In Defense of the Rubber Stamp
As Regional Director for Teacher Development with Last Stand for Children, I have attended quite a few Chicago Board of Education meetings. I have always loved these meetings for the model of efficiency that they are. Even though the Board knows how they will rule on things ahead of time, community members will wait in line for 2 or 3 hours so that they can have their voices heard on education matters that affect them and their families. The Board skillfully groups speakers on common topics into one two minute presentation so that everybody will have their voice heard. The speakers don't change anything and that's fine. They feel that they've had their voice heard and that's what democracy is all about.
All of that orderly democracy was ruined on December 14th when parents and community activists aligned to an agenda pushed forward by the militant