|
12 September 2012 By Stephen
Lendman September 12 marked day 3 of
Chicago's teacher strike. At stake is the future of
public education in the city and perhaps the country. This battle is too important to
lose. It's too early to tell what's coming. Teachers
are resolved. Parents and students support them. Union officials in Chicago and
across America are suspect. They often cave when they
should resist. They mostly look out for their own
interests. Chicago teachers may end up alone
in this fight. Hopefully they understand and won't
yield no matter what union officials decide. Public
education and futures for Chicago kids are on the
line. As expected, media scoundrels
invert truth and back the wrong side. A New York Times
editorial headlined "Chicago Teachers' Folly,"
saying: Teacher strikes aren't ever a
good idea, said The Times. Children and families are
harmed. This one "seems particularly senseless because
it is partly a product of a personality clash between
the blunt mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and the tough Chicago
Teachers Union president, Karen Lewis." "Beyond that, the strike is based
on union discontent with sensible policy changes -
including the teacher evaluation system required by
Illinois law - that are increasingly popular across
the country and are unlikely to be rolled back, no
matter how long the union stays out." Fact Check As usual, The Times is
pro-corporate, neoliberal, anti-labor, anti-public
education, and dead wrong. At issue is education's
future, not dueling personalities. Saving what's too important to
lose won't be easy. It remains to be seen whether
Chicago battle lines will hold. Thousands of Chicago
kids and perhaps millions across America depend on
it. At stake is a societal bedrock.
Corrupt politicians and corporate profiteers want it
commodified into another business profit center. Media
scoundrels support them. Educating kids doesn't
matter. Bottom line priorities come first. Mayor Rahm Emanuel represents the
worst of reprehensible governance. He's
unapologetically pro-corporate, neoliberal and
hardline. He's indifferent about human need and
welfare. His policies are neanderthal and
destructive. He's a consummate scoundrel. He's a
dagger pointed at Chicago's soul. He's a perfect
corporate frontman. He's for government of, by, and
for super-rich elites like himself. He wants teachers and other
public workers hung out to dry. He wants kids deprived
of futures. He wants everything corporate profiteers
asked for given them. Chicago's soul is up for sale.
So is America's. The New York Times and other
media scoundrels endorse what's wrong and harmful. Its
editorial ignores what's most important. Public
education's future isn't mentioned once. Nor is the
need for good schools that teach. It claims a vital strike isn't
necessary. It's fundamental. It's like breathing out
and breathing in. Oxygen sustains life. Education the
way it should be assures futures. Taking away either
is fatal. On September 9, The Times
headlined "With No Contract by Deadline in Chicago,
Teachers Will Strike." It claimed Emanuel promised
"improvement of public schools as one of his top
priorities." It quoted him saying he made teachers an
offer too good to refuse. The strike is "totally
unnecessary," he said. It's "avoidable and our kids do
not deserve this." It's "a strike of choice." Instead of covering both sides
fairly, The Times featured Emanuel's. Its framing
ignored what's most important. It misstated issues it
discussed. It omitted saying Emanuel wants
teachers working longer for less. They're forced to
sacrifice learning by teaching to the test. Their job
status depends on doing what's wrong. Collective bargaining itself is
on the line. Surrender to what Emanuel wants and it's
gone. So is public education's future and that of
thousands of Chicago kids depending on it. Emanuel doesn't care. His kids
attend private school. He can afford it. Most Chicago
parents struggling to get by can't. One parent said
"he's not going to let anything get in his way." He's right about a ruthless
politician allied with corporate crooks at the expense
of parents and kids they don't give a damn about. Substance News editor George
Schmidt took dead aim at The Times. He said its
version of reality mirrors Emanuel's. Its coverage "miss(es)
the historical context." Emanuel cancelled the final year
of an earlier negotiated contract. Doing so "cheated
teachers and other union workers out of roughly $100
million." He fraudulently claimed Chicago is broke and
can't afford it. At the same time, he's diverting city
resources to corporate profiteers. For months, he deployed a cadre
of "paid preachers, paid protesters, and Astroturf
supports like Stand for Children and Advance
Illinois." They sold his snake oil. In January 2012, his scheme
collapsed. Turning points arrived mid-winter. He
"decreed" that "failing schools" would close. He
followed through despite widespread angry protests. During contract negotiations, his
appointed school board "ignored the context again."
They voted to close schools instead of addressing
what's wrong and keeping them open. They agreed to
bolster failing charter ones. They're about bottom
line priorities, not learning and teaching. "Many are guilty of major fraud."
The Times ignored this. Instead of full disclosure, it
featured coverup. It supports Emanuel's position. It
marginalizes teachers, students, families, and bedrock
public education. On September 12, Schmidt
discussed school board hardball tactics. The Times
again ignored it. Board of Education president David
Vitale cut striking teachers "off major email and
other communications places." It reflects city union busting
efforts and Emanuel's war on public education. Vitale is a former corporate
boss. Among other positions, he was president and CEO
of the Chicago Board of Trade, vice chairman of Bank
One, executive vice president and vice chairman of
First Chicago Corp, and held top positions at the
First National Bank of Chicago. His background reflects financial
mismanagement and fraud. Emanuel chose him to swindle
Chicago teachers, parents and kids like investors. Chicago Public Schools (CPS)
head, Jean-Claude Brizard, earlier served as
Rochester, NY school superintendent. His record was
practically diabolic. Around 95% of teachers deplored
him. He was named in two federal lawsuits. They
alleged improper handling of budget cuts and school
closures. Earlier, he attended the
notorious Superintendents' Academy of the Broad Center
for the Management of School Systems. Corporate
predator Eli Broad founded it to train administrators
on restructuring and privatizing public education at
the expense of teaching and educating kids. Emanuel hired him to replicate
what he did in Rochester. Elizabeth Swanson serves as
deputy CPS chief of staff. Formerly she was
billionaire Penny Pritzker's Traubert Family
Foundation executive director. It advocates merit pay, school
privatizations, union busting, and other regressive
education policies. Wrecking public education is
policy. Emanuel prioritizes it. So does his team. They
plan open-ended conversion of public schools to
charter or for-profit ones. They want them run by marketplace
rules. They link teacher pay to student achievement.
It's determined by standardized tests that measure
rote memory, not real learning or preparation for
higher education. They're destroying unions and
teacher benefits. They empowered bureaucrats over
parents to decide what's best for their children. They
created a two-tiered, class and income-based system.
It favors affluent communities over poor ones. They want inner city kids
deprived of real education and future prospects. They
put public education on the chopping block for
elimination. The Times and other media
scoundrels ignore what's most important to report and
explain. The Washington Post matches its anti-populist
agenda. On September 10, its editorial
headlined "Chicago teachers resisting much needed
education reforms." A litany of inverted truths and
lies followed. Union officials are called hardline.
Emanuel is portrayed favorably. His agenda is right,
said the Post. So is Obama's destructive Race to the
Top, it claims. His "administration championed
reforms" Chicago union officials are fighting. They're
trying to "preserve" a "status quo" they should
oppose. The Post, Times, and other media
scoundrels have things backwards. They support
corporate bottom line priorities. They want public
education made another profit center. They want unions busted. They
want millions of kids denied futures. They want
America made less livable than now. They support an
agenda demanding condemnation. Chicago teachers, parents and
students are battling for the soul of Chicago and
America. Hopefully they'll stay committed, yield
nothing, give Emanuel the fight of his life, go to the
wall for what's right, and hold fast for as long as it
takes to win. The stakes are to vital to accept
less. Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is
titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit his
blog site at
sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge
discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio
Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour |
Add Comments