problem).
Charter schools might help, but I’m not so sure. I think the problem is more intrinsic to the system, and won’t be eradicated with “get new schools altogether.” Do you not foresee these same problems developing in the charter schools, as long as they’re in the same location?
Whatever happened to the idea that education starts at home??????
It does start at home and these southside parents are teaching their kids how to smoke dope, steal from the neighbor, and prostitute themselves. Thats the plain truth.
Maybe the system should continue hiring from the “Teach for America Corps.”
They do 6 weeks of in classroom internship( even though many of them teach off subject and don’t have a clue) and are guaranteed a job.
I am a former CPS teacher and believe me, I am so glad to be able to say FORMER. My original vision was to make a difference in this world and help these kids learn and grow up to be successful adults. It was struggle from the get go but I persevered for three years. Personally, I almost had a nervous breakdown because of the way I was treated by the students and parents. The parents do not help in the education process and only teach the kids bad manners and habits. I was swimming upstream and fighting a losing battle. I admire any teacher who can hang in there for a substantial time.
You are a trooper. I can’t imagine that was easy. Although I didn’t grow up in the inner city (I lived nearly a half-hour’s car ride west), I attended an underfunded school district with several unsavory neighborhoods, and as a consequence it was difficult for several teachers to earn children’s respect (we constantly got new Language Arts teachers in junior high), and the children often knew things they *definitely* shouldn’t have.
I am amazed at the ignorance and hate in these comments – they almost make me ashamed to be a Chicagoan. Although, admittedly, I did not grow up within the city, but closely outside of it, on the west side. In fact, all my life I attended school in the one district of Cook County that, the last time I checked, payed their teachers EVEN LESS than what the teachers in CPS earned. Now that’s just pitiful – I’m amazed at the resilience of the teachers who stayed, because it can’t have been easy. Some of them were qualified enough to get a cushy job at a Blue Ribbon school, but no, they made personal sacrifices and taught underprivileged children, and I will forever be grateful for them. But, at some point, a teacher’s pittance pay is no longer livable, they can’t handle constantly teaching a class size of 40 children (I didn’t have classes lower than 30 students until my senior year of high school) – nor at *increasing* hours – and they’re tired of the general poor conditions of their work environment. Not to mention – and this seems to be something that a LOT of people commenting are forgetting – many of these children come from neighborhoods rife with gang activity and other things no child should grow up around. Yes, it often affects their behavior – they think no one else gives a crap… and if they were to look at several of these comments, most likely made by people with cushy incomes and an air-conditioned office, they would probably feel proven correct. And that saddens me. I just can’t believe all the heartless posts.
Ease up on the religious commentary! No need to be an ignorant person as we all live in one world.
As for the teachers of the CTU, they live in their own world as well. Join the rest of society, our economy, our incomes and the way we have to be evaluated to keep our jobs! The CTU gives the union a bad name. Unions protect hard work. Unions protect quality work. Unions protect a workers dedication.
The CTU is on strike for the “kids”? No it is NOT! Those teachers are full of it(especially the blonde “drunk teacher”). She’s a poor role model for Crane students. Bad teachers are bing protected by the masses of the good who feel that they will be protected one day as well when they choose to use sit back and collect a pay check. Review every teacher and if they fail or their work is unexceptable, put them on probation. Review them every three weeks for progress after that and if they can’t improve they are fired!
Join the world of the working class. You do your job and you get paid. You don’t do your job you get fired! You got your raise now go back to the kids you say you protect and teach. I wish Chicago would fire all the treads who call themselves teachers. Bring in new teachers from the suburbs who know teaching to teach, will appreciate the opportunity to make a difference and appreciate the paycheck they will receive for a days work!
Applause!! I agree 100%%.
Karen Lewis is the biggest (literally) blowhard in Chicago. Typical for a Union worker. Give me, give me, give me….with no merits to base it on. Just like a welfare recipient. There is no difference.
Surprised, TIFs weren’t mentioned:
via Tom Tressor Chicago’s 163 TIF districts grabbed
$454 MILLION IN 2011!
$510 MILLION IN 2010!
Who got TIF dollars?
United Airlines – $31,0000,000
Willis Insurance – $3,800,000
Home Depot – $10,000,000
Jewel/Osco – $9,600,000
K-Mart – $3,700,000
Union Station Health Club – $3,200,000
Sears – $13,700,000
Target – $9,900,000
Chicago Mercantile Exchange – $14,000,000
Who is hurt?
Our public schools. Our public libraries,
Our public parks. Our city colleges.
Our public transit system. Our public health clinics.
All local government.
HELP US INVESTIGATE AND EXPOSE
THE TIF SYSTEM IN CHICAGO.
COME TO THE READ/WRITE LIBRARY
914 N. CALIFORNIA
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 6:30-9:30pm
More information: 312-804-3230
Tom Tresser – tom@civiclab.us
http://www.civiclab.us/
http://www.tifreports.us/
STOP THE PLUNDERING OF OUR
PUBLIC PROPERTY TAXES FOR PRIVATE
GAIN BY CONNECTED INSIDERS!
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
August 15 already passed.
What is the CTU work rule on “working off the clock?” As in “preparing” for class and “grading papers at home.” What is the rule on purchasing supplies “out of pocket” for the workplace? My union has specific, negotiated, rules against both with serious penalties for breaking union rules. This should be a “yes or no” reply.
Stop spending public dollars on the inner city. Those kids would benefit more from working in a factory or digging ditches.
I teacher Kindergarten in Delaware, have taught for 10+ years grades K-3. I simply would like to start out by asking anyone before making their harsh comments to spend a week in the life of a teacher. I wouldn’t pretend to know the day-to day issues of high school, but I can tell you that I was still at school at 9:00pm Friday night preparing for next week. My job is all consuming, however I have wonderful parent support this year. Each year I’m told I have to do more, more, more (not asking for a raise, but just expected to do it). I have managed to be successful with my students each year. This year our school is piloting a new survey assessment that consists of 30 anecdotel records for each child in my class. This is in addition to the multitude of assessments I’m already required to do. I have finally reached the point where I have no time left to give. I am tapped out. This is the message I hear from the CPU. Every year we are starting with different number of human resources, different children, different requirements. It’s like starting a new job every August. Again, I would just ask that any parent come spend a day/ week in a teacher’s life. I don’t know why the public perception is “get rid of BAD TEACHERS?.” And why ther perception is there are so many bad teachers. I have worked in many other jobs before teaching, and this is by far the one which my day doesn’t end when the kids leave, when I go home, I take my job with me (Even on Sundays), and still I have a family of my own to attend to in the meantime. I hope the issues CPU has gets resolved quickly for everyone’s sake.
Fuck the overpaid teachers and the unions they come from. No one deserves a job just because. No one deserves a raise every year without performing. Very few of us ever see over 3% raises why should you get a raise and a lane advancement? Few of us have pensions but we should pay yours? Taxpayers stand up and force the change.
Howdy! This blog post could not be written any better! Looking through this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
He always kept talking about this. I will forward this
post to him. Fairly certain he’ll have a very good read. Many thanks for sharing!
of course like your website however you have
to take a look at the spelling on quite a few of your posts.
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