If you live in the Hyde Park/Kenwood/Woodlawn area, chances are you’ve experienced the “Million Teenage March” on 53rd St. before. My husband and I witnessed the confusion last year. It was actually scary. We were walking to our favorite frozen yogurt spot, Z Berry. There was an unusual amount of teenagers out, but we didn’t think anything of it. Suddenly,…
Category: Real Stories
Not “everybody” happy with new teachers’ deal
I didn’t see any reporters hanging around my child’s school in Englewood (or another community) Tuesday morning. If they had been there, they may have discovered something that I know first-hand. Contrary to what a North Side parent wrote in a Sun-Times story Tuesday, not “everybody” is happy with the deal that the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Board of Education…
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…
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…
Strike Will Hurt Our Kids
The teachers strike will seriously hurt our kids. My husband and I made the decision to send our son to Catholic school because we didn’t want anyone putting a price tag on his education. We didn’t want to wake up one day to an email stating that his school was closed and he won’t learn anything for the day. If…
My President Is Black
My President is Black. President Obama may have given the BLACKEST speech of his presidency. There were shots fired at former Presidents, the bias justice system, and most importantly a miseducated America. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be at that moment, standing shoulder to shoulder with hundred upon thousands of my brothers and sisters as America finally…
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…