Diane Ravitch: Tomorrow is Decision Day in Chicago.
BY DIANE RAVITCH | 09/09/2012
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Tomorrow, Wear Red for ED toSupport Chicago Teachers |
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has tried to bully the Chicago Teachers Union and its leader Karen Lewis.
Lewis was elected by the members because they knew she would stand up for them.
Emanuel has the support of the Wall Street hedge fund managers organization, somewhat absurdly called Democrats for Education Reform. He also has the other big-monied people in Chicago, as mentioned in this article in the Chicago Tribune, including billionaire Penny Pritzker.
The article mentions that DFER staged a protest at union headquarters to oppose a strike. I wonder how many hedge fund managers send their children to Chicago public schools. I am trying to imagine hedge fund managers marching in front of union headquarters and carrying signs. I am guessing that what happened was that they “staged” a protest, meaning that they hired out-of-work actors to carry protest signs. Maybe the unemployed actors have children in the Chicago public schools.
The great thing about having Karen Lewis there is that every teacher in America knows she will stand strong for them. She will not sell them out. And she will not sell out the children.
She knows that teachers’ working conditions are children’s learning conditions.
Both Rahm and Penny know that too. That’s why they don’t send their children to the schools for which they are responsible. They send their children to a school with small classes, lots of arts and physical education, a great library, experienced teachers, and a full curriculum. The school where they send their children doesn’t give standardized tests and does not evaluate teachers by their students’ test scores.