I was excited and filled with hope when I landed a job as the superintendent of a small suburban school district. My ideal, if not na\u00efve, attitude set my compass squarely on creating a climate in the school \u2014 one where the teachers, even those whom in my opinion not the best, and the kids, including those who were labeled \u201ctrouble,\u201d somehow connected to impart knowledge and excite a \u201clearning community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, out of nowhere, I was hit with a sack of potatoes and knocked to the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me introduce myself. I am Ken Foreman, the president of the teacher\u2019s union. I am here to inform you that the teachers will not report for work tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now what was I to do? I was responsible for assuring the education of the kids. I was responsible for implementing the policies and wishes of my employer, the board of education. I was responsible developing a positive working relationship with the teachers so that they would feel good about being at my school and, in turn, be excited about teaching. My only thoughts were, \u201cHow can teachers just walk out on the kids?\u201d and \u201cHow can I keep the school open?\u201d The kids and parents were depending on me.<\/p>\n
It was never about the kids<\/strong><\/p>\n My little district wasn\u2019t comparable to the third largest school district in the country. But in looking at what went wrong, there were similar principles at work. When I was hired, the teacher\u2019s union and the board of education had hit an impasse over salaries. The union leadership \u2014 against many of the teachers\u2019 simple desire to teach \u2014 wanted to show muscle and bully the board into a pay increase by using the kids as insignificant objects. If kids stayed home, parents would be upset and put pressure on the board to settle.<\/p>\n I also came to realize that the battle between the board and the union had nothing to do with educating children. If the issue was really about what\u2019s best for our kids, the board and union would have worked together to determine what was necessary to improve education in our district \u2014 be it hiring more remedial education teachers for kids with disabilities, adding a half-day Saturday tutoring program, or expanding art and music programs \u2014 and then do an honest determination of whether the money was there to do these things. What happened, instead, was that the teachers wanted more money, and the board said, \u201cWe don\u2019t have any more to give you.\u201d In reality, funding was available; the board didn\u2019t want to have to go back to voters and try to justify a tax increase to fund raises.<\/p>\n In Illinois, it is illegal for public employees, including teachers, to strike over anything other than wages. This is where it gets murky. The Chicago Board of Education and the Chicago Teachers Union had been negotiating since November over class size, the way teachers are laid off and recalled, and compensation for working a longer school day. The law requires alternative dispute resolution (not a strike) as the means for resolving issues such as these. Alternative dispute resolution failed after, in my opinion, meager attempts to make it work. I am not sure that the strike was justified on the grounds of salary. Was the union acting in the best interest of kids, or was it using kids for the interests of its membership? Nearly 25% of the teachers voted against the strike. It seemed to me that the union was \u2014 just as I had experienced \u2014 using the students as pawns to get what it wanted.<\/p>\n Beyond classroom instruction<\/strong><\/p>\n During the Chicago strike, the board created places for the 400,000 students who receive breakfast and lunch through the National School Lunch program to get meals they would ordinarily receive if school were in session. Only about 1% of the students took advantage of these \u201cChildren First\u201d sites, but the board understood its obligation and provided an opportunity. But two casualties of the strike \u2014 services for kids with disabilities and the safety of Chicago schoolchildren \u2014 left kids on the streets. I don\u2019t know if any students experienced street violence during the time they could have been in school, but statistics indicate that when kids are in school, they are safer than being on the street. As for students with disabilities, federal and state laws require implementation of individual education programs. When school is out, these students lose out. The longer they are out of school, the less likely they are to recover their losses.<\/p>\n I kept my school open by bringing in substitute teachers and volunteer parents. At least 85 percent of the students reported for school and we conducted a somewhat normal day. By that evening, the board and union had reached an agreement. I don\u2019t even remember what it was, but I do remember the effort to keep the school open for the good of the kids. Bullying and power plays never benefit students. They only create difficulties after the storm settles. For months following the one-day strike in my little district, my efforts to build a climate of respect and learning were thwarted. There was resentment that I was able to keep the school open for the kids.<\/p>\n I had spoiled the union\u2019s bully plan, but as an education leader, I did the right thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was excited and filled with hope when I landed a job as the superintendent of a small suburban school district. My ideal, if not na\u00efve, attitude set my compass squarely on creating a climate in the school \u2014 one where the teachers, even those whom in my opinion not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,6],"tags":[21,22,23],"class_list":["post-384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-expert","category-school-management","category-student-rights","tag-chicago-teacher-strike-2012","tag-student-rights-2","tag-teacher-unions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n