Two Cents for CPS

While I appreciate people's concern, I am not a teacher in the CPS. I do however have a few comments or reactions to the situation at hand. I am not going to pretend that I have read the proposed contracts or even follow the story that closely, but since my school district went through this process for over two years, I have some credited insight.

For starters, support your teachers. You are being fed a one-sided story. The board's side. Teachers' Unions are not airing their business, issues and disagreements with the contract. You are only seeing the positive changes presented by the CPS board who are trying to make teachers look selfish and greedy. For example, you have probably heard (without even following this story) that CPS teachers want a 30% increase in pay. You may be thinking that's ridiculous, but consider the following: When was the last time CPS teachers received a raise? How is their current salary compared to the rest of Chicago's workers? And further more, they want to extend their work time by an hour. Shouldn't that be compensated monetarily? I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to add time to a teacher's day, but your just adding time that is directed by administration in addition to the extra time that teachers already put in just to keep up with their daily work load. Also, aren't these extended school days just another example of how teachers are the new nannies and parents aren't responsible for the children anymore?

Something else to keep in mind.. it is very frustrating when negotiating teachers' contracts because the people on the board making these decisions have never been a classroom teacher. They have no idea the effects of each new stipulation they place into the contract. Police officers and fireman wouldn't want me weighing in on how their facilities are going to be run and their job expectations just because I'm a tax payer and they are in a tax-paid position. I have NO IDEA what their day is like even if I have been to a police station or fire house before.
It seems that Chicago and news broadcasters are really taking this opportunity to push Charter Schools, which by the way, "are still open today." I'm not sure what they are trying to prove, but if charter schools could strike, I'm sure they'd already be doing it. They are the perfect example of why every work field needs unions. Those without unions are clearly taken advantage of. Talk about having zero respect for teachers. While the Charter school system might be an excellent learning establishment, they take full advantage of their teachers by having them work extremely crazy hours including lunch supervision and 2 hour impromptu after school meetings.  I don't see how that's fair.
My point is this: Teachers are not selfish and greedy. We are caring individuals who put in a lot of time to give your children the best education possible.  We work hard, and sometimes we like to be recognized for our hard work.  We most certainly do not deserve to be taken advantage of, pushed around, and made out to be the villains. 

And that's all I have to say about that.