Karen Lewis stood up to the national media. She stood up to the mayor. She could do it because she knew she had the support of 98% of the teachers in the Chicago Teachers Union. The CTU had a strategy to build parent and community support. And that support meant more than the screeching from the editorial boards of the newspapers and the commentators on FOX and CNN.
I told Karen how much the readers of this blog admire what CTU did and what she did. Here is her response, which she said I could share with you:
I do not understand why people think what we did was special. I do not understand why people think I’m a leader. I am a teacher who hates what’s happening to our children. We cannot go along with harm. Plain and simple. Sometimes I feel like we’re in that bad psych experiment where people give folks electric shocks because they were told to do so. I am embarrassed by all the attention and I would like to go somewhere and be quiet. I didn’t realize my life would be this nuts.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I was fortunate enough to speak briefly with Karen when she addressed our Missouri SOS meeting earlier in the year. She stressed getting parental involvement as one of the prerequisites of a successful campaign. I could tell she was not that comfortable being the front person and that she would probably would have been more comfortable in the classroom. She is as down to earth as her reply above indicates. Congrats to her and the CTU for standing up to the edudeformers as much as they could. The cards, legally speaking, were stacked, before and during the process, against the CTU.
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Kudos to Karen Lewis. I have relied on this blog to stay abreast of all events surrounding the strike. Because of Karen’s desire to do the right thing for students and teachers, this event could be a turning point in the practice of using test scores to measure the effectiveness of a teacher. Because of the far reaching impact of the CTU’s action, Ms. Lewis is the “Accidental Leader” perhaps for a generation of soon-to-be teachers. I simply want to say, “Thanks!” and Carry ON!
A while back I read “Beautiful Souls: Saying No, Breaking Ranks and Heeding the Voice of Conscience in Dark Times” by Eyal Press. It’s an exploration of the kinds of people who take a stand for what’s right. Contrary to what you might think, they tend not to be impassioned leaders or extreme liberals. They tend to be quiet, committed people who believe in what they do and believe that others do too. They find something wrong and they assume it’s just a glitch or misunderstanding – if they report it to the proper people and get proper information out, the problem will be corrected. Of course, what they find is that the problem is not a mere glitch, but an intentional feature. Having tried to correct the problem, such people find they can’t simply back down and let it go, so they become reluctant and even somewhat resentful crusaders who can’t believe they have to do what they’re doing – why isn’t everyone doing it? They don’t want to be leaders and didn’t go looking for attention or adulation, so they get a bit irritated when people bestow it. A better way of showing admiration is to join in the fight. (Not that you didn’t join in the fight, Diane.)
Thank you Chicago teachers for standing up for what is best for kids. Somebody please stop the madness in public education. I am tired of hearing from the politicians. I want to know what the kids, the teachers, and the parents have to say.
Karen has been so effective because she obviously is not in it for personal gratification and/or power. She didn’t seek confrontation, but Rahm gave it to her, and she has risen to the occasion.
Karen’s response is so down to earth. Teachers are pretty down to earth people and thoughtful and caring. She demonstrated this as the attacks came coming her direction. She knew that the attacks were actually at all of us in education. I thank her for her stand and her commitment to the children of Chicago. It has encouraged us all! I thank all the Chicago teachers, parents and students for their solidarity to make things better!
That is why Deformers hate teachers! We see through the BS in a NY minute! Deformers never listen to teacher voice. They would be cut to shreds with their flim flam scams.
CTU Local 1 leaders are all teachers and until they took leadership, were in the classroom! Deformers astro turf groups have personalities and 1% thugs on their boards. Who are you going to believe have the best interests of students at heart! CTU!
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
I wish Karen Lewis peace and blessings. Her bravery in speaking up and stepping up was a brave move. We teachers and small town union members see her as a superhero of sorts. I read a blog once (can’t remember who) but the writer said that being an ed activist was like being Superman. We spend our days quietly teaching and living normal lives like Clark Kent… but we spend our nights and weekends online and at rallies raising our voices against corporate ed reformers. —> Reformers might be telling America to wait on a Superman… but we all have the super power to speak up and stand up. I thank Karen from the bottom of my heart — She didn’t wait… she put on her red cape and got to work !
It’s time for parents in Chicago to take the baton being passed to them by the CTU and push HARD for an elected school board. That’s the ONLY WAY parent voices will be heard.