Education is under public scrutiny because of the need to become more accountable for the academic achievement of all students. The teacher’s union in Chicago should stop using their students as pawns and should be held accountable for educating their students!
Chicago’s teachers’ average salary is $70,000 a year; however, having one of the top teacher salaries in the nation did not stop them from going on strike. Teachers feel that the socioeconomic statuses of their students directly impacts their performance on standardized tests; therefore, other methods should be utilized when evaluating a teacher’s performance in the classroom. Subsequently, these teachers were offered a 16% raise over the next 4 years. Teachers in my county would love to have $ 70,000 as an average salary and a guaranteed raise over the next 4 years!
I believe teacher’s unions should advocate for the teachers; however, sometimes they forget about the importance of all students receiving and deserving a quality education. Teachers should be required to meet the same professional standards as other professionals. For example, doctors are not allowed to practice with several malpractice complaints on their records. Allowing a mediocre teacher to continue to teach results in great cost to districts in providing remediation services. Most importantly, this leaves a long term impact on a student academically.
I don’t understand your position. Are you arguing that $70,000 a year is too much to pay professional teachers? Are you arguing that teachers in Chicago don’t want to be held accountable for their teaching? Are you arguing that teachers’ unions don’t care about students?
Did you research any of the other issues at play in that strike? Yes, the teachers were discussing teachers salary but that was not the most important issue despite what the mainstream media reported on. Do you realize that over half of the kids in Chicago do not have libraries in their schools? Do you realize that most schools in Chicago do not have playground or locations for recess? Did you know that there are barely enough social workers/counselors to cover HALF of the schools in Chicago?
I understand the public’s frustration with the strike, but I hope people understand the real issues and not just what is in the papers and on the 9 o’clock news. The real issues at play go way deeper than a salary and directly impacts the learning environment of kids in Chicago.
I think you are missing the real reasons teachers went on strike in Chicago. Money was not the number one issue. Classes of 38-45 students with little to no resources was more important than money. School closings were an important issue. Providing full time support staff (social workers, etc.) in buildings was an important issue. Clearly you did not do any research before posting this assessment of the Chicago Teachers Union strike.