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Chicago Teachers Strike 2012

Good lord. I take off to eat. I go do a few things, and when I get back, there's 19 emails I gotta answer.

I'm going to go watch TV. I can't look at this thing anymore.
 
Here's my take on why the Chicago Teacher's Union is on strike, based largely on my own feelings, but also on conversations I have had with other teachers:

Pay and benefits are not really a big issue. I saw a number of signs today saying things like "If you think it's about the money, you need to do your homework" or "It's not about the money." It seems at this point especially the board and the CTU are close to agreeing on pay and benefits going forward. This is honestly at the bottom of my agenda.

I honestly think that the strike has everything to do with the complete lack of respect given teachers by the board, the media, and others. As a teacher, it seriously feels as if the board and the powers that be believe that most if not all teachers do not know how to teach their own students, that we are all lazy, that we don't try, that we are bad teachers that can't be fired, and that we are not doing our job. Every few years there is a new program/curriculum/acronym/pedagogy that someone at some fancy college far away from our actual classrooms dreamed up. These programs are bought by the board for tons of money (and I wouldn't be surprised if the money often goes to those who are best connected, not those who have the best programs) They are applied to many different schools with no attention paid to each schools individual needs. The programs often focus on what they want the students to achieve, but do not take into consideration where the students are currently at in terms of ability, and hence have no viable game plan as to how to get the students to achieve. These programs last a few years, are unsuccessful and are replaced by some other doomed program. They don't trust us to know how to teach our own kids! Stop micromanaging us!!!

These programs/curriculums, the longer school day, merit based testing, the closure of low performing schools, all of these ideas that are implemented in hopes of improving student outcomes came from the top. Who is missing from this conversation? The teachers! We are HONESTLY the experts when it comes how to best educate our students. We know intimately what are students can and can't do, and are constantly working on ways to move them forward. We are with them everyday, for 9-10 months a year. Our job, our passion, is to figure out ways to reach them and get them to grow as students and as people. But NO ONE has been asking us what WE think about what should be done! And again, it seems to me that this comes down to a lack of respect. They are wasting their most precious resource, US! Beyond that, they are treating us like children and not respecting the time, effort, and professionalism we put into the job! Their assumption is that we are lazy, that we are not to be trusted, and that we need to be constantly monitored otherwise we wont do our job.

I completely understand why people would be for a merit pay system. I personally would not be against one, but I would need to see it first. I would personally worry that it would end up rewarding teachers who teach at the better schools -selective enrollment schools, magnet schools, etc.- and punish those who teach in the most challenging schools, which is the exact opposite of what you want. I would worry about whether I will be responsible for students who miss 10%-25%-50% of class. I would be worried that it would be to my disadvantage to teach students how to do proofs in Geometry because they are not on the ACT, even though I feel that teaching students that type of rigorous logical thinking is extremely beneficial. I would worry that perhaps the way the test is set up 99% of the teachers are evaluated as poor and then the board has justification not to pay us more money. I would worry that it would encourage gaming of the system. I would worry that there are 100 other issues I haven't thought of. Furthermore, I think that the focus on standardized testing ends up stifling teachers. Teachers are going to end up teaching to the test, and is that what you would want for your child? 7 hours of ACT prep? The teachers of Chicago are already under a lot of pressure because many of us work in very challenging environments. Ease up on us, have faith that we know how to teach, and let us use our own intuition.

Finally, there is a constant threat for all teachers that their school might be closed. They closed my school despite a huge turnout of teachers, students and community members against the school closing as well as a finding from an independent arbiter that suggested they keep my school open. They continue to use low test scores as a justification to close down neighborhood schools and then open charter schools in their place. Many charter schools end up doing everything in their power to avoid the old students that went to that school and kick/"counsel" them out if they end up applying. What is happening is a privatization of public education that is spearheaded by a bunch of arrogant, misguided millionaires that would never send their children to a Chicago Public Schools, that have never consulted the teachers about what they feel would be the best way to improve student achievement, that hold educators in low regard, that are guided, it seems to me, only by their own ideology. And I hesitate to accuse, but I get the sense that some people see the public educational system and all of those tax dollars as something to be harvested for their own personal gain. I worry that what we are going to end up with is a teacher force with no union, where teachers are shut out of the decisions that impact their classrooms, where talented people are discouraged from becoming teachers in Chicago, especially in tougher neighborhoods, due to low pay and deplorable teaching conditions. In the end, we'll end up with a much worse public school system in Chicago, albeit a cheaper one. And the middle class will shrink ever smaller. Is that really what you want?

You, sir, just won this thread. BRAVO.
 
#1 -- Then the union should say that in writing, shouldn't they? Your union won't even put the sticking points along with their proposed resolution down on paper. How is that good faith negotiating? "We'll just sit here and keep moving the target." Why aren't they putting on paper that ya'll agree to the increases as proposed? If it's not about the money, the union would do that.

#2 -- You don't go on strike because of a lack of respect. How would anyone know if all of those "micromanaging" points coming down from above will work or not? The union has blocked their implementation at every turn...spending millions to lobby the state legislature to do so.

#3 -- See, that's what drives the rest of us crazy: "I personally wouldn't be against one (merit-based pay), but . . ." Well, wake up and smell the coffee. The rest of the world operates in a merit pay world. What is stifling about standardized tests? There should be a standard curriculum. How a teacher wants to teach that curriculum should be up to them. But WHAT to teach shouldn't be up to individual teachers. Why should it be?

#4 -- With all your worries, it would seem that you have no confidence in yourself beyond the job securities your union can provide. That's really sad. Especially for a teacher.

#5 -- Teachers should be fighting for the same privilege charter schools have. Why are teachers' unions not clamoring for an environment that's conducive to learning?? Once a child is 16 years old, when they're sleeping in class, disrupting the classroom, bullying the nerds, making the hallways unsafe, intimidating teachers, slashing tires - they should be gone. Give the ones who want to learn a safe place to learn. Why isn't the teachers' union fighting for that?

And you know what I read here? It's all about the teachers. Even in your very thoughtful post, there is little within it to indicate that your concern is for the children.

The light is shining brightly on public unions today . . . especially teachers' unions. I think you need to really examine what your union is fighting for. Is it for your dues? Or is it for what will actually help schools improve? And then, after you've done that? Realize that the taxpayers are on overload.

#1 My guess would be that it is proper procedure not to air negotiations publicly. But really, I wish they would too.

#2 I think you do strike for a lack of respect when the result is everyone is telling you what to do and know one is asking you what you need even though you are the expert and you are on the front line. And I personally was given a largely unusable curriculum to follow to teach math, have had to give countless standardized tests, are currently teaching to the new CORE curriculum, etc.

#3 I just want to see the system of merit pay developed before I blindly say yes to merit pay. And here's one of my problems with using standardized tests. At my first school my students averaged 14 on the ACT. If you guess, you should get around a 12. When students are so far behind, how can you use that data to truly measure growth? What if I moved a student from a 4th grade level of understanding to an 8th level of understanding in one year? That would be pretty good I think. But is that going to show up on the ACT? See what I'm saying?

#4 I'm not sure what you're saying here. I have plenty of confidence in my own abilities. I worry that the method of evaluation will not be accurate.

#5 Part of you is with me, to be honest. And the union does get involved if a teacher feels that the administration is not following the Student Code of Conduct in terms of disciplining children. But I think the SCC is plenty strict if properly implemented and balanced. It seems to me like the charter schools do not try and reform students, but rather to punish and thusly encourage them to transfer out.

Most of my post is about the children. If people asked teachers what would help them do a better job, or at least stopped micromanaging them and measuring them and just trusted them to do their job, their students would do a lot better. That was my first point. The merit pay piece was more about teachers, granted. But the last point about charter schools addressed my concern that if we continue to go down that path we are going to end up with a system that is a lot worse for our students.

I think you need to realize that the teachers ARE the union. We are one and the same. =]
 
#1 My guess would be that it is proper procedure not to air negotiations publicly. But really, I wish they would too.

I didn't copy the whole post just to save space. ;) I really appreciate your taking the time to share your views. It's helpful to hear it from a teacher in the system, Nathan. I probably have some misconceptions since I get my info second-hand from family/friends who are teachers -- and obviously!! When they're you're family and friends, you don't go into it quite the way we're doing it here. Ha!

You know what strikes me as odd? The fact that you aren't kept abreast of exactly what it is your union is fighting for and against. I mean, they tell you in broad strokes...but why don't you KNOW what the evaluation system is that they're proposing? (I know it's because you aren't told...not that you yourself are uninformed.) It's also my understanding that union teachers were involved in designing the evaluation system. And that it's only being used on non-tenured teachers this year...that a committee will then be put together, including teachers, to tweak it for the future. This seems so reasonable!

At any rate, it's tough on families and tough on kids. I hope it gets settled soon -- at a cost that taxpayers can afford.

I'm going to sign off for the night. It's been very interesting discussing this with you. Thank you.
 
Without even reading your whole post, I think I can refute the basic premise of it with some simple, straighforward stats. In 2008, which is the last year I can find nationwide high school grad rates, the average grad rate was just over 75%.The Condition of Education - Elementary and Secondary Education - Student Effort, Persistence and Progress - Public High School Graduation Rates - Indicator 32 (2012) In 2011, Chicago public schools only graduated 60% of their students. Chicago Public Schools : CPS to Hit Highest Graduation Rate on Record This School Year The bad part is, they are touting that like its some outstanding achievement. In addition, this is on the tail end of a 5 year effort to improve grad rates. So, in 2008, their rate would have been lower than 60%. More in the 55% range. A full 20 points below the national average. Even NY City averages 5% higher and the city has over 6 million more people in it. Houston, the next lowest population city under Chicago, graduates over 70% of their students. So excuse me if I have no sympathy for the teachers in Chicago. They are some of the highest paid in the country ($75,000 a year Chicago Public School Teachers Highlight Perennial Debate of Teacher Pay - ABC News, more than NY teachers New York Public-School-Teacher Salaries) yet some of the most underperforming.

First of all, I fail to see how graduation rates refute the basic premise of my post. Maybe they refute what you decided my basic premise was on your own.

My own research showed New York at 60% (from WSJ). Same with Philly at 60%. I can post links if you want. As far as Houston goes, I googled "how does houston calculate graduation rates" and the first page listed was this:

"A few years ago, the Houston School District was lauded as having very high graduation rates. But the so-called
“Houston Miracle” became famously mired in controversy after a state audit discovered that at some schools, more
than half the students classified as “discharged” should have been classified as dropouts.
How graduation rates were calculated for the class of 2004
Texas’s practices in defining the graduation rate are partly to blame for what expert Dan Losen of the Civil Rights
Project at Harvard University has called the “miracle of misrepresentation.” The state continues to boast an
84.6% graduation rate for the class of 2004, while independent estimates put the rate between 65 and 70%.
• Texas records 20 different graduation types, all counted as receiving regular diplomas.
• From the ninth-grade cohort, Texas subtracts students in 29 “leaver” categories, including separate categories
for students who are enrolled in GED programs, incarcerated, and participating in court-ordered alternative
programs; students who transfer or intend to transfer (without confirmation); unknown and unlisted leavers;
and students who leave under administrative withdrawal. None of these students are considered dropouts;
they are just not counted. For the purpose of calculating high school graduation rates, these students have
simply ceased to exist.
Step 1. Identify the cohort for the class of 2004: 348,039 entering ninth-grade students.
Step 2. Adjust the cohort: 348,039 students minus 60,527 leavers plus 16,601 students with data errors
equals the adjusted cohort for the class of 2004: 270,911 students (the denominator).
Step 3. Identify the graduates for the class of 2004: 270,911 minus 10,507 dropouts plus 19,826 students
staying in school plus 11,445 GED recipients equals total graduates for the class of 2004: 229,133
students (the numerator).
Step 4. Divide graduates by the adjusted cohort: 84.6% graduation rate."

So Houston calculates graduation rates differently and to their own advantage it seems.
 
I didn't copy the whole post just to save space. ;) I really appreciate your taking the time to share your views. It's helpful to hear it from a teacher in the system, Nathan. I probably have some misconceptions since I get my info second-hand from family/friends who are teachers -- and obviously!! When they're you're family and friends, you don't go into it quite the way we're doing it here. Ha!

You know what strikes me as odd? The fact that you aren't kept abreast of exactly what it is your union is fighting for and against. I mean, they tell you in broad strokes...but why don't you KNOW what the evaluation system is that they're proposing? (I know it's because you aren't told...not that you yourself are uninformed.) It's also my understanding that union teachers were involved in designing the evaluation system. And that it's only being used on non-tenured teachers this year...that a committee will then be put together, including teachers, to tweak it for the future. This seems so reasonable!

At any rate, it's tough on families and tough on kids. I hope it gets settled soon -- at a cost that taxpayers can afford.

I'm going to sign off for the night. It's been very interesting discussing this with you. Thank you.


Indeed that is what Lewis told the Camera's!
 
Yes, there is. I just made it. There are numerous factors outside of a teacher's control that determines whether a student graduates just as there are many factors outside of a realtor's control that determine whether a house sells. Do you disagree with that?

I disagree with the notion that a one-time business transaction can be compared to a process that takes many years and multiple "agents."
 
No offense, but you have no idea what you are talking about. I've taught in both such places, and let me tell you, teachers that put up with inner-city classrooms year after year have some of the thickest skin on the planet.

I have plenty idea what I'm talking about but, if you have actually taught in an exceptionally wealthy neighborhood, your experiences are the exception to the rule.

Both jobs have there drawbacks but drawbacks in poor neighborhoods largely end when the school day ends. Drawbacks in exceptionally wealth neighborhoods continue on throughout the day as politically and financially connected parents come home from work, see their kid is failing chemistry, and pull every string they can to rectify the situation. Unfortunately the very first thought they all seem to have never involves getting students a tutor but picking up the phone and getting in touch with the highest school official they can.

It doesn't matter much anyway though. School teachers should be paid a uniform salary based on value to the community. I could understand talk of raising salaries in lower income areas if those areas were having a difficult time attracting teachers but the idea of slashing salaries of teachers working in high income areas is mind boggling to me and would accomplish nothing other than sticking it to the rich.
 
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So how long until Obama swoops in and saves the day for the teachers, the students, and Rahm?

This all seems like some massively staged political stunt for Obama to seize. As Rahm loves to say, "Never let a crisis go to waste."
 
So how long until Obama swoops in and saves the day for the teachers, the students, and Rahm?

This all seems like some massively staged political stunt for Obama to seize. As Rahm loves to say, "Never let a crisis go to waste."

The thick is plottening:

A union representing 1,500 janitors in the schools gave notice that beginning Friday some may join the teachers’ protests and no longer cross picket lines to go to work.
 
I have plenty idea what I'm talking about but, if you have actually taught in an exceptionally wealthy neighborhood, your experiences are the exception to the rule.

Both jobs have there drawbacks but drawbacks in poor neighborhoods largely end when the school day ends. Drawbacks in exceptionally wealth neighborhoods continue on throughout the day as politically and financially connected parents come home from work, see their kid is failing chemistry, and pull every string they can to rectify the situation. Unfortunately the very first thought they all seem to have never involves getting students a tutor but picking up the phone and getting in touch with the highest school official they can.

It doesn't matter much anyway though. School teachers should be paid a uniform salary based on value to the community. I could understand talk of raising salaries in lower income areas if those areas were having a difficult time attracting teachers but the idea of slashing salaries of teachers working in high income areas is mind boggling to me and would accomplish nothing other than sticking it to the rich.

That is simply false. Have you ever taught a class where literally half the class is failing basic concepts that they should have learned years ago? What about 100+ students with this same rate of failure? And how many teachers in wealthy neighborhoods have to worry about having their car keyed or their tires slashed?
 
I didn't copy the whole post just to save space. ;) I really appreciate your taking the time to share your views. It's helpful to hear it from a teacher in the system, Nathan. I probably have some misconceptions since I get my info second-hand from family/friends who are teachers -- and obviously!! When they're you're family and friends, you don't go into it quite the way we're doing it here. Ha!

You know what strikes me as odd? The fact that you aren't kept abreast of exactly what it is your union is fighting for and against. I mean, they tell you in broad strokes...but why don't you KNOW what the evaluation system is that they're proposing? (I know it's because you aren't told...not that you yourself are uninformed.) It's also my understanding that union teachers were involved in designing the evaluation system. And that it's only being used on non-tenured teachers this year...that a committee will then be put together, including teachers, to tweak it for the future. This seems so reasonable!

At any rate, it's tough on families and tough on kids. I hope it gets settled soon -- at a cost that taxpayers can afford.

I'm going to sign off for the night. It's been very interesting discussing this with you. Thank you.

Right on. And I really am sympathetic to your concerns. I am becoming more and more concerned about debt on the local and national level myself. My salary is a very low priority in this strike, especially considering I am not well versed enough in the budgets of CPS and City of Chicago to tell what the city can and can't afford.
 
TIF funds: The shrinking slush fund | Ben Joravsky on Politics | Chicago Reader $454 million from property taxes were diverted this year into TIF funds. I am no expert on this, admittedly, but they are basically a slush fund that the mayor has control over that is supposed to be used to promote development in poor neighborhoods but is generally, according to the author of this article "winds up going to the richest of the rich." The Chicago Reader has been running stories on TIF funds for years.

If I'm not mistaken, they already spend boat loads on CPS schools in the first place.
More than some other states, who outperform them.

Adding more money, won't solve the problem.

Stop spending so much money on outside programs, curriculums, consultants. Decentralize the educational system. Trust teachers to know how to teach their own students and quit micromanaging us.

Depends on the programs, curriculum and consultants.
I'm fine with decentralizing the the education system.

As long as the teachers are fine with decentralizing the union.

Stop spending millions on closing schools, turning around schools and starting charter schools when these are expensive and arguably ineffective solutions to poor student achievement.

I would start there.

Cities close schools for many reasons.
Atlanta public schools closed several because enrollment was down and it was a waste they needed to save on.
Of course teachers and parents complained and protested, but they would of done the same, had taxes been raised to cover the additional expense.

Charter schools are experiments into improving or reproducing current results in education, for less money.

Or I know. Quit treating teachers like whipping posts, show them respect, stop closing down their schools, stop pushing programs down their throats, stop pushing agendas without consulting teachers who are THEE experts with the most experience in how to best educate the children in front of them, and stop acting as if every teacher in the city is lazy and doesn't do their job right. And then, if you show respect, you would be more likely to be able to negotiate a contract that was fair and cost less money.

Teachers collectively bargain, so it's only natural that people hold them collectively responsible.
They are also, the most closest to these children in the pub school environment, aside from parents.
You can't have your cake and eat it too.
 
That doesn't make it right.



It's already happening and if they don't reign in spending, it's gonna happen again.

Moody

The corruption is Chicago is meaningless.
Someone is taking the time to control spending, before things get much worse.
You and others are opposed to it, rather going with the status quo.

Tenure has beena round for a long long time. So for academia; it is right. Folks like yourself have confused it with union contracts. In my view, adn since it exists in instutions like Harvard et al, it is right. If you think that tearing apart a school system is controlling spending, then you're definately on the wrong side of the tracks.
 
Nothing to do with teachers? Or their Unions?


Illinois' credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor's on Wednesday, a move that came after Gov. Pat Quinn's inability to persuade lawmakers to cut costs in the state's debt-ridden public employee pension system.

The agency lowered the state's credit rating from A+ to A, citing a "lack of action" on changes aimed at decreasing the pension system's unfunded liability, which could hit $93 billion by next summer if nothing is done. Standard & Poor's also gave Illinois a "negative outlook," saying the state's budget future remains uncertain.

It's unclear what impact the new rating will have on Illinois' pocketbook, but it is likely that it will cost the state more to borrow money to finance construction projects including new schools, roads and bridges.

Only California is ranked lower than Illinois by the S&P, with a credit rating of A-. But unlike Illinois, California has been given a "positive outlook." Illinois already has the lowest credit rating in the nation from Moody's Investors Service, which has warned that another downgrade is possible unless something is done to address the state's growing pension liabilities.

"We have to address the public pension reform issue," Quinn said. "It will not go away. It's imperative that we address it. ... It's regrettable that our legislature did not act promptly when they had the chance, but we just have to keep pushing them."

Quinn's comments came after a groundbreaking ceremony on a new $104 million science building at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It's the type of project that could get more expensive if the state's credit woes persist.....snip~

Illinois' credit rating downgraded after pension reform failure - Chicago Tribune


I believe pension reform.....does and will Affect teachers!

BTW Hows, that Corner you are in?

That has nothing to do with the teacher's strike or the school system.
 
No, they're trying to get more money for themselves while dodging what is increasingly the standard measurements/assessments. And they're doing it while literally endangering thousands of kids whose schools are not open at all or only from 8-12.

Your hyperbole is most embarrassing.
 
I'd be interested to learn where you acquired your expert opinion on tenure.

Here:

The Looking Glass


The concept and practice of academic freedom, as recognized presently in Western civilization, date roughly from the 17th century. Although academic freedom existed in universities during the Middle Ages, it signified at that time certain juristic rights, for example, the right of autonomy and of civil or ecclesiastical protection enjoyed by the several guilds that constituted a studium generale, or universitas (COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES). Before the 17th century, intellectual activities at universities were circumscribed largely by theological considerations, and opinions or conclusions that conflicted with religious doctrines were likely to be condemned as heretical. In the late 17th century the work of such men as the English philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes helped pave the way for academic freedom in the modern sense. Their writings demonstrated the need for unlimited inquiry in the sciences and for a general approach to learning unimpeded by preconceptions of any kind. Neither Locke nor Hobbes, however, defended unlimited academic freedom. The German universities of Halle and Göttingen, founded in 1694 and 1737, respectively, were the first European universities to offer broad academic freedom, with few lapses, from their inception. The University of Berlin, founded in 1810, introduced the doctrine of Lehr- und Lernfreiheit ("freedom to teach and study") and helped to strengthen Germany's position as the leader of academic freedom in the 19th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, universities in Western Europe, Great Britain, and the United States enjoyed increasing academic freedom as acceptance of the experimental methods of the sciences became more widespread and as control of institutions by religious denominations became less rigorous. In Great Britain, however, religious tests for graduation, fellowships, and teaching positions were not abolished until late in the 19th century.
 
Tenure has beena round for a long long time. So for academia; it is right. Folks like yourself have confused it with union contracts. In my view, adn since it exists in instutions like Harvard et al, it is right. If you think that tearing apart a school system is controlling spending, then you're definately on the wrong side of the tracks.

Being a college professor and having tenure to protect this person for unreasonable firing related to their collegiate academic pursuits, is not the same as a grade school teacher, who should not be using class time to write their thesis for their ph.d, which could be controversial.

Sorry, equating these two, different professions, is not going to work.
 
I support teachers to the fullest. I hate teachers unions though, and despise them to the fullest, just as I do any public sector union.

Then you don't support teachers.
 
That has nothing to do with the teacher's strike or the school system.



Its a part of it but I already stated 3 times what Lewis said the issue was nationally. Evaluations and the Hiring back of teachers. Still doesnt change the fact that she went in and talked about healthcare benefits now does it? Which still was Right after she stated they were doing it for the kids. Which we all know the kids are not the priority! ;)
 
Okay, that's it. I've been rather following your exchanges for a while here. You quite obviously do not know what you're talking about.

Here's another source on this numbers: Teaching Positions Salaries in Chicago, IL | Simply Hired
Average Teaching Positions Salaries
The average salary for teaching positions jobs in Chicago, IL is $54,000. Average teaching positions salaries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits.

So, there ya go.
 
Your hyperbole is most embarrassing.

I'll take that opinion just as seriously as I've taken your expertise, which comes from having coffee with a couple of your profs.

As a primer, if you Google "culture of measurement and assessment," which you apparently are unfamiliar with, these are the first two hits, and the first has been cited over 1100 times:

http://math.arizona.edu/~cemela/english/content/shortcourses/assessment/Day 2 Reading 2.pdf

http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/toc/z2007_216.pdf

If you don't realize that kids left unsupervised in Chicago are in danger, then maybe you're unfamiliar with that city. That's not hyperbole.
 
Being a college professor and having tenure to protect this person for unreasonable firing related to their collegiate academic pursuits, is not the same as a grade school teacher, who should not be using class time to write their thesis for their ph.d, which could be controversial.

Sorry, equating these two, different professions, is not going to work.

Again: you have no idea what you're talking about.
 
You just boiled down the performance of teachers down to graduation rate. That is one of the most epic fails of an argument that I have ever seen in my life. That would be like blaming the huge spike in violence in Chicago on low performing police officers or blaming the collapse of the auto industry on car salesmen. For ****'s sake people, a single factor like graduation rates does not measure the quality of teacher performance. It's that kind of simplistic evaluation that teachers are fighting against in Chicago.

I'm sorry MTP. I know you're a intelligent guy, but I cannot take these sorts of analyses.

What else is the purpose of going to school other than to graduate? We have to have measurables. Standardized testing, literacy rates, etc are good measurables to use. Graduation rate, IMO, is the best measurable to use. Its the entire focus and goal of going to school to begin with. It is statistically proven that not graduating high school leads to poverty, crime, etc. If you think I'm advocating for lax standards to make rates higher, you are mistaken. That's not my point at all. My point is that these teachers can't claim they are teaching in a tougher area than New York or Houston. Teachers in those states face the same hurdles and challenges. I'd say the teachers in Houston have it harder because they have a language barrier to deal with as well due to a larger Hispanic population. But somehow, someway, they make it happen. That Chicago teachers are asking for higher percentage pay raises than virtually anyone in the country (including Federal employees), to drop evaluation standards, and then mask it to look like they're doing it for the kids is despicable. If you don't believe grad rate is a good measurable, what is?
 
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