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–who will?
What really hurts are the lies and slander. How can the media spin it so well where people truly believe that children mean nothing to the people who have chosen as their life’s work to help them succeed. They believe money is what drives teachers and why we aren’t working.
But corporate billionaires (or millionaires) and politicians–oh, yes, of course, they are the ones who truly work for the children of our public schools. What bizarro world do we live in? We teachers have done nothing wrong and should not be shamed. I don’t think politicians and the corporate elite who are deforming public education can say the same.
However, I and other Chicago teachers need help in staying strong. This striking is hard (mentally), It is not fun. It is not an extra vacation. We are not always supported on the picket lines (mostly yes–but there have been a few aggressive misinformed people). Any kind word or comments on any message board that is about the strike is much appreciated. I read them daily before I go to bed to remind myself that giving up would be greedy not digging in for the fight. Thanks for reading. Teacher
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Chicago teachers, stay strong. You are standing up for school children across the nation. It is about time a group of teachers stands up. It is difficult, but everything worth doing isl Hang in there.
Is there some central board/blog that CTU has set up for supporters to write to–as well as contribute funds to.
It would be nice if every AFT and NEA local sent ONE person to Chicago for few days to show support–or something like that.
Are there enough parents supporters to issue a press release, hold a press conference, issue a statement and get signatures? Or has this alreadyhappened.
I learned today that CTU has no strike fund. Everyone on strike is losing pay and has no backup.
Diane
So there is one and only one priority–forget everything else–let’s bombard them with contributions from ourselves, our friends, our neighbors, ur colleagues. FAST. Who do we make checks out to???? Ditto for every AFT and NEA local–call their offices nd ask what they are contributing in the way of $$$$$$$$$$$$
There IS a Solidarity Fund to which you can contribute at:
Chicago Teachers Union Solidarity Fund
222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60654
And, yes–you can get more info. from the CTU website (Googling
Chicago Teachers Union will lead you to it).
Not likely, as far as NEA is concerned anyway. I emailed my state NEA affiliate on Monday and was told, in no uncertain terms, that our state would not being showing any support at this time, because (these are my words) they don’t want to upset our state legislators.
Same goes for our local AFT (Albuquerque)….they have remained eerily silent.
Our IL Education Association hasn’t done much, either. (Although the IEA locals have.) But–the NEA IS listed as a supporter–in fact, a resolution was proposed–& passed–at the NEA Convention in July–to support the CTU.
Albuquerque Teachers Federation (local 1420) passed a resolution on September 4th to stand with CTU, ATF has sent a check to the CTU’s solidarity fund, our president has asked teachers to wear red, andwe have a letter of support for our community to sign. We are in the process to plan a fund- raiser for the solidarity fund. The Albquerque Teachers Federation supports the CTU’s courage to take on the billionaire reformers and fight for public education. AFT-New Mexico’s president has written a letter in support of CTU and yesterday she was on the picket line in Chicago. Stand strong- you do have support.
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!
Wisconsin Teachers understand and are behind you. Here is the link to the message of support from the WEAC president.
http://www.weac.org/news_and_publications/12-09-10/WEAC_members_offer_full_support_to_Chicago_Teachers_Union.aspx
They have a Facebook page where you can post messages to teachers: http://www.facebook.com/ChicagoTeachersSolidarity?ref=ts
Donations can be made at the CTU Local 1 page: http://www.ctunet.com/
I hope the union has a strike fund to financially help the people on strike. If this drags on more than a week, they are going to need financial support. Starving strikers back to work is a common corporate tactic.
They do–see my comment above!
Your fight is our fight. Stay strong for all of us.
Anyone who has walked a picket line knows your struggle. Stay strong. The entire nation is watching and the Chicago struggle belongs to all of us. Your daily walks are causing people to talk and question Hopefully, those conversations will make people demand to see “the man behind the curtain” and the giant PR war that has been launched at us will be seen for what it is. Even though we are not present in Chicago, we’re all walking with you.
And just as I am reading your comment while I am listening to the TV,
there is a commercial (amazing what people who have $$$ can do!)
touting the lengthening of the school day & principals picking their own teachers & quotes from The Chicago Tribune disparaging the strike & the teachers. Unfortunately, the P.R. war never ends.(Oh no–I haven’t even finished writing this, &–another of the same ad!
This was 10 minutes apart!)
(BTW–every time we go to Atlantic City, I am encouraged to see positive ads from the New Jersey Ed. Assn. Inquiring minds want to know–how do you do it? We have been trying to get the Illinois Ed.
Ass’n. to do this {I asked}, & were told, “The NJEA has a lot more money.” Please tell us your secret, NJEA!
Teacher: I admire the dedication of you and your colleagues. The attempt to dissolve public education is no more than the continuation of profit-driven policies that gutted our economy to begin with. No one in the media is discussing the lack of efficacy in the “student tests prove the teacher” approach, or the failure of policy makers and “job creators” to supply students who are “ready to learn”.
Massachusetts teachers support you! Stay strong!!
Ditto from another Massachusetts teacher! We are watching and we are marching with you in spirit!
You are fighting the good fight and I ALMOST envy you for having the opportunity to fight it. The media is starting to question its own spin and we’re hearing more and more what this fight is REALLY about. Thank you, CTU members.
You have support all over this country! I openly tell my students (future teachers) that I heartily support your cause. It’s all abou the KIDS!
Supporting you in Texas!
I know this is probably one of the hardest and worst things that many of you have had to endure but it is so worth it. Stay strong, stay together, there is strength in numbers. The world needs this wake up call. The children, our future, need you!
i am a kinder teacher in an un-unionized, right-to-work state. i am wearing red every day that the strike lasts in solidarity with you and your union. i tweet and post and talk about the issues daily because…
your union is MY union. your demands are MY demands. your fight is MY fight. your kids are MY kids. and your victory will be EVERYONE’s victory.
I don’t need to tell you to stay strong because you are strong. you speak truth to power. tomorrow go to your picket line and hug each and every one of your colleagues and tell them that we stand with you.
the united teachers of America.
I’m a parent. I support you.
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 nothing.
The entire country is watching you, Chicago Teachers. I wish there were a way for you to feel that support, the way I felt it walking the picket lines as a newbie teacher next to the veterans.
There are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of teachers watching – cheering for you, walking side by side with you in spirit.
Your cause is the just cause of teachers everywhere. Sure it’s a lot of pressure when it’s put that way, and I’m sorry, but it’s true.
Hang in there. Big Group Hug! – Mark
Did I say thank you?!!!
Stay strong CTU members! Watching from a state where strikes are illegal….but where teachers feel your pain in their everyday lives. We admire you! We wish we could join you! Stay strong!
Thank you from parents in Virginia! You are fighting the good fight on behalf of all our children. We are proud of you & admire your great courage. My husband & I will donate money to your cause. I wrote a letter to the editor of the Washington Post to try & shame them for publishing their misleading editorial yesterday on 9/11. It wasn’t printed but I will keep trying.
My husband is a teacher in rural Wisconsin. We support you 100%, and respect and appreciate your bravery. Stay strong. We couldn’t afford a lot, but put a check in the mail for the CTU solidarity fund today.
It is amazing how strong you all are even when you feel out of your comfort zone. You will forever to me be known as the teachers who helped bring back real education, you got tired of being pushed around and you said ENOUGH! The media has shed bad light on you all making you seem like the bad guys because you are not in your classroom! But WE KNOW the truth, WE KNOW that you want what is best for the classroom, WE KNOW what the TRUTH is and we are here to tell you that YOU ARE STRONG!! We may not all be in your union, but we are in our hearts! And if I was able to I would fly out right now and strike with you all because this fight means everything for education. Thank you.
“You Never Know How Strong You Are Until Being Strong Is the Only Choice You Have”
Teachers are strong. CTU is strong. We will be strong together!!
Ways to support http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/10/1129925/-CTU-Strike-Support-Here-s-How-You-Can-Help
While in Rochester, somehow Brizard also persuaded the media about how awful the teachers are. He manages to get published only negative publicity regarding teachers. He looks to blame teachers for all that is wrong in the schools. Since he has been gone, our morale in Rochester has been much improved. I hope that Chicago teachers can win this confrontation. It will be a win for Chicago students and for all teachers!!
Gina, I am so glad for you. We have relatives in Rochester, from whom we heard all about Brizard, and had been
reading The Democrat & Chronicle for years.
(My favorite Adam Urbanski {Pres. of the Rochester Teachers Union} quote: “Brizard believes in shared decision-making. He makes the decisions, and then he shares them.”) Glad you now have a superintendent who came from your own and can breathe easier.
I warned my Chicago teacher friends that “something wicked this way comes.” They found out fast–no blizzard last winter.
Much worse, we had a Brizard!
Here is a vote of support, from Columbus Ohio. As an educator and also a concerned citizen — do what you think is best, for the kids, and also for the profession of teaching.
And have faith: this hostility and disrespect comes from a corrupted media, but they cannot influence too many, for too long. America is just confused right now, and the truth will come. We will learn it firsthand from the teachers and the schools we know, from our own kids; and we will learn it secondhand from people we know well and trust, friends and neighbors; and we will learn it from sharing, like how a friend of mine shared your post with me, through facebook.
And thank you for the post.
Alex
I’m a retired teacher in Indiana. I know what you’re doing is incredibly hard…just remember that you’re doing this for your students….not enough books, lack of libraries, overcrowded classrooms, not enough nurses or social workers, no art or music…it is their working conditions you’re fighting for…as well as your own.
Michigan teachers support you. Thank you for what you are doing for all of us and our profession. Stay strong you are in my thoughts and prayers.
To All American Teachers:
Think back a year ago, when Occupy Wall Street started in New York and then spread across the country, as well as to other nations….
Are American teachers up for doing something similar? Why don’t you rally the troops in your own location, join forces and publicly demonstrate, verbalizing the concerns you share with Chicago teachers about current policies and the course of public education?
You can call the movement whatever you like. I’d suggest somehing around the notion of Educators Taking Back Education, since education has been in the hands of non-educator politicians far too long and, increasingly, they are handing it over to non-educator corporate profiteers.
If you want to have a voice in education, you really need to speak up, like Chicago teachers –and now would be an opportune time for everyone to do that simultaneously across the country, since this IS a national issue.
Chicago, stay strong. It has been rough here in Michigan where we have moved forward with legislation that will essentially tie half of each teacher’s evaluation to student test scores. Poverty will not be looked at. Exploratory teachers will be tied to tests for reading and math. Science is being thrown out. Our 3rd-5th grade students don’t even have a science class anymore. They have a once a week science experience…I learned this from a fellow teacher with kids at tha level. Creativity is thrown out in favor of rote memorization. With forward technology we have a backwards education system. They tell us to differentiate our teaching and they test the same way they did forty years ago. Stay strong and help us stop the insanity! I should also mention that we have had 0% pay increases while paying more of our insurance costs. It’s brutal and no one has been able to make a difference. I hope you can make a difference!
Thank you for standing up for what’s right! I support you!
Prof W: Great idea! CTU is in the forefront of this fight, but if we don’t change the message that the media is blasting out (greedy and lazy teachers who don’t care about the poor kids who have no place to go, failing education system, etc.), the battle will be lost. AFT, NEA, and other teacher’s associations need to put aside their differences, unite, and make our message strong. We need to quit being a “house divided.” Margaret Meade has two quotes that speak to our situation: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” and “There is no greater insight into the future than recognizing…when we save our children, we save ourselves.”
We are a small local of about 300 members and have become fascinated with what you are doing not just for yourselves, but for ALL of us. A million thank you’s are not enough for what you are doing for every teacher in America…. the informed, the uninformed, the unionized, the non-unionized. You are fighting to restore a sense of dignity to our profession. You are telling the word that we are tired of being kicked around and you are making people take notice! At no point in the last several years have important education issues been discussed in the MSM the way you have made them this week. In my decade as an educator your fight is the most inspiring, moving, heartening, and important thing that has happened to public education. You’ve been the main topic of talk of the faculty room this week. Our local donated to your solidarity fund. Individual members of ours have donated to it. We wore red on Monday. We wore red again today. We sent pictures of us in red to the AFT and NYSUT. We have tweeted them out. Our local’s blog (thepjsta.org) has been updating our members on your fight for several weeks now and the blog has had a record number of hits. We will support you in every way we possibly can. We can not possibly repay the debt of gratitude that we owe you. Whatever you need from us, name it. Your fight truly is our fight and there couldn’t be a better, more courageous group of educators in America to fight it. Stay strong CTU!
My heart and soul is with you CTU!
Dear Chicago Teacher,
It is truly the least I can do to put together a few words of encouragement here to help with your spirits as you strike. I admire teachers. To me, teachers, farmers, nurses, and doctors are the most necessary professions for the well-being of a society’s inhabitants. You are protesting for the same reasons nurses do. You can see what’s happened to the farmers as corporations shut them out and created factory farming. You are protesting because the privatization at taxpayer expense of our free and compulsory education system happens in stages. Marginalizing and insulting teachers, expecting the impossible and measures of evaluation that exclude humanity are wedges to press in on you to get you to give up and give “them” the system. You are protesting because the privatization of essential services extracts resources to pay CEOs and NEVER improves the quality of services for those who can’t afford to pay. I, as a taxpayer who loves our commonality as much as our individual achievements, will forever resent the day that tax dollars are turned over to corps to “educate” the next generation. I need you to succeed because I need Chicagos kids to succeed. We all need kids to succeed. I can say I care about YOU because people just like you gave my two now barely adult sons the best public education I could have asked for. Teachers got through to my kids when they were difficult and taught my kids that they belonged to something bigger than themselves. Teachers released my kids at graduation as the new generation of young adults who have hope because those same teachers helped them to believe in themselves. Teachers have to keep going because public schools are some of the last and best social centers for almost all communities. I want you to think of all the kids you’ve already touched and the ones who will remember you forever. They will be stronger, knowing that you fought for them. We need each other to push back sometimes as we try to maintain right action against an irrational tide. At this moment, it’s your turn on the front lines to help preserve and improve what we love about our schools. Be strong. You ARE dong the right thing. I love teachers! I love public schools!
Stay strong. In Madison we’re organizing a couple busloads to come down Saturday and show our solidarity. You came to us when we needed it most; now it’s our turn to come to you. Stay out there and stay strong.
I was raised in the Chicago suburbs. I remember the strikes as a kid. I had no idea of the significance. Now that I have been a teacher for 10 years and watched our profession get slammed I sure do. I support you and I am so proud of everything you all stand for. Don’t ever give up!!! You are ground zero in the fight against this insane “reform” movement.
You and the other teachers of the CTU are standing tall for all who work in our public schools, who pay for school supplies and lunches with no repayment, who protect our youth from abuse inside and outside school, who keep giving even when others give up, who patiently suffer abuse in silence when gratitude should be given, and keep pushing forward against all odds. You do these things not because they are easy or effortless, or for the praise, but because that’s what teachers and school staff do.
I have been on strike before. It is not easy. You will most certainly find your resolve and courage tested. At times you may find yourselves feeling that you are lost in a paralyzing obscurity, unable to find the way forward. Just remember that each of you is like a small candle in that darkness, showing a bit of the path ahead. You may not see in front of you very well, and the steps taken behind are already lost in darkness, but in that darkness there are many many of us following along, watching your back.
You are most assuredly not alone.
THIS is a co ordinated plane to take down ALL the public schools.
Koch and Bill Gates are involved, among others.
Chicago is one more battlefield in this war.
Go to http://www.alecexposed.org to see how this has happened and how it has been in the works for over 30 years and 40 years for the KOCHS.
After you get through the basics then go to ALEC’S own site and read about the coming plans , called initiatives.
A great short additional piece is in
THE STORY OF STUFF website , called, WE’RE NOT BROKE.
Sorry for the spelling errors, bad grammar, and punctuation , just a old ADDHD female
Who was never helped in school! LOL. I laugh now but it was not a joke or picnic getting through school, I digress!!!!
We in Wi, at the Capitol are fighting for our right of free speech and the right to petition
Our elected officials…it would be a joke and farce if it were not for the fact Capitol Police have been going to people’s homes, and places of business, hours after we have sung at the Capitol at noon, to issue tickets
The police even have grabbed a women’s bag , and run off with it in order to get her name and address ..we of course worry about them planting things.
So we are fighting the same fight with different battles.
We will see you all this Saturday….None of this is easy,we need to connect and educate
And work towards at some point getting ten percent of our population into the streets to protest all that these crazy, evil one percenters and their twenty percent lackeys are
creating.
Rahm did say at one point that when he advised the Preside t that if it was a choice between helping the people or political expediency , to go for the political.
Homework assignment Google, Dark Triad, that is what many of these people we are dealing with are.
Not too cheery a post, but here in WI I have never seen so many creative ,joyful, people with senses of humor gather to fight for right. I will see if we can come with the Pink Slip, sounds like Emanuel needs one!
This retired New York teacher supports your courage to take this necessary stand for all teachers everywhere. I stand with you and applaud each of you .I send you strength and continued courage to walk with your head held high….you have no reason to feel shame, but the other side …how do they sleep?
“What bizarro world do we live in?” The world of corporate edudeform! As comedian Lewis Black says, “I took LSD when I was younger to prepare myself for times like these.”
Tons of support from Pittsburgh! You give us hope.
You in Chicago are so brave. I hope you are teaching NYC teachers a lesson. It must be great to be a student in your class. Sending support. Stay strong. Inform the public.
Vermont has organized a rally to support Chicago teachers!
http://vtiso.blogspot.com/2012/09/solidarity-rally-for-chicago-teachers.html
Thanks so much for what you are doing to support our public school students and teachers! We are watching! We are proud! We are with you!
I am a teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chicago teachers have my support and my gratitude. I often feel so lonely in my opposition to current ed reform, but your strike has made me feel less alone and that we will be heard. Stay strong, and let us know how else we can help.
Please make sure this teacher sees this! Thanks!
Unity
I dreamed I stood in a studio and watched two sculptors there.
The clay they used was a young child’s mind,
and they fashioned it with care.
One was a teacher;
the tools she used were books and music and art.
One was a parent with a guiding hand
and a gentle loving heart.
And when at last their work was done
they were proud of what they had wrought,
for the things they had worked into the child
could never be sold or bought.
And each agreed she would have failed
if she had worked alone,
for behind the parent stood the school,
and behind the teacher stood the home.
-Author Unknown
And now I ask:
Where do politicians and education reformers fit into this dream??? How would the corporate model improve this “sculpture”?
By “measuring” the sculpture and collecting its pertinent data of quality analysis? By testing the sculpture to see if it can withstand “rigor”? By checking the credentials of the sculptor and no matter how great they are, testing the sculptor and re-testing? By imposing their own standards on the mother? By refusing to listen to her vision for her child? By cutting the budget for art supplies to something shamefully skeletal and rationing whatever bare bones supplies are leftover? By selling the studio to a group of MBAs and CEOs who want to run this studio but know not the first thing about sculpture?!
Keep fighting! American kids deserve better! To deny this is negligence!
What an inspirational piece of poetry.
I wanted to encourage and express my gratitude for what your willingness to step out on a limb by faith and conviction! So many teachers and those concerned about public education SUPPORT and STAND behind you! I know firsthand what it means to make sacrifices and go on strike to make a change.
When I began the teaching profession, I was unaware of how significant the union would become in my life. I was young, excited and viewed the union as protectors of those teachers who were not doing their job. However with time I was able to see the true need for union representation. I have seen our profession belittled to a level where dirt has more honor, and I have seen how the unions have been demonized with media attention and political attack. It was extremely disheartening to realize the necessity of the union because our district began to not value our young people.
I’m in Michigan teaching in a large urban district and what is happening here is ridiculous! We have been taken over by an Emergency Financial Manager who have been appointed by the governor giving him absolute power! NO ONE is concerned about any teacher’s voice and the media is not giving any coverage regarding the truth.
I would like to give you a few major issues faced by our teachers. Class sizes have continued to rise from lower elementary without an aid in kindergarten up to 27 little ones! Secondary classes can have as many as 38 or higher on the roster. In addition, there have been reduced preps for those through middle school to TWO days a week. Any educator worth his/her salt knows that the most important part of effective instruction is the intricate planning. Yet, the time has been reduced while the expectations have increased to giant insurmountable mountains. Extreme pressure for standardized testing and performance BUT no time or additional teaching professionals to make this happen…and forget about what encompasses real teaching. No one is truly implementing what is best for the kids just more plans to completely destroy the largest school district in the state. While some new structures have been built, there are still many schools that have great building needs and do not possess healthy air quality. Hence, kids along with staff are sick off and on through the year. Some school building have had problems with mold growing in several classrooms. When one is fixed then another problem arises. In addition, there are numerous schools without AC as temperatures were above 88 degrees since school has begun and much hotter in the classrooms with temperatures at or above 90 degrees. This is not optimal learning environments for students. Many classrooms do not have teachers who are certified in the given subject area, rather substitute teachers have been placed. How is this most beneficial for students? Many teachers were unjustly dismissed without a probationary period…simply let go with evaluations that, in some cases, took place ONLY the last three months of school (not throughout the entire year for an opportunity of improvement) but almost all at once. If principals didn’t favor a particular teacher, the process was extremely simply for him/her to be let go without a proper evaluation. I could go ON and ON! I still have NOT listed all the issues which are negatively impacting our students. However, I wanted you to know at least a few in order to make it extremely clear that YOUR fight is OUR fight!
I, too, didn’t believe myself to be one who would strike all those years ago. Financially it was quite difficult for all of us and we didn’t have a strike fund. BUT it was needed and at the time some conditions improved for students. For example, there were reduced class sizes and increased electives which included art and music. However, it is like we have regressed back even more so than the last strike many years ago.
I pray that you and all those who are striking will remain strong and know PRAYERS have been lifted up on your behalf. I sincerely thank you for your strength and faith to stand up and fight. Thank so much.
Here is a letter written by some parents of CPS students. It is worthy of a read by all:
A letter in support of all teachers, but specifically Chicago teachers as they face an uncertain summer of hostile negotiations.
June, 2012
Chicago, IL
Dear Teachers,
As CPS parents, we are writing to recognize you for your work on behalf of Chicago’s children, and to offer you our support in the coming months and years. We share your sense of urgency and your aspirations, and we recognize the brilliant, difficult work you do every day, in the biggest and smallest moments of our kids’ lives. Parents and teachers are on the same side because we want the same things—better schools for all children, and a better system to support those schools. You see our children in all their complexity and curiosity, in their desire to learn, to be challenged, to be respected, understood, and seen. And we see you.
We know that the recent strike authorization vote received the support of 89% of CPS teachers. In our school, the rate was over 98%. We know that you are voting not for yourselves, but for all teachers, particularly those in schools with the least resources. We take that vote and level of consensus seriously; your independent, collective voice is indispensible to any sensible conversation about education. We want to say – to you and to everyone – that the recent steady drum-beat of contempt from politicians and pundits is unacceptable, and that we, as parents, do not and will not accept a narrative that vilifies or blames you. This is not simply a conversation about wages and benefits, but one about our shared goal of building a just and decent school system for both teachers and kids.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s proposals represent a fair set of standards for everyone: smaller class sizes; more student access to music, art, gym, and libraries; more counseling time; and yes, adequate compensation and benefits for teachers, who are being asked to work longer hours next year. All of these are clearly essential to both good teaching and good learning. In our school, in all CPS schools, and in every school everywhere, good working conditions are good teaching conditions. And good teaching conditions are good learning conditions.
Yesterday, the last day of the school year, we watched you re-organize hundreds of books you donated personally to our school, all of them labeled by hand, by you. One was the first book a small student, in the room helping, had ever read “all by self,” with you cheering. She remembered; you remembered. We have watched you think through everything from questions about math, music, and literature – to the daily social and developmental challenges of childhood. We have heard you sing songs from your own childhoods, and seen you engage our kids with each other and the world, studying everything from bugs to berimbaus. With you, they wrote and signed their own books, traveled to D.C., choreographed and performed dances, solved fractions, slept at the nature museum, read life-changing books, cooked Brazilian cheese puffs, made documentaries, learned English, and sang with seniors at our neighborhood retirement community. You are teaching them to be engaged citizens, like you, people who care about others. That is the lesson we take from your work and your vote.
Seen up-close, the complexity of teaching is breathtaking and often unheralded; you guide our children through their days in more ways than it’s possible to quantify. So we are writing to say that we understand that teaching is deeply intellectual and ethical work. And that we see you doing it beautifully. We see you, and we stand by you.
Your Fans,
Rachel DeWoskin & Zayd Dohrn, Elizabeth Caya, Rob Caya, Dan Cohen, Beth Hopson, Scott Hopson, Julie Kosowski, Seth MacLowry, Stacy Markham