The real difference between the CTU and Mayor Rahm Emanuel is not money. By all accounts, the union and the mayor are close on compensation.
The real differences are about the corporate reform agenda. The mayor wants merit pay, more charters, evaluation of teachers by test scores, and all the other components of the national corporate reform agenda.
But little noticed by the national media is that none of these so-called reforms works or has any evidence to support it. Merit pay has failed wherever it was tried. Teacher evaluation by student test scores is opposed by the majority of researchers, and practical experience with it has led to confusion and uncertainty about whether student scores can identify the best and worst teachers. The charters in Chicago and elsewhere do not get better test scores than the regular public schools. Even in Detroit, only 6 of 25 charter high schools got better scores than the much-lamented Detroit public schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Once again, it long past time to quit giving the “reformers” the benefit of the doubt, They are clearly trying to drive anyone with a choice — parents, students, teachers — out of the public school system, leaving nothing but Reform Schools in their place.
I sent Rahm a facebook message. I put a message on the mayoral website. I hope it went and will get to him. I have a letter ready. This man is a Democrat so he should comprehend the importance of treating teachers well and working with the unions. He needs to also hear what real teachers think of standardized testing and Teach for America. Maybe he needs to have it explained what it is to be a teacher and our expectations for the schools we so love. I suggest all the readers of this blog do the same. If Rahm can be won over it is a start toward preserving our profession. I think he needs to hear from teachers all over America, not just the ones in Chicago.
The reality is that Democrats and Republicans are quite close, ideologically speaking. Education reform is quite bipartisan. In other words, we need to face reality: Obama has been disastrous for public education, and the idea that democrats are much better than republicans in this regard is not true.
I found an interview with Chris Hedges, where he pretty much says the same thing, explaining how the Democratic party have “turned their backs on the unions.” http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/chicago_teachers_need_support_from_democrats_20120911/?ln
I also posted a message on Emanuel’s website. I admire the CTU for taking a stand to protect our students and our education system. I did not own a single red article of clothing, but I made sure to drive across town to buy something for tomorrow. GO CTU!
I can agree with Diane Ravitch’s specifics in each case, yet still say she is wrong in essence. Yes, “merit pay” schemes may not work, for instance. Yet it is the height of arrogance and absurdity for the unions to oppose the very principle of paying teachers on the basis of their performance. The issue is this, Diane. Judgments about a teacher’s job performance must be made and consequence necessarily must follow if basic fairness, to say nothing of efficiency, is to prevail in the way teachers are rewarded. Credentials and seniority (which appears to be all the unions will allow) cannot alone ensure against perpetual mediocrity. So what should Emanuel put in their place? And why don’t the unions allow for SOMETHING to be put in their place?
Likewise with evaluating teachers with student test scores. Yes, a bad way to do it. What about value-added forms of measurement? Are these not worth developing? In other words, why doesn’t the union suggest something BETTER as a means of evaluation, instead of merely saying no, no, no? If for no other reason, they might try that since the public is no longer buying their denials. Reform is coming. The unions have no other choice but to fight it to their doom or join in trying to shape it.
And finally, instead of telling us over and over that Chicago kids are from poor broken homes and so they (teachers) are not to blame, why won’t the unions start to insist on returning total control over behavior in the classroom to teachers and principals. In my view no one thing (other than a national content-rich standardized curriculum) would do more to improve the lives of poor students and their teachers. But in comparison to salary, benefits, and all the union “nos” to reform, the unions respond to this matter with a big fact silence. Why?
Why do you assume that teachers in Chicago are mediocre?
There is a good reason to oppose merit pay: it has failed wherever it was tried.
When Nashville offered a bonus of $15,000 for higher scores, it made no difference.
Value-added assessment has neither evidence or experience behind it.
Is there a better way to evaluate teachers?
Yes.
Montgomery County’s Peer Assistance nd Review, which I wrote about on this blog.
It does not include test scores.
It works.
Learn about it.
I do not assume Chicago teachers are mediocre and do not think I implied that. I simply said there needs to be a way to impose consequences on them when they are, so they either improve or leave the profession. I agree evaluation ought to be a collaborative process, but I disagree that there is absolutely no evidence for value-added assessment and see no rational reason not to explore it and make it part of the mix. Part, not the whole thing. My key point is that unions are now perceived as standing in the way of reform rather than pushing it. This strike is going to cement that view in place no matter what anyone says or even what the truth is. It is a disastrous mistake on the union’s part.
Unions have been trying to shape reform. They get shoved away from the table.
Jon – would love to see you tell a teacher from pilsen or englewood your stance on what is best for students from a broken home. Once they take a pause from laughing they would explain to you how incorrect that is. Giving total control to teachers and principals in the classroom won’t solve the issues either, it would be more effective to help the neighborhoods be safer which Rahm has also failed miserably to improve. Yet standardized tests is the answer? Don’t think so
So what are the answers in your view? Larger classrooms? Bigger schools offering a wider menu of choices in the curriculum? More and better vocational classes? Fewer academic requirements? Cooking required? More student choice? Web cameras in the classroom? Virtual courses with credit for demonstrated achievement?
There are no easy answers nor is there any one answer. Unfortunately Emanuel seems to be subscribing to the Arne Duncan philosophy of charter schools and blaming unions for all school issues. They need to check their facts. Teachers unions aren’t all bad; without them, we would be paid the pittance we once were because the United States has lost respect for eduction. Any union or school corporation worth its salt finds a way to eliminate most bad teachers.The fat cats and their foundations are controlling education reform. They think they have the answers; their foundations need more money so they have gone to bed with the hedge funds who make more money for the foundations who have the money to buy what they want. I live in IN and a former superintendent has charted the demise of public education. It is hauntingly fascinating and he shows that it has been driven by the same groups and folks who are attempting to buy Mitt Romney’s way into the White House because they know “they are one” and he will agree with their charter school idea….. because he hails from private schools…… and their “make more money desires.” Charter schools are not proven answers…….unless you can throw enough money and hours at each student as some have done…..and that is not realistic. Look at a charter school contract and look at their pay scale and look at the hours they require. Who wants to teach there?????? Americans will rue the day that all education money was channeled into the private sector because when they wake up, the public education money will be gone……the schools will be full of those “who couldn’t get out” and then to what or whom will the leaders turn? I am deathly tired of unions being blamed for everything. If operated correctly with communication between the school corporation and the union leaders, learning enviornments can be created whereby teachers and students are functional, happy, engaged and productive. Few teachers argue that there should be accountability; there are ways to do that. In our union, a teacher doesn’t have to belong and reaps all the benefits; but, of course, it is the union that does the bargaining…..even for the non-joiners. Education will suffer in many different ways when all teacher unions have been annihilated. They are not the bad guy!!!!! Thanks for letting me vent.
Maybe the teachers should come up with an alternative method for merit pay, or at least an alternative proposal. All of CPS parents thank the teacher union for taking their ball and going home. What a great strategy!
Imagine a race. Everyone starts at the same starting line. Everyone is running towards the same finish line. Except our kids do not start at the same starting line. While kids in Lincoln Park start formal school when they are 3, my students start when they are 5 and sometimes even 6 in first grade. Even before formal school, kids in Lincoln Park were read to, asked questions, taken to museums, etc.
Now the kids enter kindergarten. Those LP kids are already steps ahead of my kids in the race. During the race, my kids miss a few days of school each week. Sometimes they come to school so tired, they fall asleep as I am teaching. Sometimes they come to school a few hours late and are so hungry, so I find them some cereal to eat. Those LP kids are going to school everyday on time, well-rested, and ready to learn. They go home and have help with their homework. On weekends, they go to the zoo and they see the same animals in the book their teacher read. Their parents even have a copy of the same book. Over winter break, they go on trips, see different parts of the city, start learning about other people, build background knowledge that they can make connections to later on when they read… Even when they are outside of the classroom, they are learning! Which student is going to achieve more on a test? And even if we are looking at growth, if my students miss 55 days of school, what kind of growth are you going to see? When they come to school tired and hungry and not focussed…. When there are more than 30 students in my class and several of them have special needs that require more attention than I can rightfully give…. There are factors that are outside of my control as a teacher.
Go ahead and measure my growth when you guarantee that each of my students will come to school rested, fed, and excited to learn. Judge my teaching abilities when you find support for my students, so I don’t have to be a nurse, a counselor, a bathroom attendant, a waitress and busboy, a lunch and recess monitor. Look at my test scores when each of my students don’t have to spend time worrying about who and if someone is going to pick them up from school, where they are going to spend the night, and if the night is going to be a restful night. When my students have computers to work on, have their own desk space at school, have several books to choose to read….
If the city spent more time and money focussing on the real issue we have (POVERTY), then we would see a real chance to close the achievement gap. We could spend less money on the prison system if we spent more time and money on social work, schools, and people in the first place. If we took money away from the admin in CPS central office who have a lot of titles but not a lot of real responsibilities, we would have money to make Englewood, Austin, and Roseland amazing neighborhood schools. Be proactive.
Well said, Jackie. I get so frustrated when people can’t grasp the simple concept that a child’s home life may affect his or her schooling.