Dana Goldstein on the First Teachers’ Union
Dana Goldstein has written an interesting commentary on the history of teacher unionism.
Chicago was the home of the very first teachers’ union, and it was founded by a tough female teacher named Margaret Haley.
Haley hated the factory-style schools of the day, objected to rigid standardization, and wanted dignity for the teaching profession. I will quote some of her words on another post.
For now, read Dana’s overview of the origins of the teachers’ union in Chicago. I told Dana, by the way, that I
Chicago was the home of the very first teachers’ union, and it was founded by a tough female teacher named Margaret Haley.
Haley hated the factory-style schools of the day, objected to rigid standardization, and wanted dignity for the teaching profession. I will quote some of her words on another post.
For now, read Dana’s overview of the origins of the teachers’ union in Chicago. I told Dana, by the way, that I
To Chicago Teachers: Millions Say Thank You
A reader writes to his colleagues in Chicago:
Stay strong, and trust your colleagues. I remember being on strike in Seattle. It was my first year with the big school district – 29 years ago. I remember the ambivalent feelings like they were yesterday. I barely understood it all. I was so grateful for having a job – and there I was, marching shoulder to shoulder with veterans who were willing to lose their jobs for the cause.
I remember being told that others in outlying districts were watching, rooting us on. Looking back, that was
Stay strong, and trust your colleagues. I remember being on strike in Seattle. It was my first year with the big school district – 29 years ago. I remember the ambivalent feelings like they were yesterday. I barely understood it all. I was so grateful for having a job – and there I was, marching shoulder to shoulder with veterans who were willing to lose their jobs for the cause.
I remember being told that others in outlying districts were watching, rooting us on. Looking back, that was
Here Is How to Support Chicago Teachers
The Chicago Teachers Union does not have a strike fund. Teachers are forfeiting their pay every day they strike. They need help, moral and financial.
Deborah Meier wrote a comment and asked, how can we help?
Here is the answer from a Chicago teacher:
Hi Deb! As a member of the CTU and one who has spent every day this week fighting the good fight on the picket lines, it is absolutely amazing after months of being disparaged in the media, we are getting such overwhelming support. For every 30 people who honk their horns and give us a thumbs up, there is one person who is mean. The community really is on our side. As far as I know the CTU doesn’t have a message board, but you can email them here: leadership@ctulocal1.com
and donate to the solidarity fund here: https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4013/c/468/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=7204
Hope that helps! And again, thanks for the support! We truly appreciate it!
Deborah Meier wrote a comment and asked, how can we help?
Here is the answer from a Chicago teacher:
Hi Deb! As a member of the CTU and one who has spent every day this week fighting the good fight on the picket lines, it is absolutely amazing after months of being disparaged in the media, we are getting such overwhelming support. For every 30 people who honk their horns and give us a thumbs up, there is one person who is mean. The community really is on our side. As far as I know the CTU doesn’t have a message board, but you can email them here: leadership@ctulocal1.com
and donate to the solidarity fund here: https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4013/c/468/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=7204
Hope that helps! And again, thanks for the support! We truly appreciate it!
Was She the Worst Teacher in Chicago?
Investigative journalist Greg Palast digs into the story of the Chicago strike. He begins with the story of a teacher who was fired: Was she the worst teacher in Chicago? What happened to her? You would be surprised.
Chicago Teacher: I Need Your Help
A reader writes and asks for our support:
Chicago has the Broad virus http://goo.gl/GKM2m I am a Chicago Teacher and not a fighter by nature at all. I am completely out of my comfort zone with this strike. I look with longing at my classroom window each day on the picket line.
However, I am angry that my students and dedicated colleagues are being used (and abused) as pawns in political and corporate games. When I read articles like the one I posted and read the information from these blogs, I shake my head in disbelief. If I don’t stay strong and help my union stand up to this really awful attack–
Chicago has the Broad virus http://goo.gl/GKM2m I am a Chicago Teacher and not a fighter by nature at all. I am completely out of my comfort zone with this strike. I look with longing at my classroom window each day on the picket line.
However, I am angry that my students and dedicated colleagues are being used (and abused) as pawns in political and corporate games. When I read articles like the one I posted and read the information from these blogs, I shake my head in disbelief. If I don’t stay strong and help my union stand up to this really awful attack–
Why Is the State Commissioner in Tennessee Interfering in Local Decision?
Kevin Huffman–the Tennessee Commissioner of Education–really, really wants the Metro Nashville school board to approve the Great Hearts Charter School. He ordered them to do it. He monitored their meeting through an aide.
Against his wishes, they turned it down–for a third time.
It will come back for a fourth consideration, and no doubt arms will be twisted.
Why is the State Commissioner of Education–a TFA alum–injecting his personal wishes into a local decision?
Maybe we will learn in future news stories.
Against his wishes, they turned it down–for a third time.
It will come back for a fourth consideration, and no doubt arms will be twisted.
Why is the State Commissioner of Education–a TFA alum–injecting his personal wishes into a local decision?
Maybe we will learn in future news stories.
Debating the Teachers Strike
I was on an NPR show called “To the Point” today, where a panel debated the teachers’ strike. The discussion of the strike begins 24 minutes into the show.
Other panelists included Juan Jose Gonzalez, the Chicago director of Stand for Children, who opposed the union; Timothy Knowles of the University of Chicago, who advised Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Rick Perlstein, author; and me.
It was a spirited discussion, to say the least.
The Chicago Teachers’ Strike: Two Visions
Other panelists included Juan Jose Gonzalez, the Chicago director of Stand for Children, who opposed the union; Timothy Knowles of the University of Chicago, who advised Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Rick Perlstein, author; and me.
It was a spirited discussion, to say the least.
The Chicago Teachers’ Strike: Two Visions
This is my analysis of the strike, posted on the website of the New York Review of Books.
What Does Equal Educational Opportunity Mean in Chicago?
What Does Equal Educational Opportunity Mean in Chicago?
An article that appeared in “In These Times” describes the school where Mayor Rahm Emanuel sends his children. It is the University of Chicago Lab School. President Obama chose it for his girls when he lived in Chicago. Arne Duncan is a graduate.
It is a wonderful progressive school, originally founded by John Dewey. It has small classes, a broad and rich curriculum, wonderful facilities, a beautiful library, seven full-time arts teachers for a student body of 1,700
This Mainstream Writer Respects Teachers
It is a wonderful progressive school, originally founded by John Dewey. It has small classes, a broad and rich curriculum, wonderful facilities, a beautiful library, seven full-time arts teachers for a student body of 1,700
This Mainstream Writer Respects Teachers
This is a column written for U.S. News and World Report by an experienced journalist.
Yes, she understands what teachers are dealing with.
Thank you, Susan Milligan!
We can’t improve education if we don’t improve the conditions of teaching and learning.
It is hard to read the comments that follow this post or any other.
There are many people who seem to think that teachers are vastly overpaid, greedy, lazy, selfish, and
Yes, she understands what teachers are dealing with.
Thank you, Susan Milligan!
We can’t improve education if we don’t improve the conditions of teaching and learning.
It is hard to read the comments that follow this post or any other.
There are many people who seem to think that teachers are vastly overpaid, greedy, lazy, selfish, and
Two Visions for Chicago’s Schools
Diane Ravitch
M. Spencer Green/AP Images
Rahm Emanuel at a temporary day care during the Chicago teachers strike, September 10, 2012
According to most news reports, the teachers in Chicago are striking because they are lazy and greedy. Or they are striking because of a personality clash between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and union president Karen Lewis. Or because this is the last gasp of a dying union movement. Or because Emanuel wants a longer school day, and the teachers oppose it.
None of this is true. All reports agree that the two sides are close to agreement on compensation issues—it is not money that drove them apart. Last spring the union and the school board agreed to a longer school day, so that is not the issue either. The strike is a clash of two very different visions about what is needed to transform the schools of Chicago—and the nation.
Chicago schools have been a petri dish for school reform for nearly two decades. Beginning in 1995, they came under tight mayor control, and Mayor Richard Daley appointed his budget director, Paul Vallas, to run the schools; Vallas set out to
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at Education Commission States Event (Photo by US Department of Education)
