It’s interesting watching reactions to the strike of the Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU). Our society is so divorced from labor issues, most of the media is at a loss. In its pre-mature editorial on the strike, The New York Times, in very serious fashion, sides with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), spouting management’s argument. Yesterday, Ed Shultz on The Ed Show was force-feeding talking points to a nervous, hapless strike captain. The guy seemed to agree with Shultz, but didn’t seem to know exactly what to say. Shultz knew what he wanted out of the guy, but I think we’d all rather get things straight from the source.
The appropriate question, the question rarely asked, is do, teachers interests conflict with student interests? The fact is, much, much less than most people think. In many cases, the interests of students and teachers overlap. In others instances, the benefits to teachers are less direct, but tangible. In future posts, I’ll address the less direct benefits for students. For this post, however, I’ll focus on three negotiating issues in which teachers and students interests completely correspond: textbooks; class size; and air-conditioning.
The CTU has already successfully negotiated on text books: the CPS will provide new textbooks on the first day of school rather than six weeks into the year. It sounds kind of funny that teachers would have to negotiate for something that is clearly and directly beneficial to students. Why is this something that teachers are negotiating? Anti-unionists blindly assume that school administrators and municipal governments know and have at heart the best interests of students. If the CPS cares more for students more than teachers do, why do teachers need to negotiate for some something so simple as getting text books on time?
The CTU has also been negotiating for “smaller class sizes, more libraries, air-conditioned schools, and more social workers and counselors to address the increasing needs of students surrounded by violence.” Class size has been shown to have a positive effect on academic achievement. But it is costly because it requires more teachers. When the numbers are extremely high, it’s impossible to give the students individualized attention. It can also be difficult to correct work, meaning less is assigned. It’s hard to get solid numbers on class size in Chicago. Various, mostly conservative, news sources are reporting that student-teacher ratios are as low as 16 kids per teacher. However, “teachers have reported having as many as 42 students in one classroom.” The CPS website lists schools with student-teacher ratios as low as 16 to 1; it lists others at 20 to 1. These figures shouldn’t be taken literally, however. My own school system’s ratio, for example, is 14 to 1, but for in the last 20 years, I have had at least one class of 30 kids. Last year, I had a class of 32 kids. These ratios are averages, and we don’t even know who is being counted as a student or teacher. In other words, student-teacher ratios should not be confused with class size. My guess is that the student-teacher ratio of CPS schools exaggerates class size by 20-40%. The CPS can stick a teacher in huge classes, and she will do her best, but it’s not the optimum learning environment for students.
I was just talking with one of my colleagues who used to teach in Springfield’s best public high school. What he found the most disturbing and draining about working there was the fact that he was often the only adult many students could talk to. There was no one at home. Chicago’s students have at least as many problems as Springfield’s kids, many of them just aren’t mentally or emotionally available for learning. They lack role models. They are subjected to gangs. In Chicago, there’s a murder every day of the year. (There is nothing like the death of a student, violent or otherwise, to upset learning). Their families and friends face all the ills associated with poverty. Yet we expect them to come to school as ready to learn as their suburban counterparts. It’s wonderful that so many of these kids do learn and graduate from high school. But many others need more support that a regular education can provide. That’s why the CTU is negotiating for social workers and counselors. For the kids.
Many schools in the CPS district have students through the summer when temperatures reach 95 degrees. Recall one of this summer’s heat waves and picture 30 or 35 kids in a classroom without air conditioning. I can tell you from experience that students become very unproductive when the temperature rises to 90 degrees. We manage here in the New England because we don’t have many days that approach 98 degrees during the school year. The CPS has some year-round schools, but refuses to negotiate a schedule for putting air-conditioning buildings. The air-conditioning will certainly benefit teachers, but it’s a benefit that is shared by many more students.
It’s hard to overstate the significance of the Chicago Teachers Union’s 2012 strike. One hundred years after the last Progressive Era, attitudes toward teachers, education, unions, workers, and democracy are all being exposed. The issues I’ve discussed here related to teacher negotiations that have a direct bearing on student learning, which is supposed to be reflected in student test scores, and upon which teachers are supposed to be evaluated.
Discuss
14 Comments . Leave a comment below.Agreed on at least 2. Books. Air-conditioning. Class size is a more complicated story, but I’ll save it for now.
Since you wrote such a thoughtful diary, my question asks you for another paragraph — how to pay?
I suppose there’s the Romney type response (um, yes, there is a lot of overhead and fat and tax loopholes to pay for my tax cut, yes yes, that’s the ticket). And the Dem version of this is typically there’s a lot of overhead and fat and tax loopholes in the “central office staff” (nobody likes them).
But what are the tough choices you’d propose, if any?
taxes or spend within their means? There needs to be a substantial change in how we fund education and deal with poverty to truly deal with systems like Chicago. Until there’s a will to do so, we’ll keep up with bandaids and blame teachers for society’s failure.
What we have now is Rahm and Friends saying, we know what’s best for students. We want to do it, but don’t want to pay as much as it costs. So we’re going to do what you want and you are free to like it or not.
I like the idea that teachers are negotiating directly for improved learning conditions. Most of what we negotiate is only indirectly beneficial to students.
I agree with you that class size is much more complicated. Thanks for leaving that for another time.
There’s lot’s of money in Chicago, it just get cornered into wealthy neighborhoods. Undo the TIF and you start freeing up some money to address the issues. Is it enough? I don’t know, but there’s plenty of folks in Chicago who think its the place to start. The Chicago Reader has a good background piece on the issue: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/shadow-budget-tif/Content?oid=1251320
I read that, but didn’t think of it. But we wouldn’t want the rich to give up their tax breaks now, would we?
I just read an update on the strike (from Dem mouthpiece MSNBC) and they say…
No mention of Air conditioning, class size or books. What they are talking about is their own self interests, just as I suspected.
John. There are too many issues for one post.
The textbooks were already negotiated. I’m not trying to say these are the only issues, just those for which the CTU negotiations directly affects kids.
…air conditioning, class size, and books weren’t mentioned in that particular snippet doesn’t mean those aren’t still factors. Just cherrypicking to prop up your anti-worker agenda:(
I’m sure air conditioning, class size, and books were the major points being negotiated for the strike and the sick days, healthcare costs, seniority and the teacher evaluation system were minor details. Thanks for the correction.
moves his lips
But… I still can’t find the any statements about the real purpose of the strike (The Children) or about the major issues (AC, books and class size). Wow, maybe you guys were wrong and the strike really was about MONEY!!!!
intentionally misreading my post? I clearly said I was addressing three issues where the interests of teachers and students directly overlap, saving less indirect issues for another post:
I never said teachers were striking for the students alone. I said their interests “overlap.”
But hey, thanks for playing…
It’s pretty clear that the evaluation system and the closure of neighborhood schools were the biggest issue for this strike. Karen Lewis, a key member of CORE, a dissident group within the teachers union, won the election to be CTU’s President in 2010 on a reform platform. The work she’s done for the last 2 years has made it clear, the CTU is interested in stopping the closure of neighborhood schools, and rolling back the test scores as the main source of evaluation. You can disagree with her on these issues, but to pretend that this contract, or this strike was just about increasing pay for teachers, is willfully ignorant.
As an aside, when she was elected, she reduced union officers salaries to devote more money to conduct outreach around these issues – issues that 90% of the membership voted to strike over. Of course the union is fighting for more money as well, something they’d be crazy to not do. If you don’t fight for bread and butter issues, you don’t win the ‘independents,’ teachers who may or may not care about your reform agenda but likely won’t strike over it if there’s not something in it for them personally. Now maybe that’s craven, but it’s the political reality any union leader who’s looking to change the world faces.
For background, see:
http://labornotes.org/2010/01/reform-caucus-jolts-chicago-teachers-union
http://www.coreteachers.com/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/06/12/875328/-Opposition-wins-Union-Election
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/25_01/25_01_petersonsokolower.shtml
DHammer!
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/9/11/chris_hedges_dems_owe_chicago_public
« Blue Mass Group Front Page
Thu 20 Jun 7:11 AM