M. Spencer Green / AP
Chicago teachers walk a picket line outside Benjamin Banneker Elementary School in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, after they went on strike for the first time in 25 years.
At midnight on Monday morning, the Chicago Teachers Union officially began its first strike in 25 years, shutting down the city's public school system and leaving parents to find other accommodations for their children during the day. The union, which represents some 26,000 teachers and other school staff, cited concerns over job security, benefits, compensation, and inadequate air conditioning for classes. Several teachers told Lean Forward that they consider the fight to be less about their own working conditions than about the quality of education they're able to offer students.
"People continue to characterize this as a fight only about money," said Anthony James, one such teacher. "This is a fight for public education and, thus, for our children."
"Every CTU member has a list of indignancies to their students that they witness, which builds over time and results with we're that," said Xian Barrett, another public school teacher. To the extent that compensation and benefits are an issue, "I'd say the disrespect involved was probably greater than the exact salary issue itself." As an example, he pointed to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's decision to renege on an earlier agreement that would have given every teacher a four percent raise.
Good salaries and benefits are still at the top of the union's demands. "Recognizing the [Chicago Education] Board’s fiscal woes, we are not far apart on compensation," said CTU President Karen Lewis in a statement. "However, we are apart on benefits. We want to maintain the existing health benefits." Chicago public schools are facing down a projected $665 million budget gap.
Lewis added, "While new Illinois law prohibits us from striking over the recall of laid-off teachers and compensation for a longer school year, we do not intend to sign an agreement until these matters are addressed." CTU and the mayor's office have been at odds over a plan to increase the length of the school day without proportionately increasing teachers' salaries.
In July, a fact-finding report [PDF] by representatives from the union and the Board of Education found that the plan would have increased the work required of union members by 19.4 percent. The report recommended additional compensation for the extended hours.
Emanuel, speaking to the press, called the strike "a strike of choice" and said the two remaining points of contention were over school staffing decisions and teacher evaluations. According to a Chicago Public Schools statement released the day before the strike, the Board of Education's final offer—deemed a "fair and reasonable proposal"—included a 16 percent salary increase, support for laid off teachers, and "improved monitoring of class size issues."
Teacher evaluations also loom large as a concern. John Kuijper, a Chicago teacher and CTU member, said evaluation programs like Race to the Top are, "turning schools into test prep factories, because they're tying teacher ratings directly to how students do" on standardized tests.
At issue is also class size, and what the Chicago Teachers Union says is inadequate—or nonexistent—air conditioning in many classrooms. "When you make me cram 30-50 kids in my classroom with no air conditioning so that temperatures hit 96 degrees, that hurts our kids," wrote Barrett at his blog Teacher X.
It is these kinds of conditions that are leading students to picket as well. High school sophomore Maribel Sandoval, 15, say that she and hundreds of her classmates have turned out to support the teachers. "Last week a number of students, they passed out because of the heat in the school," she said. "The way things are going, it's just not working out for any of us."
Lack of resources is an issue as well, she said. "We don't have enough resources—books and all of that—for school. I had to share a book with two or three other students. And the amount of students in class is ridiculous."
Kuijper said that structural problems in the city's education system had led the teachers' union to this point. In particular, he pointed to increased funding for charter schools, at the expense of public school coffers. "What we're really asking for is equity," he said. "Every charter school I've ever been in has iPads. In every classroom, they have smartboards, they have air conditioning. We have none of that. It's creating two separate and unequal systems."
Chicago's charter schools, whose employees are non-union, will remain open for the duration of the strike. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his predecessor Richard Daley have both been long time charter school expansion advocates, while teachers unions typically oppose the creation of schools with non-union (and frequently less well-compensated) staff.
"The charter schools in our area do not deliver a superior education, but they do very aggressive marketing campaigns, and they do tend to steer away from the students with highest needs and require more resources to educate,' said Barrett. "We're left with a situation where we have not enough resources to educate the remaining students who may be coming in with more challenges."
Kuijper blasted the education infrastructure Emanuel is working to create as "a two-tiered system with the haves and have nots, where you have people attending the charter system who are most compliant, most ready for charter school life."
"This only happens for certain races and classes of students," he went on. "It would never happen in the suburbs which are mostly white." A recent New York Times report suggested that charter schools have contributed significantly to the resegregation of New York's own education system.
University of Oregon professor Gordon Lafer, an expert in labor law, said, "A lot of people around the country are looking at this as a stand of the teachers' union against ... a set of things which people with money or political power, such as Mayor Emanuel, do not accept for their own kids." Powerful school reform advocates like Emanuel, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and philanthropist Bill Gates "all send their children to schools with small class sizes and face-to-face instruction."
Of the "two-tiered system," he said, "the teachers' union is really the only political counterweight of any significance to that trend."
While Kuijper said that charter schools were better funded and had superior accommodations, he pointed to research by the Economic Policy Institute that suggests, on balance, they don't have a better record than full public schools. The real advantage of charter schools, he argued, was that they lack accountability or transparency.
"I worked in a high-performing charter school for a year," he said. His school "issued demerits to students if they had their shoes untied. After four demerits they go to Saturday detention. After 12 Saturday detentions, you may not get your credit for freshman year."
"They bully these students into absurd degrees of compliance," he said. "In effect, they're creating a private school culture."
But for Barrett, there's far more at stake. "I think what we're seeing in Chicago is a different way of seeing a union's role, and a community's voice, in education," he said. "That's hard for people who are used to having a unilateral role in education decisions."
"We're going to fight as long as we need to fight," said Kuijper. "We're going to fight for what's right for kids."
Mitt Romney has weighed in on the strike, trying to tie the Chicago Teachers Union to the Obama administration. In a statement,he said that President Obama had sided with the teachers' unions, whereas he chose to "side with the parents and students depending on public schools." Obama has not yet spoken publicly about the strike.
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'We're going to fight for what's right for the kids': Chicago teachers on why they're striking
What a load of bull$hit.
The union is only worried about it's dues.
If these people did care about the kids, they would be in the class room teaching not outside walking the picket line.
Right because moocow cares so much about education except when he is calling educated people elitist that is.
This is all about the union getting more money and free benefits.
If these people really did care about the kids they would be in the class room teaching.
Just read the signs.
Next you have a hard time with simple 8th grade math, you can't even do a very simple problem.
No wonder you are a liberal.
if the benefits come from your job they're not free
Mr. Inexperience, never had any and does not even know what a teachers job is like. Didn't ever have a teachers union when I was teaching. But one thing is for sure....if as a teacher the kids and their education are not your top priority, you won't even last a week in the educational systems in this country.
So take your no account opinions and go away. You know NOTHING about teachers and education. It is only rewarding when your kids are treated fairly and have an opertunity to learn. You often as a teacher, are funding needs for your class room, so you are ignorant when it comes to what teachers are about.
Most of these kids do not have the mental capacity to learn, and the one's that do probably have a bad situation at home.
if the benefits come from your job they're not free
Go read the contract. Union benefits cost the members nothing
Every child has the mental capacity to learn....how ignorant are you?
Not when the average IQ of these kids is in the 80-85 range.
TM he is speaking of the average tea bagged republican who don't need a high IQ to copy and paste everything.
and if someone's health insurance or unemployment or food stamps or any other entitlement comes from my paycheck into their pocket, its not free either.
It is reported that the average Chicago teacher and staff member on strike makes in excess of $76,000 per year before benefits. The average family in the Chicago area has an average household income of just over $46,000. It is also reported that 71% of the budget cost for the school system is directly related to retirement and pension costs. I have not been able to verify this elsewhere, so I am not completely sure of this yet, but I am sure the people on this board will correct me with facts if I am not correct.
and people wonder why there is a backlash against public sector unions...
just saying...
The real crime is the amout of money the union bosses make.
The suck it out of the members and give them nothing in return.
You pay your dues and get nothing back from the union.
Cynical, If benefits come from a Government Job the recipient typically gets them for free, but they are always costly to the Tax Payer? How many Tax Payers in Chicago do you think have the same Pay, Pension Plans, and Medical Benefits of the Public Sector Union Members?
What free benefits? So I guess not having classroom sizes ballooning to 30 to 45 kids per classroom so kids are actually learning is a so called free benefit. I suppose not being in a school building with no adequate air conditioning while the temps outside are 80 to 90 degrees plus when it comes to the part of the school years that are in the warm weather month given more schools in Chicago are in all year round schedules is a free benefit. I suppose having more social workers on hand to help those children who have family problems or lackluster parents to keep them from being a disruptive presence in the classroom is a free benefit. I suppose actually getting a raise that's not being totally eaten up by health cost is a free benefit. How about not having the school board sit back and not give schools needed resources only to do a turn around of the school staff, meaning shut the school down from its present identity, swap out its entire staff from the principal on down to even the janitors and kitchen personnel (principals aren't union members by the way) and reopen it as a charter with the board pouring in the resources it should have been investing in the first place? Before you anti-union types start sounding off your Republican talking points, try learning what the actual issues are before spouting off especially if you do not live in this city.
What tea bagged republicans have been told for 40 years is that there are freebies to be had from this thing called the government which is really strange because the government is We The People, but an insane soap salesman told them a lie that the government was something other then We The People and then started to make Government for the corporation and the wealthy after the low information voters put him in office, remember Reagan was put into office in large part because of people who were lucky if they had a 10th grade education, most dropped out around 8th grade to work farms and factories. They forgot that every freebie was paid from taxes and that the only real freebies were for corporations and wealthy not for them.
whom - again your sexual obsession with teabaggin'! Another incoherent post trying to describe the Republicans of what the Democrats are all about: "that there are freebies to be had from this thing called the government". You really sound like an illiterate 12-year-old!
There is a reason that the Obama campaign has chosen to not take a position. Any of you libs care to guess the reason?
Jajuan, Just because Chicago teachers are the only ones on Strike doesn't mean their districts are the only ones with problems. Our Nations Public Schools are all failing. The classroom sizes are growing because of the greater and greater demands for pay and benefits for teachers. It is hard to build a new school or install air conditioning when all the funding goes to teacher pay and benefits. The Unions are responsible for every issue you say they are Striking for. And what is the end result in Chicago, 44% of students don't graduate High School. Cut the Teachers pay by 10%, force them to contribute 8% to their medical and pension plans and see how much money can go to hire new teachers to reduce class size and get air conditioning.
Jane lives 3 times as far from school as Ann. Jane lives 10 blocks from Ann.
How far do both girls live from school?
Perfect example to why a child should not be condemed to ignorance because of his IQ!!!!!!
You can't do the math can you.
Ask your boy bin laden
Why don't you just take your ignorance, union, Democrat hate and stuff. You know NOTHING about unions or teachers. To entrust your kids to teacher them but don't want them to make a living. How stupid, self-centered and greedy can you get?
I'm a math tutor or did you forget that I have posted that many many times.
But you are a lying tea bagged republican and we have seen your math skills, you fail.
whom - you fail at everything you do except teabaggin', which you and John in Texas are always talking about!
Larry- did you see the news report that team Obama has refused to comment or take a position on this strike? Do you care to take a stab on why Obama doesn't want to publicly stand with the strikers?
It's Bush's fault that Jane lives 3 times as far from school as Ann LOL
this strike is a waste of time the mayor is as stubborn as an ox...nothing good will come of this
I could have told you that. This is the mayor that was gleeful over the 2008-9 recession- "Never let a crisis go to waste". He set the tone for the Obama administration in the same way he is seting the tone for these negotiations.
The head of the teachers union Randi Weingarten makes $350,000 a year.
How on earth can she live on that??? Ever wounder how many teachers $350,000 would pay?
$350K a year for what, to force the teachers to go on strick.
Thanks for looking out for the kids.
Stop posting that lie. Post a source if you can prove it.
It is not a lie! it is the truth. You post a source that will prove me wrong why don't you.
Prove you're right. But while you're bitching, how much did the CEO of Chase make last year? How about the CEO of any major corporation? We pay their salery and benifits. But hell, you don't care. It's not tax maoney they earn. Self-centered greedy idiots. The party of ME, ME, ME. Too bad you hate helpng people. Toobad you're so against kids getting a good education. Too bad you're so self-centered you can't learn anything. Too bad you're so full of hate you can't see anything.
here read the facts yourself www.dol.gov
Larry - if you have such a problem with how much the CEO of Chase or any other corporation makes DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THEM...then you won't be paying their salary and benefits. Conservatives care about how their own money is spent (like their tax dollars)...while liberals care about how other people spend their own money. So your right, I don't care what the CEO of Chase makes...I do care how my own tax dollars are spent.
I love how your claim the Republicans are the party of "Me, Me, Me," yet you are a member of the party that feels they should have a say on how a corporation compensates their own employees and demands more of other people's money in the form of taxes to fuel your own selfish interests.
You know nothing about the liberals and just proved it again. Conservatives hate their "tax" money helpng anybody but themselves. Self-centered greedy party. ME, ME, ME. That's what you care about. And I believe it was cowman complaining about high saleries of union bosses. I'll believe all you clowns outrage when you balance it out. Never happen. Hate anything or anybody that might give someone a decent wage and benifits. You want teachers back to minimum wage. Oh, wate, you want to eliminate the minimum wage.
Actually, I summed up the liberal mentality perfectly. Please Larry, keep calling me greedy while you demand more of other people's money.
An average salary of $71,000 per year is just not enough in a city where the average income is much, much lower - but hey at least the Chicago public schools produce some of the best results in the country.
Here is the thing with liberals - they never have enough. Liberals love telling you if they just had more money or authority or whatever - then things would be different, they would be better and they never are. So Larry, let's just give the teachers union whatever they want - after all isn't it for the kids (yeah right)...until the results stay the same and they demand more...and we can keep going in this cycle. I hear Illinois, controlled for years by Democrats, is just flush with cash....oh nevermind.
You threw the number out there so it's on you to name a source and prove what you say is true, which it has a large chance being not. I live in Chicago, went through the public school system here and can tell you for a fact teachers here are not making these extravagant salary numbers that are being thrown out there unless they are one of the few who is armed with a double Master's degree. So of course the statistics on salaries are going to be skewed.
Larry, if it isn't of consequence to you, then why did you ask to have the union chief's salary proven? Why get defensive about something you don't care about? Or, maybe you do... Do you know the CEO of the Chicago school district is Obama's former chief of staff? The man who ran team Obama through much of his first term is the one fighting the teacher's union. Does that irk you? Seems something is causing you to lash out harshly...
Loose Cannon - same with Obama - 'just give me 4 more years to finish the job even though I didn't fulfill any of my promises made in the 2008 election!'
Let me help out a brother...here is your link...
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/10/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html
I guess you wrong Jajuan...
just saying...
No their doing it for the kids like the title says. The teacher need more money to better teach the kids and their health insurance (OBAMACARE) so they don't get sick but it will take them 6 months to see the doctor when it gets full implicated. The teachers don't care about the$665 million dollars budget gap just as long as they get paid. the only thing they want for the kids is air condition but the kids don't care it's really for the teachers. If they would quite the union they would make an extra couple hundred a month from union dues and some of the minorities white kids can go to the charter also. Only if they would realize that Obama is trying to bust the union and when he does they will blame it in the Republicans.
You obviously need a good English teacher
Ho, Your arithmetic is a lying atrocity, you better go back to school. It is people that make this kind of judgment that rob them of the chance.
Ho must have learned their arithmetic from a public school, they should have went to a private school, like President Obama's kids, then the math would be good.
Can you sketch the graph and find the focus and directrix of the parabola?
y2 = 12x
Opps moocow once again trying to cheat on his 8th grade math, TM don't fall for it, moocow wants you to give him the answer to the math problem he is stuck on.
TM - Your grammar is a lying atrocity! Nice pic of your hero!
I don't worry about my grammar, or try to pretend like I'm something that I'm not. I seem to be able to get my point across. I'm a victim of an over crowed class room. I had to work my way through college. I didn't get anything given to me. So back off.
Something I do have is a very good memory. The first night when Ho showed up he tried to pretend he was some extremely knowledgeable MathematicianThe Arithmetic joke comes from Clinton's speech at the DNC. ....
Just like when ho quoted the above in #6.2......LOL at you sullyman......get a grip.
The pic is in honor of OBL's death, thanks to this administration, OBAMA and the NAVY SEALS are my hero's.
I wonder how much kick back Ed gets for supporting this Union?
$200,000.00 last year
So now billy boy doesn't believe in someone getting paid for speaking. Where the hells you stupid outrage about robme's speaking fee's? How about newts? Hate runs deep in the GOP.
Hypocrisy runs deep in liberal politics... I've never heard Newt or anyone complain about people doing something to earn a buck or two or 200K. But Ed and the libs- try earn a buck around them and get roasted...
The special ed show liberals have a hard time with the facts.
When a person deals in facts & truths, they never have to prove anything.
A wise man once said "Tell the truth and you will never have to remember what you said"
To bad for the special ed show liberals, they always have to check what they post/say.
You never have presented any facts and never proved any. I guess you're not "wise" or truthful enough.
Fact over 8% unemployment for the past 3 1/2 years now.
Fact over 40 million people on food stamps.
Fact over $5trillion added to the debt in past 3 years.
Fact over 20 million people out of work.
Need any more facts?
Larry, I must say he has presented you with facts. Can't wait for you to refute them with, as you say, facts. I'm sure as much of a stickler you are with facts, you will respond with them and not your opinion about what caused, etc.
Right he threw out a bunch of numbers with no substance as to how those numbers came to be. But then that is the GOP full of talking points and no substance.
.....and still no response. I know the Housing Crash was a cause, want to start there?
The corporate apologists can't conceive of anyone having genuine concern for the education system being turned into a for-profit enterprise so they project their own personal greed onto the teachers. The destruction of the public school system by contracting to private business will result in the same escalation of costs and lowered education standards that have afflicted the college system with over-priced private schools. Instead of discussing this atrocity to education they spew insults about unions and blame the kids. Pitiful.
Mjlegal- would it surprise you to know that no one on these blogs has anything but an opinion on this? Only the chief of the school system in chicago matters in this regard. What kind of an opinion do you have about that person? Of course, you love him as he is an integral part of the Obama experience. Funny when theories work against liberals and they have to manage real life issues...
GREED pure and simple. The Family Household Median Income down to under 50K and Public Sector Union Members that make an average of 76K not including benefits wants even more to be paid by the Tax Payers. I hope they are all FIRED, then maybe they can get Teachers in that actually care about the students. By the way the graduation rate at Chicago Public Schools is a little over 50%. Teachers are not even earning their current compensation.
Know why the call Chicago the windy city?
The politicians lie through their teeth.
Like you and your right wing buddies?
The truth hurts don't it.
I don't know but I noticed you keep repeating the same nonsense over and over like a child screaming in pain.
whom - and you keep talkin about your favorite pastime - Teabaggin'
Sorry silly that would be your past time as I have never went to one of your tea bagging rallies. Poor little guy still blaming someone else for his perversions then whining over and over that life just aint fair for him. Really silly go seek a professional he will help you get over yourself.
Really think about it, how many times have you heard "Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and Unions" in the same sentence? They go together like a hand and a glove. How long before Obama heads to Chicago to bring the two Left Wing Organizations together and save the Children? This is all a Political Side Show orchestrated by the Left. I only have two questions. What are they trying to accomplish and how long until it backfires on them? I can't wait for the leaked emails connecting Obama to the planning of the Strike. I guess Obama is still a Community Organizer.
I was going to provide a comment, but, it seems that war broke out, before I had even shown up. Guess that it won't be too long before we have a return of the draft - by both sides! Sign me up with those who work first, and foremost, for the kids.
Fred,
Looks like you might actually care - note the comparison of teacher salaries with the general population and the assumption that teachers are overpaid. Most teachers will have at least a masters, all a bachelors degree. The "average" population does not have that level of education. This is like complaining that CPAs make more than Wal-Mart associates - it's true - but there is a reason. The CPA spent a lot of money and a lot of time getting a degree and certification - and so commands a higher salary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_attainment_in_the_United_States
Adam, I don't know of any requirement for a Public School Teacher to have a Masters degree. In the Private Sector people with Higher education do generally get higher compensation, but they are also expected to provide results. With little more than 50% of students graduating High School in Chicago one would reasonable conclude Teachers are not held to the same level of expectation found in the Private Sector. There are many methods of gaging the success Public Education and Chicago fails them all.
By the way, if they do impose a Draft, I hope the sexist and discriminatory practice of excluding Females is abandoned.
Most states have a continuing education requirement for renewal of teaching certificates. Getting a Masters's if sometimes less hassle than the other options so many of the Chicago teachers have that degree.
Sadly, there is little similarity between teaching students and manufacturing a product or even providing a service. The closest comparison would be to equate a student to a patient in a hospital.
In manufacturing, great care goes to the standardization of any raw materials or components. Materials are rejected unless they meet tight standards - very small if any measurable variation. Because the raw materials or components are almost perfect, almost perfect machinery and procedures can be used to assemble the product. Where there is variation, most of it can be attributed to the "system" - common cause variation. A history of the variation has meaning and can help in improving the system. (Control charts)
Teachers usually have absolutely no control over the selection of students in their classes. Student abilities will vary depending on a variety of factors beyond the control of the teacher. If they are lucky, students will be assigned randomly. If unlucky, a teacher may be assigned all of the "problem" students - because they are so good with "slow learners". Another teacher may be given only gifted students. Teacher evaluations based on student standardized tests in this environment basically reward and punish random variation or the whims of administration.
Split pre and post tests on material actually taught can provide useful guidance for continuous improvement of teaching techniques but should not serve as a basis for merit pay.
Give teachers the same small variation in raw material found in the private sector and you can then focus on their performance.
Real improvement in education is unlikely to be made at the state level. A drastic rethinking of the teaching of grades 1-4 providing a smaller but deeper curriculum.
I think only politicians should be drafted.
Adam, The acceptable variation in components or parts in manufacturing does exist in Public Schools. Students are required to meet very specific minimum standards prior to advancement at every grade level. If a child at age seven fails to meet the minimum standards for math, English, reading, etc... for advancement to the third grade, that child should not be advanced. The problem is they are advanced. They are advanced by the very teachers that are currently on Strike. Only 15% of students in the fourth grade in Chicago schools are reading or performing math at their grade level. That means 85% of fourth graders were advanced without meeting those minimum standards. How are so many students so far behind at in the fourth grade ever going to catch up? It is no wonder Chicago only has a graduation rate of 56%. The Public School System is failing the students from their earliest years and it continues to do so until 44% of them dropout . CAN the Teachers.
Too Easy,
Check the standard deviation - no comparison to industry 6 Sigma.
Here is an article laying out the "politics" of retention in Chicago Schools. It's true, in theory, a teacher could go against their administration's policy though I suspect the probability of an administrative reversal would be great.
http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/news/2011/04/29/hoping-move
I agree with you that the educational "system" is broken - I disagree with you on the cause. One simple change would be to decrease the breadth of the 1-3 curriculum and increase the depth. A return to the Reading, Righting, and 'Rithmetic days with a little art and music should be it. No science classes, no social studies classes, no history classes, no computer lab - just the 3 Rs. Wait - wait - I did not say those topics could not be covered - just that they be covered in the reading material and writing assignments.
Over the years, more units have been added to American elementary curricula resulting in less and less time available for the basics. This change is not under the control of the teacher.
Class size is also a problem. While politicians will claim that class size is not an issue - it is - at least in elementary school. In industry, this is referred to as "span of control" and has been well researched. If "span of control" is situational in industry, it is also situational in education.
If you are interested in some of the continuous improvement efforts in education, go the the ASQ (American Society of Quality - a leader in industrial quality improvement) website and check out their Education division. Getting politicians to adopt those measures - well - good luck.
Though we share few if any political views in common, thank you for an interesting and civil discussion.
Adam_Selene
Adam, I have been retired for a few years and have had little to do with Lean Six Sigma. As I recall however there was one word that says it all in my opinion "Muda".
The industrial tolerances so to speak are in place within the Public School System. Teachers and Administrations are simply not applying them. They routinely advance students that are failing giving them absolutely no opportunity to succeed at the higher grades. You can rework the curricula all you want, it will do nothing to change the situation as long as you retain the same teachers and administrations that don't follow the rules in the first place. FIRE ALL THE TEACHERS and start over.
I don't know what the requirements are in Chicago. In the state where I taught we had to pass a pretty rough test. And Idiot certainly couldn't get past it. It isn't just geared to "IQ,". it deals with many more aspects of teaching.
Beginning teachers are starving, compared to the people in the work force that have that much education. Learning never stops either. Requirements to keep yourself up-dated or go, is hard work as well. That is what most teachers do in the summer time.
It takes 3 years of teaching to get tenure, if you make it then you stay. Evaluation for superiors are twice a year. Fire all the Teachers?.... If you can't hack it, those first three years do that for you.
One thing we never did, as long as we had alternatives in place, was give up on a child.
I taught School for 30 years, and every day was a surprise.....and speaking as bill 3 and ho did, is not acceptable. Every child comes to you with his/her set of problem, back ground, parents, learning abilities, etc. You have to deal with each child as an individual.....not in groups of 30+, but definitely in groups of 40+. Not a new group in every hour to an hour and a half, always rotating. two to three times a week. Not enough teachers, too many students, not enough time in the world to solve this problem.
Thankful, And how does a School District hire more teachers when current teachers go on strike over an 18% pay increase and better benefits. States, counties, and cities don't have the money to pay their bills now.
Also we were not discussing requirements for teachers, we were discussing students being routinely advanced from one grade to the next without meeting advancement criteria. Teachers are failing their students when they don't hold them back.
I'll compromise with firing all of the administrators. They and the politicians designed the system that the teachers have virtually no control over. MUDA is the 400 grain sandpaper you use to optimize after a pretty good system has been roughed out. The system, not the workers are usually the problem - basic Deming, TQM philosophy. Putting new teachers in a crap system will still give you a poorly performing system.
Pre-test, followed by a post-test. Then, let the data show which teachers actually cna impart knowledge and can make a difference. Give them lots of money and nice raises. Basic stats would say it is about the top 12-17% of the teachers. The next 60% of them should get raises equating to the cost of living. The bottom 25% or so should be let go each year. We can't afford to do less for our children. Best teachers would be well rewarded, midling teachers would survive (in fact- they would either get better with experience and become top performers, or they would naturally fall in the percentile as low performers are exited and a percentage of new hires are higher performers- then the midlings would be able to seek a new career direction), and low performers could find a career they might be good at.
Adam, In my opinion Teachers are just as responsible as the Administrators. A student cannot be advanced without appropriate grades which are assigned by the Teacher. How can a Teacher that professes to place the student above all else, assign passing grades to a student that fails to meet minimum reading and math standards? Teachers are more worried about themselves than their students. Teachers are in deed a major part of the problem. By the way using the current standards for evaluating the Teachers in Chicago more than 90% Excellent or Superior Ratings. Those Rating Standards were pursued by the Teachers Unions and agreed upon by the Administrators. FIRE THEM ALL.
Again - the teachers are not in control of the system. They do what they are told by administrators - which would include appropriate percentages of students to retain. Yes - they are worried about themselves - individual martyrdom just gets you fired. That's one of the reasons they are striking - as a group they have some protection from administration.
The curriculum is key as is class size - oh - class size - one of the items being negotiated.
Rusty,
Make it a split pre and post test on the actual material to be covered in the year. Next be sure the grade distribution of the tests is NOT normally distributed but skewed. Normal distribution would suggest that the test is really just an "IQ" test.
While that makes it a little better it still does not account for variation between students. Administrators can and do play favorites in "dealing" out students to the teachers. Tests would be of some value in identifying the problem areas of students and developing new approaches but not as a tool for awarding merit pay.
Adam, sure. They should be able to tweak formulas to give accurate measures. As for student-to-student variation, I thought I read that one complaint was large class size? With a large n, the within variation is normalized and we are left with the important part, the between variation.
As a genuine socialist, let me say that I am fascinated by the squeeze on the Democrats between a neoliberal like Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Teachers Union. The CTU has new leadership, with some courage and vision, pitted against the horrendous politics and persona of Emanuel.
Emanuel is as close as you can come to being a socialist without having admitted to being one...
The teachers are bargaining for the children, and a better education system for that state. When will some of these Mayors and Governors realize to put education first for the future.
Most likely, in Illinois, never will they put education first. We are the land of Obama, with the mayor of Chicago, the state legislature and governor all firmly democratic and in Obama's camp. Not much hope in any change.
Do you want to know what the problem is here? It is the hidden agenda of this rahm emanuel.
The man is a dual-passport holder, from "israel" and the USA. He is a son of a former jew zionist terrorist. Ask him what his zio-nazi agenda is! Why is a zio-nazi like him allowed to hold another "country's" passport, such as from the terrorist, military, racist so-called "state of israel"?
I am far from impressed with Rahm Imanuel. Why won't be consider air conditioning for the schools so it is tolerable for the teachers and students. Climate change and global warming are real and they are making most of this country hotter than ever this years.
Mur....wow.....so bitter?
Teachers in urban school districts can no longer be silent. The time has come to stand up for our students who may not speak English, or may have a special need, or may be a minority or most likely live in poverty. It isn't right that our students are in classrooms of over 40 students, have no art, music or physical education teachers or playgrounds. Class size has to be addressed. Today, Detroit Michigan Public Schools have classrooms with over sixty students in the high schools and over forty in the K-8 grades. In addition, those classrooms have a huge population of special needs students included. Our students arrive to Kindergarten 2 or more years behind and are put classrooms where it is impossible to give them the kind of attention they deserve. Students in wealthy districts are in classes of 25 students and have the necessary teacher aids to assist with special needs students. Our urban school districts have classrooms with 25% special needs students and without the appropriate assistance for these students. Our teachers don't have furniture, resources or materials they need for all these students.
Furthermore, this movement to evaluate teachers based on test scores is ridiculous. Some people complain that our urban kids don't exit high school with job ready skills. If our students weren't stuffed into classrooms like sardines, teachers could reach more students instead of spending the majority of their time on classroom management. These large classes aren't safe. This is a different time. Haven't people seen the news or movies lately? The country isn't what it was in 30's, 40's or fifty's.
Lastly, teachers work many hours beyond the school day, on weekends and in the summer. We do not have a job that is done when we leave the school building. To think that the teacher day is made longer without a pay increase is unacceptable. If you can't pay us, don't extend the day. We work long and hard enough as it is.
I hope President Obama stands up for teachers, parents and students of urban districts. I hope he realizes that teachers, the poor and minority people across America are waiting for him to do something for them. Healthcare was step one, step two should be creating equitable (schools) education, because right now our urban schools are not adequately funded and teachers and parents are no longer staying quiet.
God be praised I can comment here. I can't comment anywhere else of MSNBC though for some reason. If anyone can tell me how to go about commenting with their new system I would appreciate it.
If you can post here, it should be no problem once you have signed in. Have you been banned from other parts of the vine? Click on you name above your post and go to your profile. Just at the top above on the far right it has a place to click that says...."report bug" .....go there and ask why?
Teachers in the Chicago public schools have rejected a $400 million offer, a 16% pay raise in a down economy, to go on strike for more pay and benefits. 350,000 public school students have been put into the streets. Chicago police are turning out in force to control unsupervised youngsters.
An Illinois teacher's average salary of $63,005 in 2010/2011 exceeds both the national average for teachers and the average family income in America, the latter by more than $12,000. Teachers in city schools do even better. Urban teachers' salaries raise rather than lower the state average.
Illinois unemployment exceeds the national average, yet these public "service" union parasites are demanding more from already overburdened taxpayers.
This is why Americans are turning against Public Sector Unions!
I’m sure Ed will be up there soon championing their cause.
But silly says IOKIYAR and in a union.
What "sullyman2112" above is exactly right.
I understand that 71% of the Boards expenses go to retirement also. How is that for the kids ? If they weren't so greedy and the funds were spent correctly, maybe the kids would be educated. How about a kids solution! Cut the salaries, and spend it on the kids. You already make almost twice what the average taxpayer makes.
Lies followed by more lies. Didn't do your research now did you. If you had you would know that teachers are not making twice the pay as you claim.
http://certificationmap.com/starting-teacher-salary/
Whom...let me post this again because somehow you think this is about starting salaries...we are talking about average salaries...
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/10/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html
It is reported that the average Chicago teacher and staff member on strike makes in excess of $76,000 per year before benefits. The average family in the Chicago area has an average household income of just over $46,000. It is also reported that 71% of the budget cost for the school system is directly related to retirement and pension costs.
and people wonder why there is a backlash against public sector unions...
just saying...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_attainment_in_the_United_States
Again - all of the teachers have a Bachelors degree - looks like about half or more may also have a masters degree. The average worker in Chicago does not have much if any college education. The market pays much better for a college degree so a teacher's average salary should be compared only to the salaries of others outside of teaching who have 4 or 6 year college degrees.
The "market" only pays higher for more education upon entry into the job. Once on the role, education level is usually irrelevant. I've never had my education level help or harm me in a pperformance review. Now- hopefully, my education level gives me an assist in having higher performance. In industry, I've seen a few without a degree make it quite a ways up the ladder (though, there is normally a ceiling at some point) while att he same time, I know of some with masters degrees working for quite a few years at basically entry level positions.