Chicago: Combatting the Teachers Unions - One Citizen Speaking

It was politically expedient to ?give in? once again to the teacher?s unions who refuse to ?share the pain? felt by the private sector. So with guaranteed and substantially higher personnel cost, and little or no reform in teacher performance or student scores, how do you balance the economic and social budget?

Chicago teachers fear wave of school closings after strike

Striking Chicago teachers fear that once they approve a new contract with the school district and end their strike, Mayor Rahm Emanuel will go ahead with dozens of school closings because of falling enrollment and poor academic performance.

The closing of schools and what happens to the teachers working in them has been a major issue in the bitter dispute, even though the disagreement over evaluating teachers based on standardized test results of their students has received more attention.

"If they fire us, we're done," said Rhonda McLeod, a special education teacher at Gresham Elementary and one of the union delegates expected to vote on Sunday whether to end the strike. "We're terrified. We don't need to be dumped to the wayside. We're not trash, we're teachers."

Enrollment in Chicago Public Schools has fallen nearly 20 percent in the last decade, according to the Pew study, mainly because of population declines in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

According to the union, 86 public schools in Chicago have closed in the past decade. Many have been replaced by charter or "contract" schools run by philanthropists, and charter schools now account for 12 percent of students, district figures show.

The Chicago Tribune reported this week that school district officials are considering closing up to 120 schools next year, which would be 17 percent of all schools in the district. Asked about this on Wednesday, Emanuel said it was too early to say.

Charter schools are publicly funded but non-union, and the teachers union has complained that they undermine public education and force more community schools to close. Their academic performance record compared with community schools is mixed, according to national studies.

But a powerful U.S. education movement is pushing charter schools. Reformers such as Emanuel and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former Chicago schools chief, argue that schools performing poorly in academics should either be closed permanently, reopened with new principals and teachers, or converted to charter schools run by non-union personnel. <Chicago teachers fear wave of school closings after strike | Reuters>

So what is the problem?

Teachers should be evaluated on their ability to teach, their subject matter knowledge and the performance of the students under their tutelage. If a teacher or school is under-performing or lacks a viable student base, it should be eliminated. Tenure should be a thing of the past. Teachers should be compensated per their job, not their educational credentials. It makes little or no sense ? other than a special education classroom ? to have a teacher with a Masters of Doctorate degree teaching second grade.

Competition is the answer to better education. Competition where schools are pushed to compete for high scores on standardized tests, with a portion of students being interviewed by qualified examiners to insure that they really do know what their test scores reflect. Any teacher or administrator found cheating should be fined no less that $50,000, lose their pension and benefit rights, lose their teaching credential in the state and possibly serve up to six months in jail.

Wonder why the unions are fighting so hard to prevent vouchers? One need only look at the angry parents who want their children to be able to compete in a global economy, to earn a decent living and to advance to the next socio-economic rung of the ladder. And some are willing to make great sacrifices to push their children towards greatness. The teachers unions believe they own the students and control the schools ? something they have been permitted to think by corrupt politicians who have sold their vote in return for campaign funding and voter support. Make public schools compete for students, proving that they can provide an above average educational experience.

Bottom line ?

Wherever you see a public employee union, you see a privileged class of worker ? dependent on political corruption to insure their existence in this uncertain world. Protections that do not exist in the private sector and should not exist in the public sector.

-- steve

Source: http://www.onecitizenspeaking.com/2012/09/chicago-combatting-the-teachers-unions.html

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