CPS (Chicago Public School) cross country runners unable to compete in state tournament due to teacher's strike.

I feel zero for those teachers and their unions.

illinoisjones wrote:

This is wrong. If the strike is truly about the students, support the students for something they will remember for the rest of their lives.

It is a shame that the IHSA and the CTU would rob this opportunity from kids, especially seniors to give up something they worked for the entire school year or even their entire high school career. While I think this IHSA rule unfairly targets Chicago area schools, the responsibility lies in on the CTU members due to their failure to support the students. Unfortunately, many teachers/staff that many want to support their athletes would have to deal with the repercussions from the mob-like CTU, which publicly shames anyone who breaks the picket line, regardless of their intentions.

It's not wrong. What's wrong is that conditions have deteriorated so significantly and for so long that this is the only available option.

There is nothing else to be done for the students.

Talk to your politicians. Or teach a class yourself.

Easy to talk, harder to do. Which is why so few do it, and those that do do it need to be taken care of.

I never said teachers should not strike or that teaching isn't hard. My mom was a substitute teacher for CPS, she said it was the most emotionally draining job of her life. She worked on the south side and west sides in some of the most impoverished areas of the country.

It is incredibly telling that the parents and the students had to represent themselves. The main problem is that teachers/staff who would otherwise be willing to support their athletes cant because they are afraid about their future statues in the union or being publicly shamed.

The union has become a cancer to the teachers. You casually ignored when I mentioned that I was pro-teacher and you look foolish in your response.

illinoisjones wrote:

I never said teachers should not strike or that teaching isn't hard. My mom was a substitute teacher for CPS, she said it was the most emotionally draining job of her life. She worked on the south side and west sides in some of the most impoverished areas of the country.

It is incredibly telling that the parents and the students had to represent themselves. The main problem is that teachers/staff who would otherwise be willing to support their athletes cant because they are afraid about their future statues in the union or being publicly shamed.

The union has become a cancer to the teachers. You casually ignored when I mentioned that I was pro-teacher and you look foolish in your response.

I didn't ignore it. I simply didn't focus on it because of your last paragraph that then essentially blames the teachers for not supporting the students at the races.

That's my point, and the point that you're missing. None of what you said is the main problem. The union isn't the main problem. The teachers are not the main problem. The fact that students can't race because said teachers can't support them is not the main problem.

You can contend that my response is foolish, but your post is duplicitous and doesn't represent any understanding of the actual issue here, which is what my first response covered. So I guess there's that.

Texan38 wrote:

I feel zero for those teachers and their unions.

+1

Whatever happened to: "it's all about the children."

illinoisjones wrote:

It is a shame that the IHSA and the CTU would rob this opportunity from kids, especially seniors to give up something they worked for the entire school year or even their entire high school career. While I think this IHSA rule unfairly targets Chicago area schools, the responsibility lies in on the CTU members due to their failure to support the students. Unfortunately, many teachers/staff that many want to support their athletes would have to deal with the repercussions from the mob-like CTU, which publicly shames anyone who breaks the picket line, regardless of their intentions.

How does the IHSA ruling unfairly target CPS schools? If any other district was on strike before the tournament season starts, those teams would be out of luck too.

The situation sucks for the athletes who put in the time and effort all summer and season only to have it squashed days before the regional meets. You're right, it's not fair.

Who refers to any cross country meet as a ‘tournament’ unless you are clueless about all things running?

I'd be more upset that the kids are missing out on the valuable educational time in their classes, not that they miss some sporting event. Unless, of course, little to no education occurs in CPS, then yes, bummer about the meets.

unions and strikes should be banned if you dont like youre job quit

I agree with you. I place the blame on the iHSA. This is a stupid rule that Schools cannot compete if teachers on strike. The reason why they can’t compete is that the committee believes that the student s are ineligible since they are not attending classes. But the strike is completely out of their control. They should be allowed to compete. Today parents took the iHSA to court about a football game. The rule was that it would be unsafe for athletes to compete because proper support would not be there for sporting events. I find this ridiculous. It’s about the kids and let the kids play ball. For the idiot that said that school is what it should be concerned about, get real. Athletic events Iike cross country ... are life long Memories.

An idiot is someone who values a local youth sporting event over the education of those eager young minds?

I live in Chicago with two kids in CPS. I graduated with a Labor Relations degree from Cornell, so it’d be tough to find a white collar guy who is more pro union and workers rights.

Most strikes are between workers and a company/stockholders, but public sector ones like this have negative impacts on the general public. The strike days won’t get made up (as of now), so my kids and thousands of others just miss out on education time. The teachers are fighting for more prep time to increase the efficiency of their days, but are cutting out almost 5+ percent of this year’s education time with the strike. Efficient classroom time is of paramount importance, unless it conflicts with what they want.

Im having to pay $200 a day plus massive hassle time during the strike. No tax rebate coming I’m sure. I doubt those union dues will be paying me for them.

The teachers are starting to lose the PR battle. They talked about going to Buckingham fountain yesterday as a show of solidarity. Um. How about getting a deal done and going back to work.

Taxes in Chicago are among the highest in the nation and going up. The city and state are broke. Property values and job growth have stagnated. And actions like these make people think more on “maybe I should just leave.”

As for the sporting tournaments, it’s further collateral damage.

I just hope the Teachers can get back to work, so they can get back to producing Students who will cure major diseases, win noble prizes and cure the worlds problems.

Abolish public education.

Texan38 wrote:

I feel zero for those teachers and their unions.

I feel less than zero for the teachers unions. They flat-out suck. Should be outlawed.

What the hell is this strike about? Pay?

I thought I read somewhere that Chicago teachers get paid pretty well compared to the rest of the country? No offense, but becoming a teacher (note: not talking about a professor) isn't exactly difficult.

Sorry, I'm not up to date on public events.

The politicians and public sector unions of Illinois are literally killing the golden goose. CPS teachers are among the highest paid in the nation .

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/ctu-is-out-on-strike-6-things-you-need-to-know/

CTU is demanding salary increases of 15% over the next three years, along with reduced health insurance premiums.

The current median Chicago teacher salary of $75,000 is more than the wages of nearly 60% of the college-educated Chicago workers who will be asked to pay for the teachers’ demands, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows. Lightfoot’s offer over five years would increase the average to almost $100,000 with seniority bumps.

No private sector worker would ever recieve this kind of deal. People who are far more qualified with STEM degrees do not make as much as a chicago teacher. Yes teachers have important jobs. Yes there are talented smart teachers out there. However, think about the people you know who are teachers, most of them were probably not the smartest and most talented of your highschool classmates but they are being rewarded like it. In addition to these outrageous salaries teachers also get ridiculous pensions that no private sector worker recieves anymore. Charter schools provide better education for children and at a cheaper price to the taxpayer. Charter school teachers get paid at market rates and recieve more reasonable salaries than unionized public school teachers. As a result of deals that CPS teachers recieve, literally quid pro quo where politicians cave to outrageous contract demands in return for votes, tax payers get screwed. Home values in Illinois are starting to lag behind the rest of nation. Both the city of Chicago and the State of Illinois are fiscally insolvent as a result of deals with public sector unions and corruption. The only ways to remedy this in the future are either massive tax increases, new laws that don't allow public sector unions to strike, or bankruptcy (detroit). Chicago still is a world class city but it is at the tipping point where it is going to become a shithole if things don't change and massive austerity measures are implemented. If anyone is interested in Illinois politics I suggest they listen to the Chicago Way, a podcast with John Kass ( a tribune columnist who has a cult following for exposing public corruption in Illinois including calling out everyones favorite president Barack Obama.)

VirtueSignaler wrote:

Texan38 wrote:

I feel zero for those teachers and their unions.

+1

Whatever happened to: "it's all about the children."

Poverty happened. Inequality happened. Inequity happened. Trauma happened.

Teachers are now counselors, social workers, nurse practitioners, parents, and nutritionists to 20+ students, in addition to giving instruction.

And they're not given the time, resources, or training to handle that extremely demanding additional workload.

So, "it's all about the children" doesn't just mean that, it means it's about ALL the children, as well.

Not just the kids from upper middle class white families that would likely be successful without going to school in the first place. Not just the kids that have to miss a running race.

Illinois Refugee wrote:

No private sector worker would ever recieve this kind of deal. People who are far more qualified with STEM degrees do not make as much as a chicago teacher. Yes teachers have important jobs. Yes there are talented smart teachers out there. However, think about the people you know who are teachers, most of them were probably not the smartest and most talented of your highschool classmates but they are being rewarded like it. In addition to these outrageous salaries teachers also get ridiculous pensions that no private sector worker recieves anymore.

Sounds like some type of career nirvana. It's a wonder that with such outrageous salaries and ridiculous pensions that there isn't a glut of excess teachers waiting to swoop in and fill the void left by those hyper-greedy teachers demanding better resources.

It's cool you're sharing how awesome an opportunity it is for current collegiate students. Get your teaching degree and you'll be SET!