As a parent of two Chicago Public School students, I am frustrated by the quality of dialogue on the part of teachers about the contract that was voted down.
I see first-hand the hard work teachers do and want to be supportive of their struggle for recognition and respect. However, I feel I can’t be when objections to the contract are centered around increased insurance premiums when the entire nation is experiencing skyrocketing health-care costs. I can imagine that teachers are frustrated because they are expected to perform miracles in the classroom working with inadequate supplies and lack of administrative support. So why aren’t these issues brought up as reasons to oppose the contract? Instead, contract opponents blast the proposed lengthening of the school day by 20 minutes. We need a longer day. Chicago, with its underperforming student body, has the shortest school day in Illinois and one of the shortest in the nation. A longer school day is an essential part of school reform, and it is heartbreaking to see teachers attempting to block it. Yes, you have hard days. But so do 1st graders without a recess, and they are the reason the schools were built.
Teachers, you have the city’s attention now. There is too much work left to do with school reform for it not to be the major issue in the teachers’ contract. Forget the drug co-pay and let us know what the contract needs to contain for you to be able to teach effectively. Show us you are partners in school reform.
