Friday, December 29, 2017

CTU Resolution to Rename Columbus Day

CTU Passes Resolution to Rename Columbus Day
By Jim Vail


It's time we stop celebrating this war criminal!


The Chicago Teacher's Union passed a resolution at the December House of Delegates meeting entitled "Demand the Abolition of Christopher Columbus and Rename it Indigenous People's Day."

The resolution was introduced by Jim Vail, yours truly, that was submitted after my students had petitioned the school board, the Chicago Board of Education and the Little Village alderman about the need to stop celebrating a war criminal who enslaved and killed many Indian people when he arrived to America 500 years ago.

The delegates did not want to eliminate the official holiday which is a state holiday and gives teachers a day off. When I suggested that CPS should no longer have a day off for Columbus day like other suburban districts and replace it with another holiday or move it to the end of the year, a smattering of noo's went up. 

This resolution is just to rename the holiday and not eliminate the day off. 

Currently the state law according to the American Indian Center (AIC) is to celebrate both Columbus and American Indigenous People. However, AIC said they would like to abolish this new state law and rename it only Indigenous People's Day. However, that is a political fight, with the Italian groups wielding some political power (the Balbo statute in Grant Park is a gift of fascist Italian leader) and Columbus name connected to Chicago's history - a star on the city flag represents the World Columbus Fair 1893 and there is the Columbus Day Parade - where politicians march like puppets.

A small but vocal group of about seven or eight in the delegates meeting said no to the resolution. The rest overwhelmingly said yes.

The Resolution states in the Resolves:

Be it resolved, that the Columbus Day holiday be renamed the Indigenous People's Day the second Monday of October, and:

Be it resolved, that this shall be a day of solidarity and education among the Indigenous communities and people of Chicago, and:

Be it resolved, that the CTU shall promote this resolution in the schools and help encourage schools to develop a curriculum that focuses on the true history of our indigenous population, and;

Be it further resolved, that the CTU work with the American Culture Center to promote the cultural contributions the native people have made and continue to make in our society. 

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Support Labor Beat

Support Labor Beat, The Labor Television Series
Labor Beat co-producer/videographer Andrew Friend at Labor Day rally.

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 Auto Mechanics 701 City Wide Strike; UAW 551 To Host National Workers Conference; ATU 308 Preliminary Strike Vote; Union Of Noble Educators Public Meeting; Noble – No Neutrality Agreement; Winning Contracts – Chicago’s Unionized Charter Schools; Barrio Homecoming For Oscar Lopez Rivera; Teachers OK Strike At Passages Charter; March For Science Chicago; Let Sarah Teach; Resist Reimagine Rebuild Teach-In; Remembering Dr. King’s Beyond Vietnam Speech; They Fired Me And ‘Made’ Me Into An Organizer; Transgender Lives Matter; International Women’s Day – CTA Workers Want A Contract; ASPIRA Charter Teachers Approve A Strike; Protesting Lewandowski At University Of Chicago; Bring Ms. Chambers Back To 8th Grade!; Women’s March In Chicago; CTA Workers Contract Rally MLK Day 2017; Joint Action In Tokyo And Seoul; We Move Chicago – Transit Workers Activate; Hands Off Roseland Clinic; O’Hare Airport Workers One Day Strike; Pushing Back CPS’s Attack On Special Education; Chicago Stands With Standing Rock.
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Monday, December 18, 2017

HOD Meeting

Chicago Teacher Delegates Vote in Charter Teachers
By Jim Vail


The Chicago Teacher Union delegates voted unanimously last week to include the charter teachers in the CTU.

The CTU leadership had geared up for a fight after several delegates complained at the previous HOD meeting that it was wrong to include charter schools that are devastating the public schools into the union.

Just about every delegate came to the mike at the HOD meeting last Wed. Dec. 13 to say we need to join forces with the charter teachers.

Perhaps the statement that summarized it all came from one Greek delegate with a family of teacher delegates when she said that she supported the constitutional changes to include the charter teachers because she "trusts" the leadership, not because she understands entirely how this whole thing will work out.

"This will help to  to halt and maybe even stop the growth of charter schools in the city," CTU Recording Secretary Michael Brunson told the delegates.

I personally had questions about such a drastic move why charter teachers had to be included into the CTU. First, the charter teachers have their own union, charter schools are separate from public schools and are in fact the enemy of public schools and confusion over different contracts and how to strike. It wasn't clear how teaming up will make the union stronger.

On the other hand - the CTU fight against charter schools has been admirably. The previous union leadership under the UPC before CORE got elected in 2010 said charter schools are our friends and legislators told me why is the union now fighting charter schools. They modeled themselves on the reformist sell-outs at the top - the American Federation of Teachers under whom the CTU is a part of.

The CTU and Core has fought charter expansion and got a five-year school closing moratorium in the last contract that just ended now (and CPS jumped on the gun by quickly closing the last four public high schools in Englewood to clear out the low-income black students and put in a selective enrollment school for the bustling South Loop residents).

It sounds reasonable to trust the CTU in this case and join forces to help further unionize charter school teachers so they have better working conditions and compensation, thus eliminating the incentive to increase charter schools.

However, the fight is far from over. While this year only one charter school was approved, like Uber devastating the taxi industry, they do not have plans to stop or go away. The latest charter Distinctive Schools located in Hirsch High School continues the corruption associated with them with its ties to discredited once for-profit and now disgraced Edison Schools and SUPES Academy which brought down former CPS CEO Barbara Byrde Bennett who is now sitting in prison.

CTU President Karen Lewis was not in attendance because she is recovering from a stroke.

The Robeson High School delegate said they plan to fight their school's closure and hopes other teachers can join them. There will be a rally to save the National Teachers Academy in the South Loop on Martin Luther King holiday.

The CTU said to beware of schools hiring non-union vendors to replace unionized staff. One school eliminated its music teacher and offered karate classes taught by non-teacher. This is happening in many schools in the city thanks to the per-pupil budgeting the city implemented to punish schools for employing higher paid veteran teachers.

The CTU said the rabid pro-privatization newspaper Chicago Tribune published a hit-list for school closings that had 17 schools on the list that needed to be closed, including Kelvyn Park on the North side.

"We want to strengthen our forces, that's how you stop privatization," CTU VP Jesse Sharkey said at the HOD meeting.

The vote for the teachers on the constitutional changes and include the charter teachers in the CTU will be January 25.

Friday, December 15, 2017

Russian Chess & Education

CHESS MUST BE COMPULSORY IN SCHOOLS
In a recent speech the Russian Minister of Education enthusiastically supports chess


By Stephen Wilson


"I can beat everyone of your members in less than six moves," boasted a stranger who dropped into a chess club founded by Jim Vail in Englewood where the Chicago Public Schools want to close every public high school. The tall, dark stranger then calmly and collectively beat all his opponents. Jim was stunned. He had never seen anything quite like this. So Jim asked : " Where did you learn to play chess so well ? "I learnt in prison " answered the player. But if a roll of the dice of fate allowed him to be born and bred in Russia, he might have learnt it as a mandatory subject in some Russian schools. For as
any long term visitor to Russia may have noticed - Chess remains a popular game
in Russia. There are even some local parks in Moscow where I observed people
playing in the open air on specially reserved tables. Only a few weeks ago I
recall seeing the 6-year-old son of the artist Natalie Miroshnik on the way to
private lessons at a kindergarten. The child was learning to play chess from a
special teacher.

An advertisement in the local kindergarten, The Family Club which young Alex attends,
has a poster on the wall outlining the merits of chess as: developing a child's logical
and analytical abilities, their ability to concentrate and acutely observe things
better. According to the 15 year World champion Andrei Yesipenko : "Chess instructs
you how to concentrate and that is probably why I do well in school."

The Minister of Education Olga Vasilyva agrees. In a recent speech she even went
so far as to suggest it would not be a bad idea if it was made a compulsory subject
for many younger primary school students. She warmly declared: " I think that one
hour of chess a week must be made mandatory for all students from the first to the
fourth year. Furthermore, children can play in special clubs which the majority of
schools already provide. I recently visited a rural school in the Chuvashskoi
Republic which was full of chess players : children played chess during the break
and after lessons. 

"Chess consists of using analytical thought which develops your intellect with a
minimum amount of time. We have very strong ties with the Chess Federation which
has already developed a methodology which we can use in schools".

Perhaps the minister believes it could be a transferable skill which could assist
students in getting to grips with maths as well as learning to read and grasp
the logic of compositions in Russian. The minister laments that not only modern
Russian school students read less but communicate badly in Russia and are
often inarticulate. She suggests that Russian teachers put more stress in orally
reading out a text loudly as well as making sense of it.

Perhaps what is alluring and attractive about chess is its beautiful simplicity.
A chess set is relatively inexpensive, takes up little space and is easy to
teach. A Russian university student went into a children's home and taught
all the children how to play chess. It was more useful than simply showering
the children with presents.

But we should not overlook one more merit of chess. In this age of anxiety it can
help teachers cut stress. All too often teachers can not switch off. Chess would
allow them to stop worrying for at least a few hours. This is no small achievement.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Englewood School Closings

Chicago Public Schools: A New Round of School Closings

By Ed Hershey


Thursday, November 30th, Chicago Public Schools announced its intention to close all four neighborhood high schools in the Englewood Neighborhood: Harper, TEAM Englewood, Hope, and Robeson. Englewood is a poor, black, working class neighborhood on the city’s South Side.

As a “sweetener” on the deal, the Board promises to spend $85 million to build a new high school on Robeson’s grounds. But they do not plan to make it a neighborhood school – it will be a selective enrollment magnet, which will take only 35% of its students from the neighborhood. Moreover, the new school will only enroll 9th graders when it opens, while the current schools will close next year. That means the current students will be left out in the cold: they are being told to enroll at neighborhood schools that are two or more miles away. Many of these students attend their neighborhood school now because they have difficulty getting to a school further away. For these students, CPS’s “plan” amounts to denying them any education at all. The students themselves note, with bitterness, that the district is happy to spend $85 million to build a new building, but won’t put that money into the current schools. 

The school board says these schools are underenrolled – that is true. Each of these buildings now enrolls 200 or fewer students. And it is also true that population in the neighborhood is dropping. But the Board is responsible! From 2006 to 2018, the total number of high school students in the neighborhood dropped from 3800 to about 3000. But over those same years, 2,500 students from Englewood started attending the seven new charter schools that opened in the neighborhood. Instead of investing in schools that needed the support, CPS opened privately run charter schools to take money and students out of the neighborhood high schools, which were left with the students the charters refused to take.

Harper High school has been repeatedly attacked: it was “reconstituted” in 1999, then “turned-around” in 2008, where all the teaching and support staff were fired. Student enrollment dropped 25% the next year – no surprise there, many students did not feel comfortable around the unfamiliar new adults. Englewood High School was closed in 2007, then re-opened as a new “small” school.   

Hope College Prep and TEAM Englewood’s buildings are “co-locations”, that is, the buildings also house a charter school. Those privately run charters will now be able to take over the whole building. The school board is also proposing to allow a new charter school to “co-locate” inside Hirsch High School – a move that will clearly lead in to that public school being shut down as well. 


This plan shows CPS – and the Chicago ruling class’s priorities on education. They continue to attack and steal from the students who have the least and need the most. The plan will drive more families from the neighborhood.  Harper students staged a sit-in the day after CPS’s announcement. Students and others from the school communities spoke out at the Board meeting the following week.  

Saturday, December 9, 2017

New Head, Don't be Fooled

CPS Announces Yet Another New Chief 
By Jim Vail


Yet another CPS chief goes down in flames, this one Forrest Claypool who lied and was embarrassed enough by the inspector general to resign from office.

Now we have Janice Jackson, a former teacher and principal who served as the education director at CPS.

Whoever heads the public schools doesn't mean a hill of beans. What matters is who runs the show from the top - the business titans who are hell bent on destroying the public schools and driving the poor - whatever color they may be - out of the city to make room for the wealthy class.

The mainstream media backs the decisions of the ruling class.

Just look at our so-called liberal media radio outlet NPR - WBEZ. They quoted Educators in Excellence in their article on Claypool's resignation, saying they are happy with the appointment of Jackson.

How is Educators in Excellence a representative of teachers? They're not - in fact they're merely a front group set up by the same money that brought us Stand for Children, set up to whack the Teachers Union and destroy our pensions and benefits.

WTTW-Channel 11 - another so-called liberal media outlet on TV can be equally nasty. They are reporting that the CTU's decision to merge charter school teachers into the Chicago Teachers Union means the CTU is no longer anti-charter school. We now love the very entity set out to destroy us.

Perhaps the film to watch this holiday season and put the perspective in the right place is Darkest Hour about British Prime Minister Churchill, who's passion and leadership helped lead the fight to stop Hitler and not surrender. It is possible to win, but you need to first fight.

Churchill did not make deals with the enemy - which the unions and all political reps do every day to sell out the people, just like some British politicians were willing to do with Hitler.

What Churchill said almost 70 years ago should be rallying call for defenders of the people here:

"If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each one of us lies choking in his own blood upon the ground."

That's the choice we have to save public education. Make deals and soon we'll be giving the Nazi salute because we 'voted' them in.


Friday, December 1, 2017

GREEK TEACHER INTERVIEW 
HISTORY HAUNTS US
By Stephen Wilson

 
Second City Teacher interviewed a Greek history teacher Photini Danon,
who has recently visited Moscow for the first time. I asked her about her
first impressions, on why she had yearned to visit Moscow , the dire plight
of both the Greeks and refugees as well as belief in God. What emerged
was a sharply vivid impression that the Greeks , like the Turks and Italians,
were taking the brunt of the refugee crisis just at the worst of times when
she herself has been afflicted by a deepening crisis.

This turned out to be a difficult interview to carry out. I got completely
lost and by some bizarre logic ended up boarding the wrong bus which
went in the wrong direction. The bus took me back to the destination I
had set out from. I had gone round in circles. After asking about 12
friendly and helpful locals , I found the address.
 
Second City Teacher
 
Have you been to Moscow before ?
 
Photini
 
No, this is my first time . I have always wanted to visit Russia because I 'm interested in
the revolution and wanted to see how the people in an ex-communist country were
getting on. I like the people. They are very friendly, kind and hospitable.
 
Second City Teacher
 
Will you come again ?
 
Photini
 
Yes, why not ? I did not have enough time to find out many things I wanted to know.
 
Anna a Russian English teacher interrupts
 
We will be waiting for you.
 
Second City Teacher
 
What is your main impression of Moscow ?
 
Photini
 
I'm impressed by how huge Moscow is . I never imagined it would be that big ! I was
also struck by how people think differently about politics than the Greeks. The Russians
try not to think and deal with many political issues. They are not interested in politics
and are not used to talking about it. My own people are very concerned about the
politics of Greece and will protest and go on demonstrations because Greece has
experienced such a deep crisis which has affected everyone. We have a different
perception of what communism entails . I met many people in Russia who told me
they were victims of communism and their families had been persecuted and
repressed by the communists . In Greece, it was the opposite . After losing the
civil war the communists were being persecuted. They were imprisoned , tortured and
shot. Many were forced to flee Greece to go to communist countries. For example,
during the civil war one of my grandfathers was imprisoned, tortured and then
executed. Another grandfather escaped from prison and was hidden by his fellow
Greeks.

So we can't say communism is the same for everyone.
 
Second City Teacher
 
How do present day Greeks deal with the tragedy of the Greek Civil war of 1946 -1949?
I heard that even before the Second world war ended that on December 3rd 1944 , the
British army which occupied Athens fired and killed 28 unarmed civilians who were
mostly young boys and girls peacefully demonstrating. They also released and used
Fascist collaborators to crush a Greek uprising that they themselves had provoked !
{editor's note. an estimated 100,000 Greeks were killed, 40,000 placed in concentration
camps, 5000 executed and 100,000 forced to flee the country. }
 
Photini
 
We call this period of history the White terror or in Greek 'Dekemuriana'. In this war many
Greeks were killed by ex-Nazis and collaborators supported by the British . Some people
say forget this as it will open up old wounds. The political party 'New Democracy' says:
'Let us not talk about this traumatic period. Don't do such research ? Leave it alone !
Don't bring up those issues. They don't want to talk about this.
 
Second City Teacher
 
What is your view on the current political situation in Greece ?
 
Photini
 
I will never vote for Syriza again. I have lost hope and don't see much in the future . For
the past 5 years it has been very difficult for Greece and I went on many demonstrations
because I had to express my desperation . The taxation system in Greece is unfair and
poor people are forced to pay for the bankers. Taxation does not benefit ordinary Greeks
but the banks. Both Greeks and Russians have problems with violent capitalism as the
rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In western European though Marxism has been
a liberating and progressive power which made capitalism more humane. The fear
of the Russian revolution spreading to Europe forced Western governments to introduce
reforms such as better medical care and education to help the poor .{Britain gave
women the vote shortly after the revolution and the welfare state was introduced in 1945}
In Russia, things did not work that way. In Russia they established social care without
personal freedom and freedom of speech. If I were Russian, I would try and keep the
good things about the revolution but attempt to find freedom of speech and human rights.
They should not repress gay people !
 
Second City Teacher
 
What do you think about the great refugee problem which has engulfed Europe?
 
Photini
 
Many Greeks have become hardened and cold to the suffering they see around
them. I mean they have seen dead babies washed up on the shore and refugees
are all around them. We are a country which is very poor and are now forced to
take up this. The European Union has not expressed solidarity in helping refugees
but when it comes to a common currency it is a different question.

I have already given away half my clothes and a lot of food to refugees and so
have many people, but it is not enough to help them because there are so many
refugees arriving every day. This has led to the growth of the Far right who don't
want to hep refugees . As far as they are concerned the refugees could drown
for all they care. I help a poor woman refugee from Afghanistan. I don't give her
money but food because I feel some men might be taking advantage of her. She
told me if she returns to Afghanistan the Taliban will kill her. And Pakistan does
not recognize refugees from Afghanistan and deports them back.
 
Second City Teacher
 
And how is the teaching ?
 
Photini
 
At the moment I'm teaching mainly history to school children. I still give lectures
at the university because they don't have many specialists in Elizabethan history
in England. I prefer to teach at university but have no choice but to teach all
kinds of history.
 
Second City Teacher
 
 
Do you believe in God?
 
Photini
 
Well, it is difficult to believe in a God which does not intervene to stop such
suffering we see around us when babies drown in the sea. Let us say that
I'm an agnostic rather than an atheist. If the Orthodox church opens
soup kitchens to help refugees it should not be for show but from the heart.