Strike Out For Reform

A teacher strike is different than most other types of union job actions. Teachers are fundamentally different than most other unionized groups. The teacher strike in Chicago was as much for the benefit of the children as it was for the teachers themselves, maybe more so. And while the breakdown in communication and relations that causes a strike is never a good thing, the fact that teachers have come together to advocate for students and schools is critical to the health of our educational system.

No one goes into teaching for the money. While there may be a misguided few who think that children will worship them, prestige isn’t a perk of the job either. And don’t get me wrong, I love my summer break, but the hours and work the rest of the year more than balance out the time; most teachers are ten-month employees anyway. People don’t become teachers for summer vacation.

Given the state of education and the mistrust of teachers right now, there must be something really wrong with a person who wants to get in the middle of this mess – or that person is really dedicated. Why are we beating up the few who are willing to spend so much time, education, and effort to work with children? Why have they become the national scapegoat? And if we continue down this path, will others be foolish enough to become educators?

In the City of Chicago, class sizes vary between large and way too many. Most schools are not air-conditioned. Teachers are fighting poverty, violence, and a host of social ills. How can kids learn in those conditions?  

And then we are going to evaluate teachers and students based on standardized tests. We started using these types of high stake tests way back in the 1980s after the publication of A Nation at Risk. We have spent more than thirty years testing children and beating up teachers about the scores. And look at the wonderful changes such a policy has brought!

If you were ill and your doctor gave you medicine that didn’t help, would you take more of it? If your doctor kept increasing your dose and you felt even worse, what would you conclude? Of course! The medicine is aggravating the problem and we need a different approach. Why can’t policymakers think that way?

Do we build an entire reform system around the few teachers who are below par? What do we do if mass testing is not the answer? Our politicians have failed us. Charter schools and corporate education have created as many problems as they have solved. That is why teacher unions may be our best chance at real educational reform. That is why the Chicago teacher strike was so important.

As a teacher in the only non-union high school district in Illinois, I am not likely to strike. I work at one of the highest achieving and most affluent schools in the country. So I can sit back and let the politicians do what they want and it won’t affect my children or my school. Right?

Wrong. The way we treat teachers is wrong. The way we are using testing is wrong. The way we are approaching educational reform is more than flawed, it has become as much a problem as any of the social ills plaguing Chicago schools.

I salute the unions and hope that this strike will help turn our educational ship on a better heading. If not, education in the United States will continue to develop into a two-tiered system: one for those who can afford better and one for those lost in the tests. And who is going to want to teach or learn in the second system? 

Connecting to Communities

This past weekend, I attended the World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago. I have attended science fiction and Star Trek conventions for more than thirty years and the World Con was an affirmation of how important the science fiction community is to me.

There were thousands of science fiction fans and professionals in attendance. I was struck and amazed, as I had been when I attended my first conventions, by the diversity, openness, and warmth of the con-goers. Every time I go to one of these gatherings, I think to myself, I have found my people.

Science fiction fans aren’t my only community. I love Rosh Hashanah, the first of the High Holidays, because it brings my entire congregation together. We celebrate a service and then kibitz and catch up afterward. It feels like a family reunion. Because of this, the evening of Rosh Hashanah is my favorite holiday. It is a joyous gathering of my congregational community.

These are just two examples of my communities – there are many more. My communities are not merely lists or hobbies. They are multigenerational. They are grounded in real relationships and passions. They are not clubs or cliques but inclusive groups with strong bonds and purposes. And I make a conscious effort to actively support and build them.

How can we help our children connect and create communities?  It is critical that we do so. Kids need to see adults building and supporting communities. Teenagers are naturally self-absorbed. Sometimes, they see themselves as isolated and alone. Other times, they see their groups as threatened rather than enhanced by “rival” groups. While sports teams and organized school activities can create communities for kids, it is just as important that they discover and build them as well. Online connections are shadows of these relationships that work best when they act as stepping-stones toward authentic relationships in the real world.

Human beings are interdependent. As much as we want to be soloists, we are naturally members of an ensemble. We depend on others to create the music and magic with us. Sometimes, we take center stage with the melody but as often we provide harmony in the background. Sometimes, we may forget that the ensemble is behind us, backing us up. Sometimes we need to be reminded. What is really important is the collective act of making the music.

The recent Republican National Convention took its theme in opposition of a statement made by President Obama. The president said, “You didn’t build it,” and the Republicans answered, “We built it.” I am confused because both are correct. No one person stands alone. No Olympic athlete could win without a coach, sponsor, parent or team. Our communities create the conditions for achievement. “You” did not build it. “We” built it - together.

Contrasting the recent political conventions was the awards ceremony at the World Science Fiction Convention. Each person present could participate by voting for the many awards. In order to do so, we read and watched, viewed and enjoyed hundreds of beautiful stories, magazines, books, and other works of art. The ceremony needed no put-downs of other groups. There was no posturing or persuasion. It was our community celebrating what it had created, collectively and individually.  

We must find “our peoples.” We must help our children to find theirs even when they join communities with which we, their parents and teachers, are unfamiliar.

There are myriad of “online communities” and they can be good starts. However, gathering, building, and nourishing the real thing are the keys to human survival – and happiness!