Thank you, labor unions ......

[dannubis]

I have to ask for your permission to go to the men's room as well ?

[rah]

Rah and Ming are twice the man you'll ever be.

Well there are two of us.

[Ben Kenobi]

I said he lived off his family for the better part of his life and now was looking down on somone who didn't have the same luck (i.e. flipping burgers).

Where did I say that? I simply said that *gasp*, some people would be thrilled to be able to work that much in a week. I know people who have worked shifts like that - they might work that hard for 6 months and then take 6 months off to do whatever. They prefer it because they have time to actually go out and do cool stuff.

That's freedom. Why shouldn't someone be able to work 85 hours in a week if that is what they want to do?

And yeah, I worked in a bindery. Cushy work, really. Sit around all day and talk. Money wasn't great, but much easier than planting. Was my first 'sit-down' inside job. Can't sit while doing inventory and it was full-time too...

[The Mad Monk]

Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union has turned the schools into glorified soup kitchens.

[MrFun]

It's not justified when you manipulate the law to benefit yourself to the great expense of others.

But that's what corporations do.

[MrFun]

I have absolutely no sympathy for those teachers who don't care and don't want to be there, and am really afraid for the students who have to 'learn' from them.

same here

[Uncle Sparky]

Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union has turned the schools into glorified soup kitchens.

For f!ck sake, stop attacking teachers! Do you americans give a sh!t about education and educators? Reading some of the other threads, teaching falsehoods seems to be way more important to further the fascist agendas of the tea party types, who control too many school curriculums, than educating the future generations of americans.

Fine. Hire fry-cooks at the minimum wage (which should be abolished so pay them $2 per day) to teach students to flip burgers at their McSchools. The rest of the world points and laughs at you.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Do you americans give a sh!t about education and educators?

Education yes. Educators not always (particularly when not aligned with student results).

Results yes. Means not so much.

[Uncle Sparky]

Education yes. Educators not always.

Results yes. Means not so much.

Can't have one without the other. Most teachers went into it wanting to teach. They did not expect to work in classrooms without money for books, much less computers. Some american classrooms are resembling third world schools. Solution - fire or cut way back on teachers - make them the villians. "They make $$$$ !! Why should the people, who went to University for years think they deserve $$$ for working a few hour per day for a few months of the year? Greedy F!ckng B!stards!!!"

Why not fund schools properly? That is the problem. Tax the corperations. Tax the rich. Tax investment income. Stop taxing the poor and middle class so much. Then you can afford schools, teachers, police, firefighters, and a professional civil service.

Warren Buffett has said a few points won't effect the rich.

While you are at it, stop subsidizing banks, oil, and mining companies - they shouldn't need it by now!

More power to teachers. If they burn out, and since they are being attacked from all sides, this will happen more often - make sure they retire will full pensions and are replaced by young graduates that are very well paid and not subjected to the f!cking b!llsh!t the current lot has to put up with.

The teaches are not the enemy. The anti-education fascists that make up some state and local governments are.

[DinoDoc]

For f!ck sake, stop attacking teachers! Do you americans give a sh!t about education and educators?

Given the lack of performance of the Chicago area teachers and the fact that they are among the highest paid in the country, why should Americans give a sh!t about them? Honestly the school board should go PATCO on the union at this point and hire people less incompetent at their jobs.

[snoopy369]

I don't think Ronald Reagan is still alive, unfortunately. And plenty of the current teachers are very highly competent - the union is protecting probably 5% of them, and protecting them at the expense of the other 95% who actually are frustrated by incompetent teachers making their lives harder for them. Too bad the union ignores that...

[rah]

It's all about perceptions.
But when the average teacher in the Chicago school system makes over 70K a year with good pensions and good health benefits, originally asked for a 25% pay raise over 4 years while not backing down on regulations that provide job security despite any correlation to their performance, it's really hard for the general public to have much sympathy. Especially when they claim they're doing it for the children.
And if you read the local papers here you can see that the majority of people here are calling them out on it.
When teachers can get public opinion on their side, you know it's bad.

[Ben Kenobi]

I presume you mean can't, rah? I don't think these teachers understand how many young folks there are out there looking to teach making substantially less. You could fire all of them and replace them with better (and cheaper) teachers within the year. Easy.

[DinoDoc]

I don't think Ronald Reagan is still alive, unfortunately. And plenty of the current teachers are very highly competent - the union is protecting probably 5% of them, and protecting them at the expense of the other 95% who actually are frustrated by incompetent teachers making their lives harder for them. Too bad the union ignores that...

Only 22 percent of Chicago 4th-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading in 2011. Only 21 percent of these same kids were operating at or above grade-level in math. Eighth graders fared little better: 23 percent were proficient or advanced in reading and 21 percent had acceptable math scores.

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/johnson/2012/09/community-in-chaos-chicago-tea.html

[Uncle Sparky]

It's all about perceptions.
But when the average teacher in the Chicago school system makes over 70K a year with good pensions and good health benefits, originally asked for a 25% pay raise over 4 years while not backing down on regulations that provide job security despite any correlation to their performance, it's really hard for the general public to have much sympathy. Especially when they claim they're doing it for the children.
And if you read the local papers here you can see that the majority of people here are calling them out on it.
When teachers can get public opinion on their side, you know it's bad.

What is the cost of living in Chicago? is it more expensive to live there than, say East St. Louis? If so, teachers (and others public pay roll types) should be paid so they can afford a standard of living.

Who is saying 5%, or any of the teachers are incompetent? Peer based reviews? Or parents saying, 'My Jonnie's a bright boy - Jonnie quit touchin' yourself! - the bad teacher is the reason he don't get differential calculus!" ?