@HRG....You have to stop writing this stuff, I can't stop laughing. I think it is a heart healthy exercise. Just remember; that if your 14 year old mentions that she would like to become a teacher, immediately slap her up beside her head to knock some sense into her.

@HRG: Actually, your sarcasm is more factually accurate than your usual whiny self-absorbed pieces. Except you don't have to worry about arming kids at school. You see, schools still have those fading "nuclear free zone" signs out front, right? Along with those "no firearms" stickers on the doors, all in the name of keeping our kids safe... just like at Columbine. But thanks for the chuckle. I'm hearing the Asian coastline near Finland is really beautiful this time of year!

Shouldn't your sarcasm be directed within (your own party that is)? Rahm is Obama's right hand man and hand-picked mayor sent in to fix his favorite city. The Democrats in charge in Chicago are the ones playing hardball with the CTU.

@HRG: RUSD is but a subset of the greed, corruption and incompetence of the Chicago Teacher's Union and the "bunch of babies" that they serve. Oh, that's right ... the teachers need not be held accountable for the educational outcome because they have those talking points down pat:

the parents are at fault
the environment is at fault
the administration is at fault
God is even at fault for not addressing the aforementioned.

But, the RUSD teachers? Heck, they just press on because they play no accountable role in the outcome. Try to find a job like that in the private sector?

Actually HRG, the Chicago strike was the very reason the teaching profession has a black-eye.There is one word that every teacher is afraid of: accountability. And its not just teachers; its school boards and school administrators. It is that simple. It is easier to stay status quo, but unfortunately, that is not the case as education in the U.S. has been in decline for several decades.

What you don't understand is that those that you poke fun at have made a real committment to improving education, but those like you just can't except that one word.

And please let's not get into the salary game. A teacher averages more in just salary than the median household income. The state average salary is $52,000 while the state median househould income (all combined income in the household) is $50,100. So those that you are defending are expecting, not asking, those that make less with two incomes to pay one income and produce poor results. No wonder parents and taxpayers are not sympathetic.

Then, when given the opportunity for better pay through Act 10, they don't want that one evil word; accountability.

Make all the snide remarks about us, the commentators you chide, but our message is carrying far beyond these pages, and by the results of the past two elections for Governor, are by far the majority and growing.

It's funny because in the same news story I hear the teachers getting all that they demand after holding everyone hostage, including no accountability and pay raises and then airlines cutting thousands of jobs and reducing flights. Something is definitely wrong here. Everyone is cutting back but they get pay raises? Not to mention highest pay and lowest literacy rate--that does not add up either!

Damn those thousandaire greedy teachers! Next thing you know they'll be wanting to eat and be able to pay their bills. I say bring back the debtor's prisons. That way, at least, teachers will have a place to live. They can learn a new trade,,,"picking oakum", and/or get a healthy workout on the treadmill. Teachers should have to tug their forelocks whenever a taxpayer walks by them. Remember those immortal words of Borstal boys as they're being severely caned: "Thank you sir, may I have another?" I say quintuple a teacher's salary and hire him/her for a job with a more accurate, all-purpose job description: Professional Societal Scapegoat/Community Thug. All you have to do is stand there with your finger up your nose. The job of Village Idiot will look downright professorial compared to this. Our sad society always needs to feel that there is at least one person lower on the totem pole than yourself. When you vilify teachers, fairly or unfairly, it makes you feel better about your crappy life.

"Teachers and their supporters are worried about the privatization of schools – leaving public schools in the dust. I say go ahead!! This is one industry that has the opportunity to make CEOs and stockholders a whole heck of a lot of cashola. Let these kids do double duty as students and commodities – what’s the harm in that?"

Is the former Democratic White House Chief of Staff and present Democratic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to be credited with the foregoing quote?

Why is it that articles written in support of the striking Chicago teachers and against school privatization consistently fail to mention that Rahm Emanuel has spear-headed the effort to both fight the strike and promote privatization?

http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=3019

Furthermore, why is it that these same articles consistently fail to mention President Obama’s complete failure to support the striking teachers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVkdDdQ3gIg

President Obama, usually a pro-labor advocate, has refused to take sides on the current teachers strike in his own hometown and re-election home base. No surprise, given that President Obama merely voted “present” about 130 times as an Illinois State Senator.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

With advocates like this, teachers wonder where the respect is?
All one has to do is visit the "Professional" organization WEAC FB page to see all of the "respect" given to those who hold a different opinion. I don't know of any other professional organizations that would allow such outright bashing of at least 50% of the population on their page if they are actually trying to project a professional image. And if you try to bring up an opposing view on their page, you are hastily blocked.
Sorry, but this gives an impression of whiny immaturity. When my husband lost his job, he took the work he could find until he found another steady job. He didn't picket governor's homes, wave his fist, expect bargaining to take place for him at both sides of the table, and demand that someone else owes him a living.
In fact, I know Democrats that are so fed up with this behavior that they refused to vote in the recall election. Receiving postcards in the mail with a list of people that they needed to bug to vote was the last straw for them.

Brian Dey...For Pete's sake, teachers are accountable to just about anyone who moves. They are observed by everyone. The kids particularly want to be able to run home and "tell on" their teacher if they think he/she did anything wrong. They rarely complain about not getting enough work. A parent can walk into a classroom unannounced, at any time. Teachers have no secretarial help to screen out those they don't want to see. There is nothing "immature" about using traditional methods to protect your rights. Union demonstrating, strikes, and collective bargaining have been around a lot longer than both of us, until now. No protections for teachers and no help to get the job done, either. If you were truly honest, you'd admit that the public can be totally unreasonable. They expect the underfunded schools and the disrespected teachers to solve social and academic problems that have never been solved by anyone's administration. They can't even solve their own kid's behavior problems at home. Get real. Unless you want to try, you'd better respect those people who are trying to solve America's educational problems. As for privatization, if I could control which kids came to my school, I could more likely be able to predict good academic results. If a school does "find the answer", can you imagine how much they could charge you for tuition? They won't share the secrets of their success...that would be proprietary info. if they are privately owned schools.

Hoffa... Come back to earth. (excerpt from Google re: Escalante):
"Escalante's classroom challenges and successes were the topic of much public discussion in 1988. That year his story was the subject of a book entitled Jaime Escalante: The Best Teacher in America and a film called Stand and Deliver starring James Edward Olmos. Both educators and students have found Escalante's work at Garfield inspiring.

After Garfield, Escalante taught at another high school in Sacramento. He did not seem to find the same level of success he had at his previous post. Escalante also received some criticism for lobbying against bilingual education in California schools. He retired from teaching in 1998." Now, re-read my previous comments. I'm sure he was a good teacher, but to expect that level of performance on a regular basis is impossible. If you don't listen to complaints from people who have been there, you'll never know which problems need to be solved. Where did Escalante's excellence go in Sacramento?

Hoffa...Other teachers get sick or promise their families they will slow down too. They are no less noble than Escalante. Why did his family move away? Was it because he was putting too much of himself into his work, as you would have him do, leaving not enough for his family? As for lobbying against bi-lingual education in California, it makes no sense. Those Spanish speaking kids are THERE. They're not going away. They'll learn English eventually, but what do you do with them in the here and now. Blaming the union for his cancer is ludicrous. As for whining, were you there? I'll bet he whined plenty when his political medals he won were ignored when he wanted to do away with bi-lingual education. If you bothered to think beyond your prejudices, you might understand more. Re-read my previous comments. You'll learn a lot about the realities of education, which have to change, before we can solve any of the problems. Remember, it's not whining, it's explaining. Usted tiene que aprender a pensar mas.

Brian Dey...Congratulations on your hard work towards improving education. I mean this honestly...it is truly appreciated. With respect, teaching classes is a lot different than observing classes and Junior Achievement is an elective, so I'd presume the kids want to be there. In the old days, the pre-union days, kids didn't have so much garbage competing for their attention. As a matter of fact, homework was seen as an entertainment because there wasn't too much else for kids to do. Teachers did everything from janitorial work to stoking the fire for the day. Most teachers were women, and they were discouraged from marrying. Men became teachers usually if there were no qualified women and, sadly, they were perceived as not being able to do too much else. Early teachers were boarded at the homes of their students. They were there at the sufferance of the community. Some families were more generous than others. Other men were hired to teach if they were big enough to beat up the oldest boys in their class a la the Hoosier Schoolmaster. In those days, people were often in awe of educated people, and the teacher was respected. They were often called upon for their wisdom in community matters (not just school matters). Many community members were immigrants and they knew the value a good education can bring. They backed the teachers, in most cases, not their children who they knew would goof around if given a chance. Hard work was the norm.

Brian Dey...Things have certainly changed. The workplace has been so speeded up electronically that most parents are getting burned out. Teachers and parents are expected to be on call 24/7 since your office can be where ever you are. Consequently, parents are asking the schools to do more and more that the family USED to do. (e.g. sex ed. driver's ed., bullying counseling, etc. etc. etc.) This all takes time away from academics. Kids today are different too. They all know their rights (but often not their responsibilities). Parents, being tired from the new workplace are less inclined to lay down the law with their kids. They also feel a bit guilty for not wanting to lead more child centered lives, so they try to be "buddies" instead, rather than doing some of the unpopular things like turning off the TV from 7 to 9:30 for study time, , closely monitoring their kid's computers and video games for sexual or violence content, and going over their child's homework with them and etc. The guilt makes them take their acting out child's side rather than pointing out what behavior will not be tolerated. As you might be aware from your work in education, so-called "solutions" for education problems swing back and forth like a pendulum. One minute it's the old math, the next it's the "new math", phonics vs. whatever the method du jour is. Educational supervisors "supervise". They have a vested interest in finding something wrong with whatever is current.

Brian Dey...If they don't find something wrong, even when there isn't anything, they have no reason to go to work. So constant turmoil is the norm in education. As for union "tactics", how would you handle meeting the reasonable needs of teachers? Asking people nicely doesn't seem to work. It is only when people lose a teacher's services that they appreciate what they had. Recalls are legal, and demonstrations are legal. As for teachers being accountable, read my previous posts on that. Teachers have more people keeping an eye on them than most other jobs. The problem is that there are so many variables that go into raising/teaching a child that there is a lot of disagreement on how this could be done. different kids...different results fora zillion different reasons. The public can be unreasonable, particularly when it comes to their kids. They want champagne results on a beer budget. Their interest in the schools disappears the minute THEIR kid is out of them. PTA turnovers are huge for this reason. In the old days all you really needed was an eighth grade education, you had few distractions for the kids, and the teacher was respected and backed. In return the teacher had to take on the lifestyle of a nun and be willing to be judged by everyone in town. They did it because there weren't many alternatives for women in those days. These are interesting times, and I hope we don't wreck our schools in the name of reforming them. Thanks for your time.

Hoffa..Obviously, you don't understand much of anything I've said in a polite dialogue with you. I've never heard you entertain a new idea (for you) in all the letters you've written to me or others. I don't mind being disagreed with, but you are like a rude broken record. So, I'll keep it simple so you can understand it: Blow it out your ass, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Try not to communicate with me in the future. We just don't agree on anything. You're boring.

"Chicago teachers, used to the shortest school day and year of any major U.S. city, acceded to Emanuel's plan for longer hours: an increase to 7 hours a day from 5 hours and 45 minutes at elementary schools, and to 7 1/2 hours from 7 hours at most high schools. The academic year will grow by 10 days. However, the strike also earned the teachers concessions: High school students will spend the extra time in a study hall rather than being instructed, and future schedule changes will have to be approved in a vote by teachers."

70% of a work day X 70% of a work year = 70% failing students
What could be wrong with this equation? Paying teachers for more study hall?

Brian Dey...I agree with your statement about the most important relationship is between teacher and student. With that thought in mind, I feel that the teacher, and not the Principal, should have the power to suspend a student. The student should know that YOU are the man he has to deal with. If he "lipped off" to his boss, he'd be fired. This important lesson could be learned in school where the consequences wouldn't be so expensive. Why are the teachers getting all the bad public relations? They don't decide the policies, decide where millions of dollars will be spent. Why aren't the "power elite" excoriated for their lousy decisions (e.g. "No Child Left Behind, Just Say No, language labs, etc). We're required to take classes (at our own expense) to stay current. Fine, I say, but then we learn that what we are doing is wrong. When we point it out, (you'd think they'd want the benefit of the knowledge they asked us to get) we're told we're insubordinate or we don't understand (read this as shut up, you'll make some powerful politician look bad.) Also, all reform is not good. Hitler and Stalin turned the schools into propaganda mills to get kids to die for the "Father/Motherland". We do the same things, but not as blatantly. We glorify leaders who weren't all that glorious (e.g. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, JFK...I could go on and on). " Knowledge is power"...except when you're a teacher. I look forward to your blog.

Brian Dey...One final point. "The most effective person in education is the teacher". You believe this, and I wish it were true. A lot of people get between teacher and student that shouldn't be there. I don't understand why a Master's degree or Ph.D of a teacher should be worth less than an Administrator's degrees. The leaders are more politicians than educators. The guy who buys the toilet paper should be under the teachers, not over him/her. They tend to not be creative because change is dangerous. The things needed to improve education will not be popular with the people...ergo there goes the self-interest aspect of the politicians. Unless you can think of anything better, the union is needed to protect a creative teacher or administrator who wants to implement changes (popular or unpopular but needed, within the community's schools. They say that "communities get the kinds of schools they want". We're in serious trouble here on many different levels.

The author of this must have used the prizon computer to write this. He must hate society and himself so much he wants the world to fail. Just like GW Bush he must hate our freedoms and democracy. Anyone who as ever had a JOB knows better. This is a gangbanger republican just push his gangs sick ideals. Remeber a while back they were torturing people until GW was exposed. They are one sick breed of muts.

When I was in school and was being punish for something stupid I said or did I called the teach a thug . Then once I matured I realized that the teacher was doing their JOB. It help me keep in line. Thanks for the guidence all you bad teachers.(LOL). The auther must be the village idiot with an drinking problem. Sober people know better.

Brian Dey...I have to remind you that degreed people have "common sense" too. We're not all "mad scientists". LOL We'll never really get away from "self-interest". Frankly, I feel people are entitled to "quid pro quo". You can't fly around being a social kamikaze willing to crash and burn by sacrificing your own family's financial needs for the good of a community who hired you. People would only take advantage of you. To a degree, this is what has happened to teachers. The community took advantage of the idealism most teachers have and began to pass more and more work onto them. It got to a point where people lost respect for people who were willing to turn themselves into "servants". Teachers were EXPECTED to be "dedicated", meaning...not in it for the money. They were seen as children, like the ones they taught. They could be sent to the Principal's office to be "called on the carpet" for almost anything. "I pay your salary", so you have to do whatever I tell you, no matter how unfair. Thus Unions were born. The community wasn't used to "uppityness" from teachers, hence the animosity towards unions instead of towards the community's rude demands. This has nothing to do with quality of teaching. As a matter of fact, most people think their community's schools are good (to raise their real estate values, probably). They mostly like all of THEIR child's teachers...it's those OTHER guys. Communities are spoiled and teachers are seen as second class citizens.

Dave Koven- Again, don't take that declaration to be directed at teachers. I preface any explanation about reforms by stating that fact and am referancing this in regards to administrators and school boards.

We are in a time of financial contration worldwide and have it has been happening for the past two decades. It is now affecting you personally, but many have had if affect them years ago. In all areas and careers, individuals are being asked to do more for less.

Just to remind you, the community, not parents solely, but at large sees the data and sees their tax bills rise. They see the headlines, and a lot of the data in large school districts is not good. Graduation rates are plummenting, habitual truancy is on the rise and yes, test scores are not good. Let me use the analogy of buying what you thought was a good car, and you paid top dollar for it. Weeks after you buy it, the engine isn't running right. Then the transmission isn't running right. No matter how much money you put into it, it still isn't working right. In most cases, you are mad at the dealership that sold you the car because that is your direct line of frustration and easiest contact to reach. When in reality, it is the manufacturer that deserves your ire. Same in the schools. The teacher is the easiest cont to let your frustrations out on. When in reality, it is the administration or the school board behind what isn't working.

Dave Koven- You see, what the public, and unfortunately the administrators and school boards, and yes even teachers, fail to realize is that those standardized test scores are not a reflection of the classroom as it is the tools that the teachers are given through directives of administrators and school board policy. In short, they are a judgement if the curriculum aligns with the states requirements. It deals more with systemic problems, rather than individual student performance.

When I look at reforming education, that is what I see in say the WKCE scores, not that teachers are not doing a good job. But what I do see in individual classrooms is reflected by ongoing trends and can formulate that if the curriculum is aligned, and certain areas seem to create a pattern of underperformance by students, then maybe that teacher is not teaching certain areas that are required.

But, and I say this as an area that can and needs to change before respect is earned by the community, their are areas of professionism that has been lost in the teaching profession. Teachers are not dressing professional, and in some cases, not even business casual. Some dress like gang members, and some dress like bums. While your union may have given you the right to dress like that, that doesn't mean it is the right thing to do to gain respect.

It carries on with a lot of rights you have, but don't earn you the respect of even your students.

Brian Dey...Just a reminder...Teachers, by and large, have always done more with less, AND THEIR taxes and costs have gone up too. There's two ways we can lose this country. We can underfund the military to the point where we can't be protected from invasion, or we can underfund and degrade the schools and teachers to the point that no one will want to become a teacher. Our students will then not be able to compete in the world market place, and we will have our country bought out from under us by foreign interests. Look at the size of the tables and the throne like chairs for the various govt. committees. They cost a fortune! Cut stuff like that before the military or education. Lifetime pensions for one-term elected officials? There's a lot of FEMA trailers that could be cleaned up and used for office space for our elected "bigshots". Free haircuts for senators in the senate barbershop? I could run a school/ district on what these guys' perks add up to. Most of them are wealthy enough that they don't even NEED the perks. Being privy to all the insider information is perk enough. If you can't enrich yourself with that, you lack a hell of a lot of imagination. Most do pretty well, though (e.g. Tommy Thompson).

Whine whine whine.

They love socialist liberals in Illinois, especially in Chicago. Instead of blaming yourself as a liberal, you continue to play class warfare and ask for more redistribution.

Liberals are 100% responsible for this, but keep crying about rich people and we need more socialism and stuff

http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-clocks/state-of-illinois-debt-clock.html

Brian Dey...The answer is to get professional school boards. They have to know what they are doing because they hire and fire the educational leadership of the district. They also decide what the curriculum is going to be and how they want it taught. People who have full- time non- educational jobs and donate a few hours of their time to run the schools is not a good idea. Just because you run a business or are the local lawyer, doesn't mean you know what is needed in education. They know what they want, but not necessarily what is educationally possible. We need people who are knowledgeable about the cutting edge of educational research. We need people experienced in education, and can look beyond local politics to what kids actually need. Retired teachers would be perfect. School board members usually only receive a token salary any way, so no big cost there, but the community would get the full benefit of their teacher's degrees and experience. They could bring about the necessary changes and not have to fear for their livelihood. Since they are retired, I'm sure they would be very tight with a tax dollar and would appreciate being useful. However, people have to get realistic and realize that what is needed is what is needed, no matter how much we wish it wasn't.

Dave Koven- That is so not the answer. It is public funds and needs to remain the citizens elected board. Right now, there are two retired teachers on the board and someone who was a national leader in Montessori education. Under the RUSD, they rely on the Superintendent, who is the educational expert.

It is the board's role for holding accountable the experts, i.e. Superintendent, Chief Financial Officer. If you think it is something else, you oblviously haven't followed the board for the past 6 years.

They don't need to know the latest craze in education; they need to monitor the results of those that they put in charge, and hold them accountable. What is needed is better monitoring by the boards, and actually acknowledging problems exist and to challenge the professionals on why they are not working. And ultimately, if they don't improve, holding them accountable. In turn, the Supt. and CFO need to hold those that work for them accountable for their results. Believe it or not, it doesn't take a degree in education or anything else to use common sense and analyze data.

Brian Day...Then, why aren't things better in education than they are now? "Common sense ain't so common." The board still has to know what the "cutting edge" of educational developments are. The uninformed can hold the informed hostage just because they have the power. Superintendents come and go. They last, on average, about 4-6 years before they have"offended" enough to make it political to move on with their old ideas. I'm sure there's enough retired teachers in many districts that live where they taught. Their decisions would take into account the specific needs of the community that they too are a part of.

Dave Kovan- Who knows the community needs better than their peers. They are the community. Stacking the deck with leaders who need to make unbias decisions has failed our district. And the community, who is always squacking, keep re-electing them. And as far as I know and have seen, the cutting edge keeps leading to more and more failure. If you want real reform, stop passing kids that are not reading to move to the next grade. Social promotion in RUSD has been going on for years, with everyone's blessing. It hasn't worked and never will work. Education isn't a laboratory for cutting edge. Speaking with many educators, they say that there are only so many ways to teach a child, but it all gts back to the basics. We have so many course offerings, yet we have a high percentage that can't read, write or do math to grade level. It is common sense. A common sense that sometimes gets lost in the world of academia.

Any teachers who are young enough should QUIT, and join the armed forces. That is where the FUTURE is in this country. Any who are NOT young enough should QUIT and become venture capitalists. That is the way to go, really. Then, when all the pubic, oops, I mean public school teachers quit, we can privatize the entire education system. That will, of course, yield better results.