Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Last Stand for Children First: Teachers Strike Day 1: Keep Calm and Continue Testing

Last Stand for Children First: Teachers Strike Day 1: Keep Calm and Continue Testing:


Teachers Strike Day 1: Keep Calm and Continue Testing

Today, the nearly 30,000 members of the Chicago Teachers Union descended on downtown with 20,000 of their parent and community allies to wreak havoc and correct grammar and spelling.  Now, is not the time for us to panic.  Our leader, Mayor Emanuel has described the differences between the teachers union and the city as being minor.  In fact, it seems like the main thing that has prevented a contract is that the differences are so small, it hardly seems worth anybody's time to compromise.

The big problem with the strike is that students are missing valuable school time.  They need 15 days for standardized testing and if the strike goes on long enough, the tests will be very much delayed.   It occurs to me that the Children's First Centers set up at 144 public schools might be the perfect place to test.  While they