Rahm Emanuel - "This Is a Strike of Your Making"

Rahm said "this is a strike of choice."I would like to rename this "'This is a Strike of your Making" When people are promised a raise and then have it rescinded they don't forget. And this is what you have on your hands Mr. Mayor.

Rham continued. "This is unnecessary. It's avoidable and our kids don't deserve it." Two Sundays ago there was a large picture on the front of the Sun-times with Rahm saying This is how I got here. It infuriated me, because this is not about Rahm Emanuel this is about the teachers and children of Chicago. This was completely unavoidable when you had a 4% pay raise going and the teachers had waited for it a long time. Now Mr.Mayor you have a 16% pay raise. You and you alone are the reason we have a strike.

Furthermore the paper said the issues that are left are minor. You've missed the point again Mr. Mayor. The teachers in my area say it's not about the money, but they have issues. They are concerned about the teacher's evaluations. And they have a right to be. Some children in Chicago come from some hard homes. Some of these children have no evening meal nor breakfast. School is the only place they get a meal. These same children sometimes receive no encouragement at home to do their homework. Also some children have learning disabilities. Are they going to lose their jobs if a child with a learning disability, or no homework help from parents and has  poor achievement?

You had the entire summer to deal with these questions. Instead you chose to ramrod them through. Did you know Mr Mayor that the teacher's of Chicago supply school paper, pencils and other supplies out of their own pockets.

The teacher's have said to me there are too many things left unsaid and they want more knowledge. They are concerned about class sizes, job security, and room conditions. Why they can't have cost of living raises, more libraries. More social workers to help with issues such as violence, teaching parents to have quiet time at night for homework, and learning problems.

All of this could be solved with one word, communication. You need to talk to your own workers and know what is going on at the ground level

For too long all this has been swept under the carpet and now it has erupted.The Chicago teacher's face some of the greatest challenges of our day. If we don't reach into these homes and try to help, we will continue the path we have. Children who can't make it at school and so they choose other avenues of crime and violence.These are the issues these teacher's face. They are not minor.  These teacher's are some of the most dedicated teacher's I have met. But they need help to get the test scores up. We need to keep these children in school so they have a chance at success in life.

We can't keep sweeping the problems under the carpet or stuff it away in a closet. These are hard homes the children come from. The home is the key, and teacher's and parent's working together. God Bless the Chicago teacher's. You are special people. This time I stand with the teachers.