This is a good article. Unspoken, or only hinted at, in this very conservative newspaper, is that strikes are effective.
When employers treat workers shabbily, a strike is justified.
When working conditions are intolerable, a strike is justified.
When management engages in harmful practices–like closing schools and handing the kids over to private entrepreneurs–a strike is justified.
The hidden message: Teachers of America, get your comfortable shoes ready.
Protect the children in your care.
Defend public education against privatization.
Strike reluctantly, but strike if you must.
Only one error here: Chicago’s teachers have had 17 years of “top-down disruptions” (aka, “reform”) not just 10.
OPINION
September 23, 2012, 6:25 p.m. ET
A Gold Star for the Chicago Teachers Strike
After 10 years of top-down disruptions, teachers showed the power of collective action by those who work in schools.
By KAREN LEWIS AND RANDI WEINGARTEN
After more than a decade of top-down dictates, disruptive school closures, disregard of teachers’ and parents’ input, testing that squeezes out teaching, and cuts to the arts, physical education and libraries, educators in Chicago said “enough is enough.” With strong support from parents and many in the community, teachers challenged a flawed vision of education reform that has not helped schoolchildren in Chicago or around the country. It took a seven-day strike—something no one does without cause—but with it educators in Chicago have changed the conversation about education reform.
These years of dictates imposed upon teachers left children in Chicago without the rich curriculum, facilities and social services they need. On picket lines, with their handmade signs, teachers provided first-person accounts of the challenges confronting students and educators. They made it impossible to turn a blind eye to the unacceptable conditions in many of the city’s public schools.
Teachers and parents were united in the frustration that led to the strike. Nearly nine out of 10 students in Chicago Public Schools live in poverty, a shameful fact that so-called reformers too often ignore, yet most schools lack even one full-time nurse or social worker. The district has made cuts where it shouldn’t (in art, music, physical education and libraries) but hasn’t cut where it should (class sizes and excessive standardized testing and test prep). The tentative agreement reached in Chicago aims to address all these issues.
Chicago’s teachers see this as an opportunity to move past the random acts of “reform” that have failed to move the needle and toward actual systemic school improvement. The tentative agreement focuses on improving quality so that every public school in Chicago is a place where parents want to send their children and educators want to teach.
Its key tenets:
First, use time wisely. The proposed contract lengthens the school day and year. A key demand by educators during the strike was that the district focus not just on instituting a longer school day, but on making it a better school day. Additional seat time doesn’t constitute a good education. A well-rounded and rich curriculum, regular opportunities for teachers to plan and confer with colleagues, and time to engage students through discussions, group work and project-based learning—all these contribute to a high-quality education, and these should be priorities going forward.
Second, get evaluation right and don’t fixate on testing. Effective school systems use data to inform instruction, not as a “scarlet number” that does nothing to improve teaching and learning. One placard seen on Chicago’s picket lines captured the sentiment of countless educators: “I want to teach to the student, not to the test.” If implemented correctly, evaluations can help Chicago promote the continuous development of teachers’ skills and of students’ intellectual abilities (and not just their test-taking skills).
Third, fix—don’t close—struggling schools. Chicago’s teachers echoed the concerns of numerous parents and civil rights groups that the closing of struggling schools creates turmoil and instability but doesn’t improve achievement. Low-performing schools improve not only by instituting changes to academics and enrichment, but also by becoming centers of their communities.
Schools that provide wraparound services—medical and mental-health services, mentoring, enrichment programs and social services—create an environment in which kids are better able to learn and teachers can focus more on instruction, knowing their students’ needs are being met. Chicago, with an 87% child-poverty rate, should make these effective—and cost-effective—approaches broadly available.
Fourth, morale matters. Teachers who work with students in some of the most difficult environments deserve support and respect. Yet they often pay for their dedication by enduring daily denigration for not single-handedly overcoming society’s shortcomings. These indignities and lack of trust risk making a great profession an impossible one.
In a period when many officials have sought to strip workers of any contractual rights or even a collective voice, the Chicago teachers strike showed that collective action is a powerful force for change and that collective bargaining is an effective tool to strengthen public schools. Chicago’s public-school teachers—backed by countless educators across the country—changed the conversation from the blaming and shaming of teachers to the promotion of strategies that parents and teachers believe are necessary to help children succeed.
It is a powerful example of solution-driven unionism and a reminder that when people come together to deal with matters affecting education, those who work in the schools need to be heard. When they are, students, parents and communities are better for it.
Ms. Lewis is president of the Chicago Teachers Union. Ms. Weingarten is president of the CTU’s national union, the American Federation of Teachers.
Karen Lewis is obviously a remarkable woman to let Randi Weingarten share in the determination of CTU to change the conversation. Randi has a lot more work to do if she wants us to believe that she up to speaking for teachers.
I’m afraid Weingarten is the Neville Chamberlain of education.
We cannot strike in Connecticut, although I do remember the Bridgeport teachers striking when I was still in school. As I recall, they were sent to jail because of it.
Teachers can’t strike in Missouri either.
Pretty much leaves one to the whims of the educrats, from the building level up to the federal.
that’s the point of not allowing you to strike
I guess I have no business telling other people to be willing to go to jail, but I think the time is approaching when teachers will need to consider civil disobedience. Perhaps unions should start getting together a bail fund. In fact, I think the time is approaching when everyone, teacher or not, should consider his or her willingness to face personal risks such as jail time, because so long as that’s off the table, we’re powerless to stand up to the masters of the universe and it will only get worse.
I am at the point in my career that I am willing to speak my mind about all this nonsense. It’s amazing how strong you feel when the fear of losing your job is gone. If I didn’t speak up I would hate myself more than I would than if I were fired. I do not wish to teach under the rheeforms anyway.
Randi is showing the kind of leadership her social climbing social class excels at – let’s jump in front of the parade ! Out here in Wishy-Warshy, Pacified Northwest, us little know no body teachers are getting treated to the same kind of ‘leadership’ from the Randi Types –
The Randi Types – spend all kinds of time and effort going 1/2 way, as the goal posts keep getting placed further and further to the right, because if you don’t go 1/2 way to right wing world, the righties will lie about you and you’ll lose! And, now jump to the front of the parade with Karen!
(pst! anyone notice that political strategery being a foundational stratergery of the sell outs in the Democratic Leadership Council, New Dems, Blue Dogs and Third Way Dems … pst! anyone notice how well those strategeries work for us 99 per centers with respect to health care access, wall street accountability … ‘failing schools’ )
Dear Randi – have some integrity – just go work for the hedge funds.
rmm.
Do believe I heard more of Karen’s words than Randi’s..
We must remember that there are principles worth dying for as proven throughout history. If so, then there are principles worth striking and marching in the street to support. Education of our children is one that must never be overlooked. Our children are our most precious heritage; may we never forget.
Reblogged this on extracreditlifepoints and commented:
Excellent article by Karen Lewis and Randi Weingarten on what teachers got out of the strike.
Unfortunately, “Defend public education against privatization” translates to “Prevent children and their parents from being able to choose anyone who isn’t us.”
I didn’t like Emanuel’s reforms, but “defending public education against privatization” consists in the shameful exercise of power over people who would choose other schools if you allowed them to.
You will not.
lets have charter schools form a union and have bargaining rights and see how that goes
nearly 90% of charters are non-union.
Corps want to keep it that way