Chicago teachers and principals say "chaos in the trenches"

[madfloridian]

That's an odd thing to hear from the home city of our Secretary of Education, I think. Considering his plans are spreading the country now, I say beware.

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Teachers, principals call CPS budget-balancing chaotic


Students chant "save our schools" Wednesday during a protest near CPS headquarters.
(Jean Lachat/Sun-Times)

Two different worlds.

That's what was described at a Chicago School Board meeting Wednesday, as board officials calmly insisted they would be ready to open schools Sept. 7 with a balanced budget and hundreds of restored jobs -- while teachers and principals complained of chaos in the trenches.

..."One laid-off high school teacher complained that some principals didn't show up at 11th-hour job fairs, so there was no one to interview teachers. Another said she believed no one wanted to hire her because her coveted national certification and experience made her too expensive.

"Certainly those are not our directions,'' Huberman said. "Our directions are to hire the very best teachers possible.''

Meanwhile Wednesday, board members finally approved a $6.5 billion budget that would draw down the system's reserve piggy-bank to zero. However, in response to criticism, officials said they plan to restructure bonds to avoid hitting zero.

What's in the comments is what caught my eye. We have so truly come to the point where public schools and their teachers are really considered the enemy.

This is what is in Arne Duncan's past.

What happens nationwide in education is truly his future...and ours. That is scary.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. It will not get better until it hits true bottom

and I don't know what bottom will look like.

[madfloridian]

2. You are right. How can we tell when it hits bottom?

They are spreading this around the country without even knowing if it works. :shrug:

[madfloridian]

3. Kick for chaos in the trenches,

That's going on in many areas.