Sunday, September 09, 2012

Strike out: Chicago public school teachers walk out; non-union charter schools still in session

Occupy Chicago anti-NATO summit rally--
on a school day!
There will be no classes in most of Chicago's government-run schools tomorrow. Members of the Chicago Teachers Union are on strike. However, Chicago's better-performing charter schools--which are non-union--will be in session. Barely half of Chicago's high school students earn a diploma in the unionized schools, while over 90 percent of those studying in charter schools do.

The greedy teachers union has called for a thirty percent raise. Chicago doesn't have the money--and besides, the teachers don't deserve a big raise. Perhaps a pay cut is in order. The Great Recession has hit President Obama's adopted hometown hard. As for Obama, luckily, he had the money to send his daughters to a private school. He and Michelle may be progressive radicals, but they are not dumb.

Many states ban teacher strikes. Illinois considered legislation to join those wiser states last year, but Illinois being ILL-inois, it of course made the wrong decision and caved in the public-sector unions.

Since most Chicago school children receive free meals from the Chicago Public Schools, kids will be told to report to consolidated schools for half-days. Rival gang members could end up facing off against each other--with predictable and bloody results. As for the rest of the day, what are the parents supposed to do--especially those with kids in the early grades? Many parents will miss work tomorrow--the economic impact will of course be negative.

The Occupy-loving Chicago Teachers Union is "for the kids," right?

Look what one-party rule--by the Democrats--has done to Chicago and Illinois.

Oh, Illinois needs its own Scott Walker.

I've been generally supportive of Rahm Emanuel's tough stance against the CTU. However, he needs to devote more time to ending the strike in a fiscally sound manner. Dropping his leadership role with a pro-Obama Super PAC should free up some time for him.

Related posts:

2 comments:

Antonio Loveless said...

Well this is a poorly written article. This article is trying to provide information that has no merit and is untrue.

"However, Chicago's better-performing charter schools--which are non-union--will be in session. Barely half of Chicago's high school students earn a diploma in the unionized schools, while over 90 percent of those studying in charter schools do."
So interesting you mention this because charter schools get to choose (discriminate on) which students get to attend their school. Not only that, charter schools can just close down and reopen under a different name if something isn't working out for them. Charter schools take public money and are allowed to circumvent education regulations.

"The greedy teachers union has called for a thirty percent raise. Chicago doesn't have the money--and besides, the teachers don't deserve a big raise. Perhaps a pay cut is in order."
"Rival gang members could end up facing off against each other--with predictable and bloody results. As for the rest of the day, what are the parents supposed to do--especially those with kids in the early grades? Many parents will miss work tomorrow--the economic impact will of course be negative." Seriously? You point out so much for me to redirect you down the right path. Teachers are who have to risk their lives to be the peace keepers between the "rival gang members" all the while educating. Chicago teachers are also the parental figure to a lot of the kids. The kids' parents do a horrible job at teaching their own children respect and discipline that teachers have to do it on the time in which is meant for educating. Teachers are also the nurse, the counselor, the social worker, etc. Teachers have to pull from their own pocket to provide the resources for their students in the classroom. If anything, these teachers deserve so much more.

Illinois may be "broke" as you put it, but in actuality, the money is just not placed in the right hands. Who did we bail out? How much were they making? Tell me why our teachers, public servants, don't deserve more for educating the youth...for providing them with a future?

Marathon Pundit said...

Wrong. Charter school students are picked by a lottery--only siblings of kids already in a charter school bypass the selection process. Your "cherry-picking" argument is false.

The unionized schools have been failing Chicago kids for two generations. More of the failing schools need to close---the current system of shuttering dysfunctional schools only scratches the surface.

But you seem to approve of closing (how many are there? Are there any?) failing charter schools.

There are some great Chicago public school teachers at the unionized schools. They should be rewarded financially. Those not doing the job, as what happens in the private sector, should be let go if they don't turn their performances around. That's something the Chicago Teachers Union opposes.

If the CTU really cared about the kids, they'd be teaching today.