Late Friday a tentative agreement was reached between the Chicago Teachers Union and the city's school board. This means 350,000 students may be able to return to school on Monday if everyone can agree to agree on the things they have apparently agreed to agree upon. Not a lot of which is public yet.
CNN sites a source close to the negotiations saying some of the terms include "keeping the current length of school year and school day; giving principals the freedom to hire their own teachers; and, chief among the dispute's sticking points, updating the teacher evaluation system for the first time in 40 years."
So while there is clearly a lot on the table for these teachers, I am very conflicted over their ability to strike in the first place -- hurdling working parents into a childcare nightmare. It's hard not to put myself in the position of all of those parents that have had to figure out what the heck to do with their kids while the teachers fought this one out. And I feel especially bad for those parents dealing with less-than-understanding bosses ... or those that had their pay docked because they had no other option but to stay home with their kids.
On the flip side -- I went to a public school in a big city with broken desks and classrooms so crowded that the radiators in the back were lined with students taking notes -- with our binders on our laps. I went and spoke before my local community board when I was 16 years old to try to help create change. Explained what it was like. Nothing changed. So I can also understand why the Teachers Union felt like they were left with no other choice. If you don't push for what you believe in -- for what you think is best for yourself and for the students you are teaching -- then you probably will never get what you really need.
More from The Stir: Chicago Teachers are Already Overpaid
What confuses me the most about these kinds of strikes -- because they happen all over the country in big cities and small -- is why it has to come to this in the first place? It is so obscene to try to come to an agreement without having to resort to such drastic measures? Stop. Don't answer that.
Do you think teachers should be allowed to strike like this? Is there a clear-cut winner?
Image via sidewalk flying/Flickr
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Comments 52
HockeyMomNJ- First, we need to get the politicians either physically into, or completely out of, the classroom. There are people making education policy in this country that have no idea what teachers, particularly teachers in regions of low socioeconomic status, deal with on a daily basis. They either need to see what is going on and do whatever is in their power to fix it, or sit down and listen to what teachers need.
The funding system is completely backward. Many districts are funded on property taxes, which punishes the poorest districts by giving them a higher tax burden to raise a smaller amount of money. There are some public schools with amazing buildings on a gorgeous campus and then there are school buildings that run on a coal boiler and are falling apart. And amazingly, the districts with higher socioeconomic status are the ones that have those beautiful buildings.
Diane Ratvich is an excellent voice for teachers, I agree with pretty much everything she says.
When it comes to tenure, I do like the idea that you can't be fired arbitrarily. I don't think anyone should lose a job because of personal difficulities with a superior. For a pattern of unprofessional behavior? Absolutely. For an inability or unwillingness to implement practices in your classroom that you have been asked to? Yup. For not continuing your education? Sure. Because your principal doesn't like you? Nope. Schools are a lot different from a business in that it's a collaborative and creative process. Teachers are highly trained professionals who spend a lot of time getting good at what they do and a simple disagreement with a principal shouldn't lead to someone's undoing. Now, if those disagreements lead to inappropriate behavior or vidictive action, you should probably lose your job.
Kind of says it all: 12% of American students attend private school - 39% of Chicago teachers send their kids to private school.
Over 1/3 of the teachers themselves think their fellow teachers suck.