Happy Friday: Chicago Sh-t Cans 850 Teachers

Photo: Museum of Science and Industry

June 14, 2013 - "About 850 teachers and staffers at schools doomed to either close this month or to reboot their staffs were handed pink slips Friday afternoon, according to Chicago Public Schools," reports the Chicago Sun-Times this afternoon.  

It's about to get real ugly. Expect protests, and they won't be pretty.

At the 48 closing schools, 420 teachers of 1,005 total lost their jobs, plus 110 paraprofessionals and 133 bus aides and part-timers. At the five schools headed for “turnaround,” where the children remain in the building but all the adults are replaced, 192 staffers were laid off: 125 teachers, 20 paraprofessionals, 20 bus aides and part-timers and 27 clerks, custodians and security staffers. More at the Sun-Times.

And there's this from Chicagoist (my emphasis added):

Layoffs were on the mind of the Chicago Teachers Union earlier this week when CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett unveiled a five-year action plan for the school system aimed at improving education across all grades. CTU fears the evaluation pillar of the plan could result in as many as 6,000 teachers losing their jobs. While the teachers union fears the worst, additional cuts are already underway at CPS. More than $21 million in cuts  are being made at the central office, administrative positions and operations programs as CPS works to close a $1 billion budget deficit. CPS previously announced $31 million in other cuts. Under school based budgeting, principals are responsible for their own staffing plans and may lay off staff at their schools as needed to meet their budgets. More at Chicagoist.

Also See:

• CPS details staff cuts from closing of schools WGN TV
• Pink Slips Begin Flying At Chicago Public Schools Chicagoist
• Millions for DePaul, budget cuts for public schools Chicago Reader
• For insiders, community group UNO’s charter schools pay Chicago Sun-Times
• CPS budget bomb. Students will need to bring their own toilet paper Fred Klonsky
• CPS' Per-Student Budgets Will Exacerbate School Inequality... Progress Illinois

Principals and Teachers Who Carry Guns at School (ABC Report)

Dec. 20, 2012 - A recent report by ABC News examines the issue of arming teachers and principals in public schools. This is a very hot debate in the U.S. after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, where Adam Lanza shot and killed 27 students and school staff. Some of the students interviewed in the ABC report support this idea, saying that they feel safer knowing their teachers are armed. Others don't, of course.

ABC noted that about 28,300 schools across the U.S. have armed security staff.

The obvious question to anti-gun people, then, is this:

If armed staff in a school is such a bad idea, then why have we not heard of any unfortunate incidents in those 28,300 schools?  ABC cited the National Center for Education Statistics as the source for those numbers.

I can't help but wonder why some fear the idea of armed teachers more than they fear an armed lunatic attacking them while they are defenseless. Would those folks put a "Gun Free Zone" sign in their own front yard? Why do they think it's safer to be unprotected when a shooter enters their school, and then have to endure more killings while they wait for the police to show up -- with their guns?

Teachers Unions Explained By Dogmatic Cartoon Character

Have you ever had a conversation with a braindead liberal who just keeps repeating dogmatic slogans to you? Sure you have, and this animated video (below) depicts a funny conversation like that, between an ideologue who supports the teachers unions and a slightly befuddled tax payer. The tax payer asks some intelligent questions about why the unions deserve more money, and the socialistic knee jerk answers given by the union drone are hysterical. Uploaded to YouTube by Battlefield315, who wrote, "A supporter of the teachers unions is questioned about her belief that the unions need more money and power." That's an understatement. For a lot more videos of this type, visit Battlefield312.com.

Sept. 9, 1957: Republicans Pass First Civil Rights Act

Most Americans are not aware that the first Civil Rights Act since just after the Civil War was passed in 1957, on Sept. 9, not 1964. Both acts were passed despite opposition from most Democrats in Congress. It was exactly 53 years ago today that President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law. The Civil Rights Digital Library has this: On September 9, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Originally proposed by Attorney General Herbert Brownell, the Act marked the first occasion since Reconstruction that the federal government undertook significant legislative action to protect civil rights. Although influential southern congressman whittled down the bill?s initial scope, it still included a number of important provisions for the protection of voting rights. It established the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department, and empowered federal officials to prosecute individuals that conspired to deny or abridge another citizen?s right to vote. Moreover, it also created a six-member U.S. Civil Rights Commission charged with investigating allegations of voter infringement. But, perhaps most importantly, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 signaled a growing federal commitment to the cause of civil rights." Was the Civil Rights Act of 1957 perfect? No, but it was a good start in the right direction. Robert Mann wrote this interesting column in 2007 for the The Boston Globe (emphasis added): The 1957 bill is a discounted and forgotten stepchild of the civil rights movement, accorded lowly status when compared with its more impressive younger siblings, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Yet at its half-century mark, the much-disparaged 1957 law is worthy of celebration. It paved the way for subsequent, stronger rights legislation by giving lawmakers confidence that voting for once-radical ideas wouldn't make the sky fall. The law's passage cleared the way for solid progress on the most important social issue of the 20th century. Full article... Given these facts, why is it that the 1964 Civil Rights Act is so well known but the 1957 Civil Rights Act is virtually unheard of to most Americans? Let's see: Eisenhower was a Republican. The Congressional support that carried both Acts came from Republicans. President Lyndon Johnson, who signed the 1964 act into law, was a Democrat. The Left-leaning teachers unions, school boards and so on would rather that you didn't know that it was really Republicans, not Democrats, who were responsible for these enormous gains in civil rights. Ditto for the Liberal Mainstream Media, who make a lot of favorable noise about the 1964 act but rarely even mention the 1957 version. It's that simple. Democrats and liberals are embarassed by their history of institutionalized racism. Not necessarily ashamed, mind you, just embarassed. The truth about federal civil rights legislation makes them look bad to their most loyal - and most brainwashed - voters. One incredible example of this leftist rewriting of history can be found at eduref.org. They have page there which is called "Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968" with the subtitle "An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan." Note the date spread in the title. They give a link to the 1964 legislation, but make only two passing mentions of it with no related links. They have a link, however, to the 1964 legislation. Read More: Republicans and Civil Rights NewsMax The 1957 Civil Rights Act History Learning Site (UK) Republicans Passed the 1957 Civil Rights Act Grand Old Partisan Civil Rights Act of 1957 - Digital Documents and Photographs Project eisenhower.archives.gov Martin Luther King was a Republican National Black Republican Association 1957 Civil Rights Act Big Government

Texas Board of Ed Decision Impact Will Be Minimal

Will American school children now be saved from textbooks filled with Leftist propaganda? Maybe, sort of, little by little, for a while anyway. Don't be overly optimistic about this news. Last night, the Texas Board of Education made a historically significant decision. Robert Moon reports at Examiner.com: In a stunning break from the standard public "education" protocol of relentlessly brow-beating children with leftist misinformation against America, white people and Christianity, Texas has forced the textbook industry to start including multiple sides of the story. Through intense negotiations and petty partisan bickering, the Texas Board of Education (which has a huge influence over how textbooks are written in the U.S.) has reversed the trend of erasing our Founding Fathers from the curriculum--a core part of the leftist agenda... The Texas text book decision, however, will have minimal immediate impact nationwide. Even as the Texas Board of Education was meeting yesterday, there was a communist indoctrination happening on a Chicago Community Colleges (CCC) campus. The "Social Justice Student Expo" was a brazen display of communist and socialist propagandizing and youth recruitment by the far Left, with the full blessings and accomodations of the CCC. Grade schoolers, high schoolers and college students were encouraged to attend. So while it's nice that some text books will be brought back from the Leftist clutches, the real problem remains: Leftist teachers and professors will continue to spew their Leftist ideology in classrooms. Events like the "Social Justice Student Expo" will continue. The film and music industries will keep putting out Leftist messages. After decades of Leftist propagandizing in public schools and universities, there are already many millions of Americans whose political sympathies are closer to Mao and Stalin than to Jefferson and Franklin. The Texas Board of Education decision of May 20, 2010 is something to celebrate, but it isn't big enough to merit opening the champagne.

Does Sen. Heather Steans Hate Children?

Adam Robinson is the Republican candidate for Illinois State Senate in the 7th District. He is running against incumbent Heather Steans (a Democrat). He wrote the following piece about school choice - and Steans' opposition to it.

State Senator Heather Steans

Votes Against School Choice

- by Adam Robinson

On Thursday, March 25, the Illinois Senate passed a bill that would offer tuition vouchers to 22,000 elementary school children enrolled at the worst performing schools in Chicago’s public system. The bill (SB 2494), drafted by Democrat State Senator James Meeks (D-Chicago), enables families to use these vouchers at any parochial or private school that admits their child.

At its core, this bill is about giving parents in neighborhoods with perpetually failing elementary schools a choice in how their children are educated. The result: parents get choices, kids get a better education, and CPS is held accountable for their inability to deliver a quality product.

To call this bill a landmark would be an understatement. For years, Chicago Public Schools have failed the communities in which these “bottom 10%” schools operate. Should the bill pass the Illinois House, these 22,000 Chicago children – mostly from poor families – will have access to a better education and the brighter economic future that improved schooling can bring. Notably, these goals will be accomplished without spending one dollar more in tax revenue than was already allocated by the General Assembly.

Said Meeks of the bill, "It was for the bottom 10 percent of failing schools. Who could begrudge students in a failing school a chance to get out if they want to get out?"

Who would deny 22,000 children and their parents the right to a quality education?

Incumbent State Senator Heather Steans, that’s who.

Despite overwhelming and bipartisan support for SB 2494, Steans voted against it, casting a vote for maintaining the status quo and for keeping kids in failing schools.

With her “no” vote on SB 2494, Sen. Steans has turned her back on the 22,000 kids in these failing schools, and has instead opted to side with the teachers unions in an attempt to preserve their support. Steans has said that she voted against the bill because she claimed it underfunded Special Education programs, but pardon us if we don’t believe a word of it, Senator.

Why the skepticism over her reason for voting “no”? Could it be the $5,500 in campaign cash she received from the Illinois Education Association’s political action committee? Or maybe the $3,500 in cash she pocketed from the Illinois Federation of Teachers? Perhaps it was the $1,750 in contributions given to her by her friends at the AFL-CIO? Or maybe it was the $6,000 in contributions received from AFSCME?

Steans raked in $16,750 from teachers unions since 2008, giving her 16,750 reasons to vote against the 22,000 kids who are stuck in Chicago’s worst elementary schools. That’s 16,750 reasons to tell parents, “tough luck, folks,” while preserving the sources of all that campaign cash.

When he faced the ire of these same teachers unions after introducing this bill, what did State Senator James Meeks do? He mailed them their money back. All of it. That’s called principled leadership.

What did State Senator Heather Steans do? She chose the unions over the kids, and voted against school choice. That’s called selling out.

If you believe, like I do, that parents - not a massive state bureaucracy – are best able to choose the education that meets their child’s needs, then join me and my fight for positive change and common ground reforms that empower and improve our communities! Just head to www.ElectAdamRobinson.com to get involved and show your support today. I can’t do this without you!

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Teachers to Protest Arne Duncan Chicago Visit, June 19

A group of Chicago educators plan a protest against U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in when he visits the city on Friday, June 19. The Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) is upset about what they call Duncan's "draconian" turnarounds, which they explain as programs whereby "every employee at a school is fired, including teachers, cafeteria staff, administration." From their June 17 press release: On Friday, June 19th, 2009, the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) will hold a demonstration against “turnarounds” and other policies promoted by current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan outside of the Hyatt Regency Chicago (151 E. Wacker Drive) from 8:00 AM until 9:30 AM. Duncan is theguest of honor for a breakfast reception at the hotel sponsored by education policy group Advance Illinois. CORE will be holding a press conference atthe demonstration at 9:15 AM. (See the full press release here.) See Comments... Visit Our Online Store Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter

Cat Fight on the Left

"Cat Fight on the Left" is a nice summary by Bruno Behrend of why the teacher's unions are one of the biggest obstacles to educating children. "With all the troubles on the right," writes Behrend, "it’s nice to see liberals who want the poor to achieve take notice of the worst lobby in the world (teacher’s unions) and how they benefit from keeping the poor uneducated while they soak up every dime they can." FULL POST at extremewisdom.com... Also by Bruno: Barack Obama endorses “Corruption in Education”

When Liberals Go Too Far

Would you want your child to be in a classroom with this freak (video)?