Lessons you learn

Sometimes teachers teach more when they are on strike than they do in the classroom. Well, at minimum there might be a lesson or two coming out of Chicago right now:

“The bottom line is when you look at the facts, what are they really fighting for? Name three things they’re fighting for. They haven’t clearly articulated that to the parents. We’re part of the stakeholders in this too,” said Lee Earle, the father of twin boys who attend CPS schools. “I spent $240 in child care the last two days. I’m not happy about that, and I’m sure most parents can’t afford that. So if the teachers really care, show me how they’re taking care of my children.”

Well. . . two things need to be said here. First, it's not the job of any school district to be "taking care of my children." School and day care are different things. However, this parent is also laboring under the misapprehension that he is somehow a stakeholder in this dispute. He might have a stake in the outcome of this, but he has no stake in the negotiations -- he's not at the table and won't ever be.

Meanwhile, as the strike moves on to its third day, it's clear that public relations isn't necessarily a union strong suit:

Lewis briefly left contract talks to attend the rally outside CPS headquarters, and blasted CPS administrators for blaming teachers for the district’s failed education policies.

“We did not start this fight,” Lewis said to the cheering crowd as she stood on the back of a pickup truck parked on the street outside CPS Headquarters. “The assault on public education started here. It needs to end here.”

Before leaving the rally to go back to the negotiating table, Lewis told the crowd, “I’m going to go back to the silly part of my day. … Y’all continue to have fun.”

Lewis would be Karen Lewis, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union. Apparently the negotiations are silly. Well, I suppose they are.