You don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. That’s what my grandmother told me when I skipped an entire week of my freshman year of high school because I was upset with my mom and dad. Sometimes anger can cause people to lash out in ways that are ultimately far more harmful to them than to the object…
Author: Chris Butler
Reason #2 on Why CPS Teachers Shouldn’t Go on Strike: It’s ALL About Money! (5-part Series)
Regardless of what you might hear in the news, understand this one thing: If the Chicago Teachers Union goes on strike, it will be about money…period. Now, if you have been listening to the TV news or consuming a ton of social media, you might think that the pending strike is a referendum on all things Chicago Public Schools. You…
These Chicago Families Don’t Want Teachers to Strike
On September 28, 2016 members of the Chicago Parent Congress gathered for a prayer vigil in hopes that the Chicago Teachers Union would choose not to walk out on the children. There’s also a plethora of parents who are raising their voices to express concern for children’s safety and missing critical instruction time if a teacher strike occurs.
Reason #1 on Why CPS Teachers Shouldn’t Go on Strike (5-part series)
The central question in this whole “teacher strike” fight is this: Do teachers in Chicago make enough money? In a word…yes. When it get’s down to it, teachers (especially teachers in Chicago Public Schools) are heroes. At some level, there is no amount of money that we could EVER pay them that would be “enough” for the service that they…
What Are TIFs and Why Is the Teachers Union Wrong About Them?
There were two very important events in Chicago yesterday. One serves as an example of what SHOULD be happening more in Chicago with TIF funds. The other presents a terrible idea and embodies exactly what SHOULD NOT happen with these dedicated funds. Early yesterday morning there was jubilation on the south side as a Whole Foods store opened in the…
A Tale of Two Cities: How Race and Poverty Shape Educational Outcomes and the Need for Reform
In recent weeks Chicago Unheard has posted two open letters. The letters reflect two very different perspectives and two different experiences in Chicago’s education system. While both of the letters come from people within the same Chicago Public School District, it seems that they come from two different worlds. In one of these worlds, middle-class families (mostly white) endeavor to…
Something IS Working
There is a lot going wrong in Chicago right now. Violence seems to be an unsolvable mystery. We can’t quite get fair school funding from the state. A teacher strike is looming and, let’s face it, the Bears look terrible. But, there are glimmers of hope for those of us who still believe in Chicago and those of us who…
Back to School in Chicago Got a Big Ole BUT
It’s back to school for the largest majority of Chicago’s school children, the near 400,000 who will attend Chicago Public Schools. Never in my lifetime has the beginning of a school year been marked with so much uncertainty. One can almost not mention the dawning school year without a great big BUT showing up. I have been talking to a…