Our Kids Do Not Deserve This

Our Kids Do Not Deserve This.

The cheap shot to counter any teacher efforts to improve the quality of education that runs counter to the prevailing corporate-reform ideology of the day.  Of course the kids do not deserve to be deprived of an education for even one day, but the Chicago teachers’ strike is bigger than completely depriving students of an education for several days; it is about consistently flawed effort that deprives students of a quality education every day.

The Chicago strike is more than a Union issue.  It is an education reform issue that affects union and non-union districts alike.  Teachers in Chicago just have the ability to bring those issues to national attention while many others across the nation have no recourse beyond trying to get the word out to anyone who will listen.

What is the Chicago Teachers’ Union asking for?  Read for yourself here. In summary,

Number one on the list: recognize that class size matters.

Two: Educate the whole child.  This includes a plea for adequate arts, languages, and library services in schools.

Three: Provide more counselors, nurses, social workers, etc., to better serve low-income students.

Four: Address economic and racial inequities in funding.

Five: Full day kindergarten and better pre-school services.

Six: Better salaries, more time and autonomy for teachers.

Seven: Better services for bilingual and special needs students.

Eight: Better maintenance of school facilities.

Nine: Help and encourage parents to become more involved in their children’s education.

Ten: Fully fund education in Chicago.

Don’t be fooled.  This strike is not about low pay.  Nationwide, salary and compensation are not the driving forces behind teacher dissatisfaction.  Teachers are dissatisfied that increasing reform and legislation directed at improving public school is harming public education in America. 

Opposing current policies that affect teacher salaries and pensions, tenure laws, evaluation systems and accountability are easily written off as matters of self-interest.

But, these policies are only a part of an education agenda that denigrates the role of teacher and sacrifices quality education for an illusion of efficiency.

Our students do not deserve this.