Thank goodness I have seen bits of the media coverage of the teacher’s strike in Chicago. The media (shows like The Today Show, or what I call Fox News Lite) have taught me why it is important to vilify these glorified babysitters and why we should take the Paul Ryan and Scott Walker approach to labor.
Let’s be honest, these teachers only work 10 months out of the year. So what if they have to teach in over enrolled classes. So what if they only earn on average 1/7th of the salary of the administrators. So what if they have no school supplies and often pay for them out of their own pockets. So what if they have to take on additional duties, thus working far more than 8 hours a day. So what if during their “time off” in the summer they have to take classes to keep their credentials. So what if they are suddenly required to teach to tests that have no bearing on their teaching skills but are promoted and retained based on those tests. So what if they pay more in taxes than the 5% of the wealthiest of Americans. So what if they now have to parent as well as teach and then are criticized for not doing enough.
They are just labor. What happened to the good old days when schools and companies ran easily and cheaply? What happened to the days when we could just send children into factories and coal mines, or send immigrant women into hostile working conditions and they died in a fire? Those there the good old days. Good for Mayor Rahm Emanuel for taking us backwards in time and bullying these teachers into submission (You know, I loved him when he played Uncle Joe Stalin — he was very convincing).
Really? Really? What happened to our country? When did this dramatic shift occur that we no longer value labor? When did we start to vilify people who make little money? When will this perspective shift again, for these people like Rahm Emanuel and Scott Walker are on the wrong side of history.
I stand with the Teachers in Chicago! Ask me why if you want a lesson in history, economics, and social justice.