Before the polemics over negotiating the Chicago teachers` contract begin once more, readers might better understand the arguments if they know what certain words mean and how they are likely to be used.
The word ”dedicated” means: ”We expect you to work for pay and conditions we certainly would never accept and would tell our own bosses to stuff.” It is commonly used in sentences and phrases like: ”Teachers aren`t dedicated,” and ”If teachers were more dedicated. . . .” This term is never to be applied to grocers, utility companies, stores, lawyers, truckers, etc. In fact, it is never to be applied to workers who are not paid through taxpayer dollars.
”Public servant” means: 1) ”One whom we taxpayers expect to accept dictatorial labor demands to which we would never agree; 2) ”slave.” The most common usage is: ”Teachers are, after all, public servants.”
The word ”guaranteed,” as used in, ”The teachers` contract is guaranteed for three years,” means: ”Ha, ha, you suckers! I can`t believe you fell for that one again!”
