Nite Cap STRIKE UPDATE
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
We Are All Chicago Teachers Now
The reformyists will try to convince you that the Chicago teachers are greedy, self-interested unionistas who aren't saintly enough for the calling of education.
The new vision, championed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who used to run Chicago's schools, calls for a laser focus on standardized tests meant to gauge student skills in reading, writing and math. Teachers who fail to raise student scores may be fired. Schools that fail to boost scores may be shut down.And the monopoly that the public sector once held on public schools will be broken with a
CHICAGO TEACHERS MAKE MORE THAN THE AVERAGE MIDDLE CLASS CHICAGOAN – OH THE HORROR !
Just heard a conservative business reporter on television give a report on the Chicago teachers’ strike. He was highly critical of the teachers and exclaimed the following in a voice filled with outrage, ” And the teachers already make more than the average middle class Chicagoan.”
Oh yes, the horror of it all. Imagine, teachers being compensated slightly more than the average middle class person. What’s a matter with these teachers ? Don’t they know their place ? Why those uppity, class jumping, ungrateful and greedy people. If only they were like doctors, dentists, lawyers, and other professionals who I’m sure are never above the middle in compensation.
It’s interesting that when I started teaching and had to work four extra jobs in order to make ends meet, there
The Beautiful Struggle [Society's Fair Contract for Educators]
Karen Lewis, President, Chicago Teachers Union
My alarm played the final chorus to The Jacksons’ “Can You Feel It?”, my amp-up anthem for most mornings. The blood rushes up my feet as I wiggle off the comforter and wipe the crust out of my eye. After freshening up and turning on the TV, NBC4 News here in New York City makes clear what I felt coming all along: the Chicago teachers’ strike is on. They had done it. While feeding my eight-month old, I applauded loudly in my mind. Even after Mayor Rahm Emanuel (and Stand for Children’s Jonah Edelman) raised the threshold for striking up to 75%, the Chicago Teachers’ Union hurdled over that bar and then some.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
As I sat in the office rethinking my lessons on exponents (more on that later), I felt moved by the notion that right now, thousands of educators in the third-largest school district would band together against a common
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A statement from DMEA President Andrew Rasmussen: )
A statement from DMEA President Andrew Rasmussen:
"Educators and union members across the country stand in solidarity with the educators in Chicago who have decided to bravely say "enough is enough" to the illegitimate, ineffective, and harmful policy prescriptions of the so-called education "refrom" movement. Although we, as the teachers and parents of Chicago would as well, prefer to have students in high quality learning environments we understand that sooner or later someone, somewhere had to stand up to the so-called reformers and stick up for students and educators. DMEA supports the Chicago Teachers Union stand against disproven, ill informed measures that tie student test scores to teachers evaluations. DMEA applauds the Chicago teachers for saying "no" to merit pay systems tied to student test scores that would enforce a stale regimen of teaching to the test and divide staff against each
30,000 rally on first day of Chicago teacher strike.
Fred has more at :
30,000 rally on first day of Chicago teacher strike
Had to throw in one joke:
Rush Limbaugh: Chicago teacher strike a ploy to re-elect Obama
Chicago Teacher on Why He’s Striking Against Rahm Emanuel’s Pro-Business Education Agenda
Chicago teachers rally nearby city hall in ChicagoWhat the Chicago teachers are doing is a profound act of resistance. The elites say people should not even dare to protest because there will be no “results.” They are told to act more like adults and get back to negotiating