History teacher Jennifer Harned leads her class in a
lesson on the Industrial Revolution at Orr High School on Chicago’s West Side.
(Photo: Sally Ryan / The New York Times)
As we traipse through these weeks of conventioning, I
know that the my-parents-showed-me-what-hard-work-means tales are getting a bit
old. Still, please indulge me for a couple of paragraphs.
My dad taught for 34 years in inner-city public high
schools in Chicago. For much of my childhood, my mom taught elementary school, also
in a Chicago public school. They are two of the most hard-working people I’ve
ever met, and I will forever be inspired by their capacity for personal
sacrifice to serve the common good.
Growing up, I thought it was normal for adults to
spend nights bent over towering stacks of papers, to fill weekends with lesson
plans, to jump on the phone after dinner to speak with non-English-speaking
parents in Spanish about their kids’ struggles. And there was the ugly side: my
dad’s class sizes crept larger, books became scarcer, administrations grew more
vicious, the threat of “reconstitution” (kicking out a school’s teachers based
on students’ standardized test scores) loomed gigantic. I confess that
observing my parents’ challenges and trials up close over the course of 18
years convinced me not to become a teacher. It also convinced me that teaching
was one of the most important jobs in the universe.
Fast-forward to right now, as the Chicago Teachers
Union (CTU) verges on striking. The contract being pushed by the Chicago Board
of Education and Mayor Rahm Sit-Down-and-Shut-Up Emanuel would devalue
teachers, spurn the neediest students and unprecedentedly de-prioritize the
public good. Their shameful proposal features a teensy pay raise, concurrent
with markedly increased health care and pension costs - resulting, effectively,
in a pay cut.
The Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS’s) school day was
recently lengthened, and though the district promised that teachers’ hours
would remain the same, many of their preparation periods are being crowded out by required duties like recess
supervision. (Any teacher - or distant cousin’s friend of a teacher - knows
that prep time is absolutely crucial.)
Contrary to Chris Christie’s blustering jerkifesto
pitting “teachers’ unions” against “teachers,” the CTU is demanding not only
justice for teachers, but also justice for kids and their families. One of CTU’s
vital demands is a “better school day” for students across
the socioeconomic spectrum, including modestly smaller classes, electives like
art and music, and should-be-essential support staff like school nurses and
social workers.
Under the district’s demands, teachers’ evaluations
would largely reflect their students’ standardized test scores, an absurd
barometer given the tests’ long-disproven ability to judge the quality of a
student’s education. The measure would punish teachers at the city’s most
disadvantaged schools.
Plus, though state law prevents the Board from making
policy changes while bargaining is in progress, the Board has apparently
charged ahead and nixed raises and sick leave increases for long-time teachers,
according to the union.
My mom told me that - fresh off the CTU
rally that energized thousands on Labor Day - she couldn’t bear to watch
Mayor Emanuel’s speech at the Democratic Convention Tuesday night. (I watched
it with my face squinched up and a glass of wine.)
The sad fact is, Emanuel can afford to deny CPS
teachers and students their basic needs. That’s because his kids don’t go to public school - they’re enrolled in the
University of Chicago Lab School (a great place, and the old stomping grounds
of Malia and Sasha Obama). You can bet that the Lab School offers small
classes, social workers, art and music. Oh yeah, and a school nurse.
As debilitating budget cuts gnaw at core programs in
public school districts across the country, the showdown in Chicago will have
reverberating effects. It’ll set a precedent for whether we, as a country, are
willing to prioritize the rights and opportunities of the next generation of
Americans, and of the people who serve them day in and day out. CTU president
Karen Lewis wasn’t hyperbolizing when she said at Monday’s rally, “This fight is about the very soul of
public education, not just in Chicago, but everywhere.”
When it comes to teachers, Rahm Emanuel needs to sit
down, shut up and listen to their more-than-reasonable demands.
And when it comes to the future of public education,
all of us need to think hard about one of the most important responsibilities
of a democratic society to its citizens - and then support Chicago’s teachers
as they move into the history-making struggle of the next few weeks.
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
Maya Schenwar is Truthout’s editor-in-chief and the
author of Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We
Can Do Better. Follow her on Twitter @mayaschenwar.
Previously, she was a senior editor and reporter at
Truthout, writing on US defense policy, the criminal justice system, campaign
politics, and immigration reform. Prior to her work at Truthout, Maya was
contributing editor at Punk Planet magazine. She has also written for the Guardian,
In These Times, Ms. Magazine, AlterNet, Z Magazine, Bitch
Magazine, Common Dreams, the New Jersey Star-Ledger and others. She also
served as a publicity coordinator for Voices for Creative Nonviolence. Maya is
on the Board of Advisors at Waging Nonviolence.
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