The Chicago Teachers Union held a protest yesterday against president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. On the one hand, nothing could have been more appropriate. But, the way the union played the message in the media made me realize that we are in for four very long years. Not only will advocates for better education opportunities for…
Author: Chris Butler
President Obama, We Still Need You
Hi President Obama, I heard that you are coming to Chicago this week to deliver a “farewell” address. I can’t say that I’m not excited about that. You have given us so many truly iconic moments over the past ten years; I’m sure this one will be amazing. The only thing is that I can’t accept a “farewell” from you. …
Christmas Just Ain’t Christmas Without Great Schools
It happens to me every year. December rolls around and everyone begins to hang out the holly…it’s Christmas. But, in the midst of all the cheer, I find myself working on organizing a school fair or reading a story like the one in the Chicago Sun-Times recently about parents desperately searching for a high-quality school environment for their children and…
Trump and Ravitch Both Miss the Point On Sec. Education Appointment
Let me tell you what Diane Ravitch (one of the nation’s most vocal opponents of a parent’s right to chose a high quality education for their child) has in common with Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States. They both agree that Betsy DeVos should be the next Secretary of Education. And that shows that Ravitch and Trump have the…
5 Lessons from Donald Trump
Today President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump to begin to discuss the transition between their two presidencies. These men could not be more different in terms of their backgrounds, policies, lifestyles and beliefs. But, the peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of American democracy. So, President Obama will respect tradition and the rule of law and hand…
Why Donald Trump isn’t the biggest threat to the Black community on the 2016 ballot in Chicago
Let me tell you why Donald Trump is not the biggest threat to the Black community on the 2016 ballot in Chicago. There is a seemingly harmless ballot question aimed at limiting access to high quality school options in Chicago that I believe presents a much more real danger in the long run. Let me explain. First of all, while…
The NAACP Is Old, Large and Wrong. That’s What the NAACP Is Today. And I’m Feeling Sick, Angry and Fed Up.
It just so happened that I was standing in the High School Fair in Philadelphia when it came over my Twitter feed that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had ratified a proposed resolution calling for a moratorium on charter schools. There I was, with 17,000 families (a majority of them Black) looking for great school options,…
Reason #4 on Why CPS Teachers Shouldn’t Go on Strike: Everybody Else in Town is Already Paying More for Schools
“Stubborn”. That’s what my mom calls it. My cousin says it’s “petty”. “Unreasonable”, if you ask my education policy friends. But no matter how many ways I hear it; I can’t get beyond the fact that after every other stakeholder in funding and support of Chicago Public Schools has carried a share of the burden, the Chicago Teachers Union still…