A few weeks ago, the Sociology and Anthropology club watched a movie called Waiting for Superman. This movie followed a handful of students through their elementary journeys, through drop out factories, to the best schools in the neighborhood and even to the lottery at the best of the best schools. Parents hoping for the best education for their children, put their children's names into a lottery, leaving their education to chance.
Last week, we had a guest speaker from the teacher's union, who spoke to us about the issues facing the Chicago Public Schools, and more specifically the Pioneer's Project. This project suggests that elementary schools should lengthen their school day by 90 minutes, in order to provide additional instruction time to the students. It was surprising to learn that we not only have the shortest school day in the country, but the shortest academic year as well. Personally, I do not see a problem with extending the school day; the more education that the students can receive, the better. Children can absorb the most during the first ten years of their lives, so why not give them the opportunity to do so?
Our speaker stated that the teacher's union was asking parents to push their teachers into extending the school day for the benefit of their children. However, he noticed that if the teachers had something to say, the parents almost always supported them, whether it be for or against the extending of the school day. This showed me that it takes much, much more than the board of education to make changes in the school systems. Parents and teachers have to come together to make the best decisions for their children/students.
However, in reading Koval, I noticed something that does not sound like the children's best interests are being kept in mind. He states that in order "to attract producer and financial services, global cities must offer the lifestyle demanded by highly paid, highly skilled workers, and excellent schools are an important element" (p253). To an extent, I agree, excellent schools are definitely an important element to global cities, or any city for that matter. Despite this, I do not agree completely. When put this way, it seems as though the children's best interests are not really being kept in mind. Building "the best school" is simply a marketing tool in order to get wealthy adults into the city, bringing with them more money. However, what will happen to the school systems when the wealthy come to the city - won't the city care less about the schools and more about profit generation. Wait..this sounds familiar...I think it's because that is what is happening now.
Furthermore, as we discussed in class, the decline in the educational structure and the fight to gain a longer school day for the benefit of the students reminded me of Machine Politics. With the Pioneer's Project, $150,000 was promised to the schools, and $1300 was promised to each teacher if their school voted yes to the project. To me, this sounded a bit like the bribes used by the politicians of the democratic machine. We promise teachers and the schools more money, they promised to take care of your parking ticket or give you a job for your vote. I believe that schools should vote yes/no with the best interest of their students in mind, not because they get more money. When money comes into the picture, it becomes distorted and, unfortunately, the best interest of the students will no longer be the priority.
The teacher's union is fighting to keep CPS afloat in the declining system that we have. Students do not deserve this, and I wish more people were aware of what is going on with our children, and I say "our children" because it is our responsibility to ensure them with a chance at every opportunity that has been given to us. If we are not aware, how will we help them become successful later on in life?
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