Hey Arne: Chicago Schools Branded a Failure by Mayor Emanuel and Brizzard

Even more insulting is that Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis refused to sit on the board to discuss how the extra 90 minutes would be imposed.  Is it too much to ask that she provide a little political cover by making it appear that the teachers were consulted.....


Only then will Chicago students be able to rise to the level of education juggernauts like the Houston Public Schools
 --Last Stand for Children First (satire)

"Chicago should not lead the country by being at the bottom," he (Rahm Emanuel) said, to some cheers.

Emanuel's handpicked Chief Executive Officer for Chicago Public Schools, Jean-Claude Brizard repeated the talking points about the city's public schools that he has been using since his first meeting with the Chicago Board of Education on June 15, 2011. According to Brizard, the public schools of Chicago have become a failure after sixteen years of mayoral control under Mayor Richard M. Daley and his school chiefs (Paul Vallas, from 1995 to 2001; Arne Duncan, from 2001 into 2009; and Ron Huberman, from 2009 to late 2010). In every speech, Brizard lists the various reasons why Chicago's schools are "failing."  

- Substance (Not satire, but could be)

Don't you love the fact that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Superintendent John Claude-Buzzard are trashing the Chicago schools run by Arne for 7 years and his predecessor Paul Vallas, the "pass the lemon" no-nothing Supt who destroyed school systems in Chi, Philly and New Orleans)? And that CTU President Karen Lewis refused that seat at the table that the UFT/AFT leaders so hunger for? Our union would have settled for 89 minutes and sold it as a victory.

One of our favorite master of satire bloggers has been enlisted in the cause.

Extending School Day is The Answer to All Our Problems

Last Stand for Children First has been involved in the education reform movement in Chicago since last winter when we were asked by Mayor elect Rahm Emanuel and business leaders in the Civic Federation to help with their grassroots efforts to fundamentally change education in the city.  This effort came to fruition with the passage of SB7 and now with Mayor Emanuel's attempts to impose a longer school day.

The teachers are being most uncooperative really.  After having their 4% raise voted down because the schools didn't have enough money, we promised to find a way to give them half their raise if they would only work another 327 1/2 hours.  That's a tidy little $3.08 per hour for a beginning teacher.

MORE AT: Last Stand for Children First

Go beyond the satire with the full story at Substance.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Public Schools sponsor Christian breakfast to promote CPS push for longer school day and year in Chicago

Excerpt:

Emanuel has changed his talking points since the mayoral election campaign, when he seemed to draw all of the "facts" he was citing from the movie "Waiting for Superman" and some unverified claims about Chicago's public schools. Prior to the prayer breakfast on August 25, Emanuel had been telling audiences that the average Chicago public school students had "four years" (later reduced in his talking points to "three years") less time in the classroom than a comparable public school student in Houston, Texas.

By August 25, 2011, Emanuel had changed years to "minutes."

Emanuel called on the clerics at the breakfast to issue a "battle cry for our children." He told the group that all over the USA children were in classes for "67,000 minutes per school year..."

Except in Chicago, where Emanuel claims the average public school child only gets "57,000 minutes..."

Emanuel then went through the grades, in the process ignoring the difference between Chicago high schools and elementary schools. He counted down, as if every year from kindergarten through 12th grade represented a "loss" that Chicago children suffered by comparison with the children across the USA. As usual, mayoral press people and others have refused to provide Substance with the studies and other materials that verify Emanuel's forcefully stated claims.

Like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, his ideological counterpart, Chicago's mayor is attacking public worker unions... Public education workers have become the new mayor's scapegoat... Rahm Emanuel continues his two Big Lies about Chicago teachers and school workers during Town Hall Meeting

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