Is the Chicago Teachers Strike Helping or Hurting the Education System?

From Obamas city....go figure.

If teachers were appropriately compensated, they would do a better job teaching. It's that simple. Many end up burning out because they put in far more than they are compensated for. As an example, they don't simply work from 8am to 3 pm. They are reviewing homework, grading tests, etc. long past dinner time. They are not only teaching, they are babysitting, negotiating, caring for, mentoring, and in some cases policing children. They are terribly underpaid. IF Americans care about their children's education, THEN they should stand up for their teachers.

What could I possibly know about America, right?

YOU SAID IT ! ---------------------- You are a PropagandaPeddler , nothing else .

In two words: adequate compensation(period)

Here's a lesson for you: define expat.

Ah, socialist unions, contributing to the decline of America.

How exactly are they socialist?

Under socialism, a union is redundant. There's nothing to strike against.

Exactly.... Redundant meaning more socialism under socialism. PROVING that unions are indeed socialist

I don't think this word means what you think it means.

It is "socialism" because we are talking about "public sector" unions and the unions and the government (the Democratic Party) are in bed with each other. One hand is washing the other for the benefit of each. They are not opposing entities; they are complimentary ones. This is a bad formula and should never have been allowed to occur. Public sector unions are dangerous and counterproductive. With private sector unions, the entities (labor and ownership) have legitimate opposition to each other and the government may be asked to be a neutral, third party, arbiter. With public sector unions, the government is grossly embroiled in a conflict of interest and the money and benefits being demanded by the union members belongs to the neutral, third party (the tax payer) who has no voice. It costs the politicians nothing to give into the demands of the unions and, in fact, my benefit them to give in. It is, as I said, gross conflict of interest.

I don't think you know what the word "socialism" means. It doesn't mean "anything I don't like."

Nice try - but , yes, I understand what "socialism" is. Unfortunately, liberals are tying to morph their socialist philosophy into whatever form they can in order to sqeeze it into the nooks and crannies of our culture. When the federal government controls the education system and local communities do not, that is a form of socialism. When public sector unions and the government are in collusion, that makes their socialism even more insidious. Perhaps it is you who does not understand the nuances of more modern socialist thought.

Explain what you think "socialism" means without using a synonym or any other term that relies on the word "socialism" to define it.

I believe I already did that. Technically, socialism is the idea of government control of the means of production. However, the concept of socialism has evolved into much more than that and those who advocate big-government control over the education system and those who link the education system to the government through unions are advocating socialist ideology. The same would be true in regard to the government control of our healthcare system.

Socialism is the idea of workers controlling the means of production. In a system where government represents the workers, that could mean state ownership. That is one form of socialism, not the definition of socialism. If you use that as a starting point for all your consideration of what is or is not socialism or discussions of things that you or your counterpart think are or are not socialism, you will necessarily get nowhere.

And if you don't think government should be involved in healthcare, explain the free-market solution to infectious disease.

I did not say that government should not be involved in health care and that it should not be there to assist - but it should not be controlling every facit of it as Obama Care is attempting to do.

What is it that you think "Obamacare" does? What specific measures of PPACA do you have a problem with?

Unions are working " toward " Socialism .

You Got It !

That is tough to answer. The cynical answer would be that the kids are better off not having to be influenced by such self-serving mob. But, the more the teacher's unions highjack public education, the worse it is going to get. There is nothing about public education in America that is praiseworthy. Too many of the teachers are greedy and inept (although there are still many good teachers), too many of the students are rebellious and unteachable, there are too many single and/or bad parents, there is too much money being wasted, and the politicians have no will and no courage to change any of it and the public sector unions are the worst kind of political tool used to re-elect these corrupt politicians.

1st. ---- There Should Be NO Public Sector Unions .

2nd. ----- Teachers Should Be TESTED And Judged On " JOB PERFORMANCE " .

3rd. ------ Unteachable , Trouble Making Kids " SHOULD BE REMOVED " From The Class Room .

These " TEACHERS " are nothing but baby sitters . What little is " Taught " is not comprehended by these kids .
We must keep the GOOD and send the BAD packing !

Yes it is hurting they have plenty if benifits and salery

If you are going to comment in a thread about education, you might consider spell-checking first.

STFU - Propaganda From CHINA ?

You caught him! It's the Chinese government and they've come here to brainwash Americans! So glad you stopped that from happening.

Thanks ! ------------- Always be sure to look and see where these voices are coming from . " THAT " idiot is part of the Communist Propaganda Network !

B.T.W. ----- Remember This .................. " Eternal Vigilance Is The Price Of Freedom " .

Thanks Again , Scott

Are you retarded?

NO , but you clearly are ! ---------- You Push The PARTY LINE and know nothing about our constitution and bill of rights ........ I feel sorry for " Your Kind " .

I don't think 4570GOVT understands my sarcasm...

I don't think 4570GOVT understands much.

Striking teachers isn't harming our educational system, but a host of other things are. Of the worst problems in our educational system, we see these issues at the top:

1) The lack of funding in many school areas, leading to poorly trained teachers being hired (due to pay cuts), a lack of class resources, and the cutting of non-essential courses.

2) The mass-privatization of schools which leads to the brain/resource drain on the public school system and allows religious schools to get public funding.

3) Criminalizing student offenses and weighing students down with a criminal record and the accompanying drag of fines/court costs.

4) A decaying culture of education where many people no longer see education as a vital priority; this is a problem with the schools, but it is carried out primarily in society as a whole.

In the face of these terrible problems, a teacher's strike can only help raise awareness of the problems with the educational system.

We don't need to be made aware of the problems in the public school system;the problems are epic and every body already knows that. Way too much money is being thrown down that rat hole as it is. Our culture is being corrupted by liberal ideologies and the public school is both part of the cause and a reflection of that corruption. I don't believe that private schools do receive public funding. No private school with which I've ever been associated receives subsidies from the state, especially religious/faith based schools. Christian schools and homeschoolers, by and large, produce far superior educational results and the teachers in those Christian schools get paid a fraction of what public school teachers do and homeschool parents teach their child with no remuneration at all and, in fact, make great financial sacrifices to insure that their children receive the best education possible. Joshua - the average pay for Chicago Public School teacher is from $72 to 75,000.00 a year with full insurance benefits at no cost. This is something that virtually no one in the private sector receives. To strike, particularly when the state of Illinois is is such a significant financial hole is wrong.

No offense, but you simply don't know the facts of this situation:

1) There is enough money in schools, but it is poorly distributed and leads to a famine/feast distribution of funds.

2) A vast majority of private school money today is made through public funds; never mind this, the move to increase vouchers is exacerbating this problem.

3) Christian schools and homeschooling produce far inferior college acceptance rates, particularly into math/science/engineering programs--this disparity leads to a crippling effect on many of the students who receive such schooling.

4) When scaled for work hours and education levels, teacher salaries are far below the average salaries of similar fields; the great benefits and job security of teachers makes up for this, but only just.