Teachers go on strike in Chicago l ABC News

Hundreds of thousands of Chicago students are home as their teachers walk the picket line, demanding better pay and smaller classes.

#ABCNews #Chicago #CTUSEIUstrike #CPS #TeachersStrike

[TheseEyesSeeDarknessClearly]

When I was in high school I actually had a teacher say this to the class when someone criticized her “as long as I get my check I don’t care what y’all think.”

If those are the types of teachers on strike then I say keep they asses out.

[gabbyhall]

I am with you guys, you guys should be one of the highest paid, you are getting our next generation ready and the government don’t care, the majority of you do it for the love of our kids and the job. You have your own kids but you get up early everyday and come to school to love other people’s kids. And you very underpaid, some of these kids you guys have to be mom and dads to, and you have to take away from the little money you get to fund your classrooms. Come on America do better for these heroes. #stanwithourteachers...

[wjgraves]

The comments that are suggesting "these teachers need some open market experience, let them go" is incredibly callous. I wonder what the catalyst was for the horrible perceptions of teachers as being lazy and incompetent? Being a teacher was once a very highly respectable position, now they are treated as if they should be thankful for the breadcrumbs that get thrown their way. They have all gone to school, obtained certificates to denote their ability to teach others, and have now dedicated their lives to helping raise others. Why is that not seen as honorable and praiseworthy anymore?

Being a teacher is hard, educating people is hard, helping guide them on life lessons is hard, and trying to meet unrealistic criteria for success can be impossible. I am not going to say that each and everyone of these teachers in Chicago would be an exemplary teacher if they were paid more, but try and be empathic to their situation. They are given little resources, paid stagnant wages, assigned far too many students, and have impractical expectations set for their student's performance. They are not in an enviable situation where they have to produce results and so many things are stacked against them.

There are a whole host of issues with the mindset "let's just send all the kids to charter school". First off, that costs money that many of these families probably don't have. Secondly, do you truly believe that these charter schools are actually better? The notion that making a product private and charging money inherently makes it better than the same product that is accessible to all is laughable. Lastly, how do you think these charter schools would handle having such a large influx of students? Those class sizes wouldn't remain small, the teachers would become overworked, and they would need more resources. Does this scenario sound familiar to the one faced by public school teachers?



Lastly, let's go through a scenario. Say that all the teachers who are on strike are let go and the Administration decides it will hire new teachers. First off, what happens to the students during this interim period? How long until the administration would be able to fill the positions? Would the new teachers be thrown into the same situations as the prior teachers? How is all of this impacting the students?


This whole situation feels like the higher groups (BoE, Administration, and other government groups) trying to get the lower groups (teachers and parents) to blame one another, instead of addressing these issues to the ones who could actually make a difference and change policies.

Regardless, I hope that this strike can end soon and the students are able to get back to school and not be stuck in limbo.

[robertpolanco]

Personally, I am in solidarity with the teachers of Chicago, Illinois, high schools going on strike for the issues they believe and stand for. As an American, I would be in the same position of supporting organized labor unions in fighting for those issues as part of their right to making a living in this country.

[rexanonfortnite]

i understand getting a restoration on the school and hiring more teachers, but i don’t understand the pay when teachers get a lot of benefits. they don’t have to work when kids aren’t at school most of the time, and get paid typically more than an EMT on an ambulance. EMTs/Paramedics have to see gruesome things a lot of the time and don’t have holidays like teachers do yet tend to get paid less

[notmycupoftea]

I think the parents should have a say so. Are the children being properly educated or just going to school to be babysat? Let the parents take a vote on it. Do the kids have a reasonable amount of homework, or are they bringing an entire days worth of work home? What subjects are they being taught and what are their grades? Do they come home with better life skills or more belligerent than the day before? How well qualified are the teachers, are they proficient at what they teach and how they do it? How well do your children learn? What did they learn? Are your children in class learning, or outside protesting something someplace? When your children come home are they in a good mood and look and act confident? Find out what your children are being taught, if you feel somethings lacking or inappropriate at their school or the way your children are being taught say so. After all they're learning how to take care of theirselves and their own families later in life. Don't waste money on teachers that don't earn it ... hold them accountable!

[MISERABLE]

I SUSPECT THAT THE ONLY PARENTS THAT SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE THOSE WHO CANNOT AFFORD TO SEND THEM ANYWHERE ELSE.

[jcandy]

Chicago and many other municipalities in Illinois tout their status as sanctuary districts, yet by 2018 the state will have to almost triple its current LEP (Limited English Proficiency) outlay and spend $1.9 billion every year to educate 186, 646 English language students.

[leocardenas]

ALL TEACHERS REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY OR RISK TERMINATION. ABSENTEES WILL BE REPRIMANDED ACCORDINGLY. NO EXUSE WILL BE HEARED. TOLERANCE LEVEL FOR STRIKE ATTENDEES IS NON-EXISTENT. NO FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE GIVEN. THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY. THIS IS NOT A WARNING, THIS IS A ORDER.

[musicmanenator]

LOL what if they cancelled the entire school Oh shit.

[thunderbird]

America's public schools are a disaster these days.

[bumba]

This is hapenning in croatia too! Today i haven't had school.

[dwooly]

And in related students are not seeing any drop in the quality of their education after the teachers went on strike.

[FerrariKing]

People that actually believe kids want to learn should try teaching. If you think teaching is easy than get a teaching job and show them how easy their job is.

[warrenny]

It's not the amount of kids in your class (get ready for it), it's the amount of class in your kids.

[vpower]

Fire them all and hire new ones, that or tie the raise to performance, but that would just means no one will ever get a raise at CPS; and affordable student housing?! I think they left out global warming, the border wall, and Syria

[arguswil]

Getting really sick of people who do not understand value in unions. Lack of union member ship is why our middle class has depleted.

[corryburton]

notice its mostly women.... construction pays pretty good...

[Poptartkitten]

I get their point about wanting higher pay and smaller classrooms.. but I never understand why they go on strike. It’s putting those kids out and keeping them out of school and for selfish reasons. Especially when they go on strike for days or weeks. Oh.. but it Chicago so who really cares.. kids there are thugs anyway. Good job teachers!

[victorcutrone]

I think I got it, 25, 000 teachers on strike, 300, 000 stoodants, that's 12 stoodants per teacher, and teachers want smaller class size