Much of United States history is testament to the fact that there was virtually no government-funded, government-run schooling, and, as Alexis de Tocqueville noted in “Democracy in America” (1835), the vast majority of the population was literate, numerate, and engaged in voluntary, neighborly charity, rather than bureaucratic, command-driven parasitism and propaganda that has debased education, destroyed literacy, and made generations of students ill-equipped to prosper.
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And it seems as if the bulk of Chicago’s public school teachers haven’t learned that their system isn't currently serving the interests of children, parents, or other taxpayers.
Yael Halon reports for FoxNews that, despite nearly half of Chicago teachers being chronically absent, their union is telling residents to cough-up more money.
"The Chicago Public School system is suffering from 'chronic absenteeism' among teachers who've skipped more than 10 days of the 2023-2024 school year, according to a new report.
State records show that over 41% of CPS teachers exceeded 10 days of absence last year, the Chicago Tribune reported. These absences are in addition to the built-in vacation time allotted to teachers for the school year, which includes ten days for winter break, five for spring break and eight additional days off for holidays, according to the outlet.”
And those regular days off are part of a work “year” that isn’t a full year. It runs from September to late May or June, with pre-season class prep in August.
But, why would public school teachers care about that, when they work in a collectivist system that doesn’t have to please willing customers – because they can DEMAND money through government power?
Writes Halon:
“The massive demands are being made despite its members delivering underwhelming results for its students. Only 21% of the city’s eighth-graders are proficient readers, according to the Nation’s Report Card, which provides national results about students’ performance.”
For the government bureaucrats and tax-funded teachers out there, 21 percent is just over two-in-ten, one-fifth of the student population.
Those ought to be easy numbers for them to understand, especially since the teachers siphon so much cash from taxpayers, and they want more.
“The report comes amid ongoing contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union, who are demanding a 9% annual raise for teachers. The median salary for CPS teachers is close to $95,000, according to the outlet.
The teachers’ union is calling for an extra $50 billion in funding to cover wage hikes as well as other demands. For instance, the money would be used to provide fully paid abortions for its members, new migrant services and facilities and a host of LGBTQ-related requirements and training in schools.”
All those demands, of course, because the teachers “care” so much for children.
Halon notes that Miguel Perretta, the “Chief Labor Relations Officer” of the Chicago Public School system, has vowed city opposition to the union demand. But the teachers’ unions have massive power. They can shut down schools, and in states such as Illinois, where there is no right-to-work legislation that allows non-union teachers to work in the government schools without becoming part of the giant union scheme. Stacking the deck and putting the taxpayers at a massive disadvantage.
And, sadly, some disputants are employing the “race card” in the fight over taking even more of other people’s tax money. Not long ago, Stacy Davis Gates, the President of the Chicago Teachers' Union called testing, "junk science, rooted in white supremacy."
And Halon notes:
“In June, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates told a news radio host that conservatives do not want Black children to read, adding that it is ‘part of the oath they take to be right wing.’"
How nice of Gates to deflect from the real issue.
And how ignorant of the fact that literacy for blacks and other “groups” of students in Chicago is not improving, even as the teachers and administrators suck up more and more money.
If the members of this parasitic class were off the taxpayer teat, if they had to work in a free-market, competitive system that did not DEMAND money from people, would they be able to survive?
Given their poor record, given their unending pattern of waste and politicization, of disregard for the literacy and numeracy of students, would they be able to attract parents to pay for their “services,” or would better competitors rise to the fore and show willing customers how teaching can be done at much lower prices?
Why not try what de Tocqueville witnessed, what was so successful in US history?
Why not try freedom?
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