Posted on 12/23/2008 11:48:04 PM PST by Libloather
CPS to close at least 20 schools
Produced by Linda Lutton on Monday, December 22, 2008
The Chicago Public School district is planning on shutting down at least 20 schools. A group of Chicago teachers is calling for a moratorium on school closings.
School closings have become an annual ritual in Chicago. District spokesman David Pickens:
PICKENS: In schools that are performing poorly, we feel we have an obligation to do something dramatic to turn those schools around.
Last week, president elect Barack Obama praised schools chief Arne Duncan for his willingness to close struggling schools and start new ones in their place.
But some teachers believe the closings are an attack on veteran teachers and a smokescreen for privatizing schools. Jackson Potter is part of a new caucus of the Chicago Teachers Union.
POTTER: The problem is really lack of commitment to these schools, to these teachers--who know what they need to improve education but they’re not getting the support they need to do that.
CPS will announce the list of schools in January. All staff at the shuttered schools will be terminated.
So the logic is to close schools in their place, and then...totally reopen them? I’m assuming with all-new staffs? And what happens to the old staffs? Dispersed out to the successful schools in the region?
Something in this decision doesn’t make sense. But then, I don’t live in Chicago. Maybe thats my problem.
Only a hint to these folks...if you are going to recruit for a “new” school...find yourself mostly retired military personnel who demand respect and have hand-to-hand combat training. They might make an impression on day one and fix all the issues that the former teachers had.
The closing of a government school is always cause for celebration.
The thing is: How to keep them from ever OPENING a government school?
Then imagine the conflicting mess of district, city, county, state, and national metrics created to deliver the impression of measurement of success/failure at each of these levels for each of these schools. Then imagine the conflicts between the teachers' unions and the politicians who are taking the heat for the unions catastrophic failures in education children.
And finally, mix in the cultural poison of the Chicago entitlement/victimhood mindset which sees learning as "white" or "Uncle Tom", criminality as inspiring, and illegitimacy as the norm.
Close the schools? Hell, I'd seal off the entire city, airdrop rice and milk powder once a week, and in 1 year talk to whomever is left about "re-opening" Chicago.
It use to be schools had nothing more than books, and a blackboard and students did just fine. I was in school during the transition from the basics to the heavy use of technology and I can say the best learning is still from a book and a teacher that knows the subject.
I wish it was because multitudes of parents were pulling their kids out to home school.
Many lack parenting skills, let alone the ability to homeschool their own. I think you would find most of these schools are located in bad neighborhoods. This doesn’t occur in the suburbs. I would think a little parental responsibility is in order; fat chance that will ever happen.
find yourself mostly retired military personnel who demand respect and have hand-to-hand combat training. They might make an impression on day one and fix all the issues that the former teachers had.
You forgot to add,
1. allow concealed carry by all staff.
2. send old teachers back to school to learn teaching basics. .
Hell, I’d seal off the entire city, airdrop rice and milk powder once a week,
Interesting proposition. do you think that would get rid of Daley?
Interesting proposition. do you think that would get rid of Daley?
Unfortunately, he'd probably be the last person alive, hoarding the rice and stealing the milk powder from other inhabitants. Then again, if he were to be targeted by the rice drops, 1 well-placed 50 pounder could solve the problem...
You may be right, since public schools have miserably failed under the leadership of their teacher unions.
School vouchers and competition with the private system are a good alternative...though home schooling should become more and more acceptable and desirable as the electorate becomes educated.
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