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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Chicago strike ends, but debate continues over how we regard and treat teachers in America | Get Schooled

Chicago strike ends, but debate continues over how we regard and treat teachers in America | Get Schooled:


Chicago strike ends, but debate continues over how we regard and treat teachers in America

A relieved Chicago sent its children back to school today as teachers agree to tentative contract. (AP Images)
A relieved Chicago sent its children back to school today as teachers agree to tentative contract. (AP Images)
Today, 350,000 students return to school in Chicago where the striking teachers’ union has agreed to a tentative contract.
Much commentary has been written about the seven-day strike but I found this piece by New York Times columnist Joe Nocera among the most interesting. He talks to noted education researcher Marc Tucker, quoted here on the blog a few months on why Finnish schools perform so well.
An ongoing frustration with education debates — including many on this blog — is that we focus on things that don’t matter, that appeal to ideologues and bumper sticker voters who don’t have time to read the fine print.
Georgia is now in a frenzy over a charter school amendment that will do nothing to dramatically