Teacher Trouble

I've got a double for you tonight falling under one headline!  I was having a little trouble figuring out which one ticked me off more so I thought why not do them both.  The first is probably pretty obvious to most dealing with the strike in Chicago, but the second is something that most people probably haven't seen.  That is unless you live in the Syracuse market and were watching the local news.


I will take on the obvious one first, the strike in Chicago.  I have several problems with the whole thing.  It starts with statements made by the president of the teacher's union.  She said it isn't about the money, it's about the kids.  If that is the case, why are you striking at what should be the beginning of the school year?  And why is it that there are 350,000 kids sitting at home rather than sitting in a classroom?  Be truthful, it isn't about the kids, it is about your paycheck!  The next thing that she said was that they didn't start it.  I'm not sure how that could be the truth.  All that the school district did was to implement a system to grade the teachers as part of a mandate from the state government.  Were they supposed to ignore the mandate and forfeit all funding?  How would you get paid if they did that?  The real truth comes from a much deeper source, the power of the union.  I understand that back when they were formed they were necessary as factory owners raked in millions while the workers struggled to simply put food on the table.  But times have changed and now we have laws that protect us.  Now all that unions do is protect the weak.  Ask just about anyone who worked (or still works) in a union environment how many they know that have come to work drunk or played the call in system and still have a job.  And this is proven based on the rest of the story that was aired.  They pointed out that only 8 out of every 100 students will attend college.  That may sound like a lot but it isn't.  Especially when you consider that a parochial school in the city of Chicago school district puts 100% of it's students into college.  And that is with teachers making less then the average at the public schools!  These teachers are already held to the standards that the public schools are fighting.  They spoke with one of the teachers at the parochial school and asked why their students did so much better.  She said that they have to try harder because they don't have the protection of the union so they have to put in the extra effort just to keep their job.  And what proves the point even more is that these teachers aren't being fired constantly.  I could go on about why I don't like unions but that isn't really the point.  The point is that the union is trying to say that their members are not the reason for the strike.  That may be true but not for the reason they want you to believe.  It is true because the union made the decision to strike, the members just followed for fear that in the event they need the union they won't get it.  So yes, I believe the unions have power over the business but they also hold significant power over those that they represent.

The other story had to do with today being 9/11, the 11th anniversary of the attacks that changed the United States forever.  They went to talk to a teacher who was spending time with her elementary students (I think they were either 2nd or 3rd graders) about the whole situation.  I think this is a great idea since it was such a huge event in our history.  What I have a problem with is the fact that she was trying to sugar coat the situation because it's "scary" as she put it.  If she feels the whole truth is too scary for these kids she shouldn't be talking to them about it!  I am really fed up with the way everything has to be sugar coated now.  Why is it that we try to hide kids from the truth?  Again, if it is too scary for the age don't teach it!  Isn't is possible that we have so many suicides because they find out that the sugar coating was just to "protect" them from the whole truth?  The reporter and anchor both felt it was great that they were teaching the children the way they were.  I think it is great that they are teaching them, I just wish they would teach them the whole truth, without the sugar.