tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post9080471209053125254..comments2024-03-26T07:07:14.304-07:00Comments on Teacher Tom: I Stand With Chicago TeachersTeacher Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606781724784785338noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-90499873362757582742012-09-14T00:05:53.725-07:002012-09-14T00:05:53.725-07:00I teach in a small coal-mining community in the Ap...I teach in a small coal-mining community in the Appalachians where we are second lowest paid teachers in the state. Last month our community determined that the reason our county schools were $1,700,000 in debt was because we teachers were demanding more money. In fact, for four years we had been denied the $400 annual increase we were promised and so our salary had been decreased and the debt was due to mismanagement. But it's common and entertaining to use teachers as scapegoats and vile things were said and published online about us. Our "union" is so diluted that it didn't even attempt to defend us. Good for Chicago teachers; keep on fighting and think of other teachers in the weakest of positions, barely hanging on to their jobs. We feel supported when you stay strong. Great writing on this blog, TeacherTomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-72805108062193749182012-09-13T20:50:30.811-07:002012-09-13T20:50:30.811-07:00Teacher Tom, I appreciate this post and your persp...Teacher Tom, I appreciate this post and your perspective, and now understand how many issues about public education I *don't* understand. Have you written about the documentary "Waiting for Superman"? Much of its criticism is directed at unions, and I've been curious about how that ties in with the current situation in Chicago.Suchada @ Mama Evehttp://mamaeve.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-43516219539270638742012-09-13T19:51:51.496-07:002012-09-13T19:51:51.496-07:00I am a CPS art teacher and PROUD CTU member. Thank...I am a CPS art teacher and PROUD CTU member. Thank you for your support and for taking the time to research the true facts behind the strike. I have just returned from day #4 of the strike after an inspiring evening march through downtown Chicago. We are so close now to a contract, but we cannot stop the good fight. There are still some fundamental problems with the system. The biggest one for me is the appointed school board. We are one of the few cities in the U.S. where the board is not elected. The mayor chose the entire board and it is full of charter school advocates and millionaires with a very specific agenda for privatizing education and breaking the teacher's union. They messed with the wrong group. We know this fight is bigger than just Chicago and are fueled by the knowledge that we are standing up for democracy and for all those dedicated union members who are being stripped of their collective bargaining rights.Julie Toole, Baker Demonstration Schoolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00448201786590969226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-76461246520742573702012-09-13T18:50:43.249-07:002012-09-13T18:50:43.249-07:00This post is so important. Thank you for stating ...This post is so important. Thank you for stating so clearly. Your statement "Corporate education reform is damaging children and must be stopped" is the heart of the matter. A teacher's personal capacity for educating children is no longer honored and I am tired of watching so many amazing teachers leave the profession because of the lack of integrity the establishment holds for children.<br /><br />I stand behind the Chicago teachers with you. It is time we bust open the insanity surrounding our nation's educational system.Sally Haugheyhttp://www.fairydustteaching.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-77240325596034403332012-09-13T14:16:18.403-07:002012-09-13T14:16:18.403-07:00Your awesome, Teacher Tom!Your awesome, Teacher Tom!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-32032096076370981992012-09-13T10:12:33.759-07:002012-09-13T10:12:33.759-07:00I am so with you, Tom! Here in Los Angeles the pub...I am so with you, Tom! Here in Los Angeles the public school system is in such a shambles that people are scrambling to find a better way for their kids. But not everyone can afford private, not everyone is lucky enough to get into a charter or magnet school and even if you manage to bypass public education, it doesn't always mean your child ends up in a school that really understands what children need to become lifelong learners or what teachers need in order to teach effectively! It's mind boggling to me the way "education experts" approach schools as if they are simply business to be run effectively. As if children and teaching methods can be simply evaluated by tests & numbers. <br /><br />What's happening in Chicago isn't just about Chicago...the outcome is going to have a ripple effect on every other school in our country.<br /><br />I'm with you. I stand behind the Chicago teachers. I stand for REAL education reform where the children have to be put first. That means allowing the real experts, the teachers, to decide how this is going to happen.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06567374692535009450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-27091170184226762892012-09-13T10:06:46.659-07:002012-09-13T10:06:46.659-07:00I, too, stand wit hChicago Teachers! They are bla...I, too, stand wit hChicago Teachers! They are blazing a trail for real education reform. The kind that makes schools better!Teacher Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15337579493179702493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-81892152139315072702012-09-13T08:02:44.209-07:002012-09-13T08:02:44.209-07:00I'm not a fan of unions, but in this particula...I'm not a fan of unions, but in this particular case, I applaud CTU for sticking up for what every teacher in the US (and probably all over the world at this point) is muttering under their breath - please just let us teach the children the they learn. <br /><br />I applaud you as well for publishing new thoughts on this matter. If it was just about money, your previous post would have been right.Carriehttp://www.examiner.com/preschools-1-in-lansing/carrie-chance?no_cache=1347548537noreply@blogger.com