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Beware of Backfire - Striking Chicago teachers may turn Illinois into Wisconsin.
City Journal ^ | 11 September 2012 | Christian Schneider

Posted on 09/12/2012 12:59:07 PM PDT by neverdem

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1 posted on 09/12/2012 12:59:12 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

It’s already happening. Many folks on my team at work live in the city and have kids in these wretched schools. They are NOT happy with the teachers, many calling it an illegal strike now.


2 posted on 09/12/2012 1:01:29 PM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: neverdem

Most of rural Illinois looks like a ghost-town, with boarded up storefronts, and empty strip malls everywhere.

Unemployment is outrageous, and the Democrats raised income taxes to pay for Gub’ment pensions.

Now, the highest paid teachers in America are demanding a 30% pay increase??

I cannot see how this wouldn’t upset the sheeple. But then, history shows us they vote however the Magic Glowing Box in the living room tells them to.


3 posted on 09/12/2012 1:02:36 PM PDT by tcrlaf (Election 2012: THE RAPTURE OF THE DEMOCRATS)
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To: neverdem

Let’s see... $76,000 + 25,000 in health ins, pension and other benefits for 180 days per year work.

180/5= 36 weeks

$101,000 / 36 weeks = $2,805.55 per week

$2,805.55 per week X 52 weeks = $145,889.60 per year equivalent


4 posted on 09/12/2012 1:06:27 PM PDT by tired&retired
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To: usconservative

“..Many folks on my team at work live in the city and have kids in these wretched schools. They are NOT happy with the teachers, many calling it an illegal strike now...”

:::::::::::::::::

And that pansy thug of a mayor of Chicago is just pandering to the extortion of the teachers union. A good crooked DemoRat, he would not dare confront the unions. And where is his ex-boss? Probably denying the strike is even happening.


5 posted on 09/12/2012 1:06:42 PM PDT by EagleUSA
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To: DMZFrank; endthematrix; Chgogal; NotJustAnotherPrettyFace; Lawgvr1955; Petruchio; stylin19a; ...

In a way, I feel sorry for the CTU. The lousy performance of the students is a reflection of societal and cultural decay.

But with the Great Recession still going strong, the CTU is on the wrong end of a losing argument, IMHO.


6 posted on 09/12/2012 1:08:36 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi min oi)
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To: neverdem

Don’t count on it. Rahmbo will back down.


7 posted on 09/12/2012 1:12:17 PM PDT by TJ Jackson
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To: tired&retired

“Let’s see... $76,000 + 25,000 in health ins, pension and other benefits for 180 days per year work.

180/5= 36 weeks

$101,000 / 36 weeks = $2,805.55 per week

$2,805.55 per week X 52 weeks = $145,889.60 per year equivalent”

and, mind you, that evil Rahm wants to extend the workday from 6hrs, 45minutes, to (GASP!!) SEVEN HOURS PER DAY!


8 posted on 09/12/2012 1:21:32 PM PDT by tcrlaf (Election 2012: THE RAPTURE OF THE DEMOCRATS)
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To: tired&retired

They only work a 5 1/2 hour day too not counting lunch and breaks.


9 posted on 09/12/2012 1:26:26 PM PDT by Kozak (The means of defence again.t foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home JM)
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To: neverdem

350,000 students———25,000 teachers=

1 teacher for 14 kids ratio.

I went to school where the classes held 35-40 kids. We did just fine. Was on the Honor Roll most of high school.


10 posted on 09/12/2012 1:31:44 PM PDT by ridesthemiles
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To: EagleUSA

You got Rahm “The Wonder Horse” wrong. He PROVOKED this strike with demands for another hour (16% longer day).

BTW 76 Gs is not a huge salary and is less than most of the suburban teachers make. Chicago is expensive to live in.

Lower Charter School salaries reflect younger teachers.

Now Rahm “The Wonder Horse” is floating the idea of MORE Charter schools (non-union) to try and bring the union to sanity.

Walker has shown the way and Rahm “The Wonder Horse” has determined that the unions must be confronted even the idiot in Springfield has realized this.


11 posted on 09/12/2012 1:33:14 PM PDT by arrogantsob (The Disaster MUST Go. Sarah herself supports Romney.)
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To: neverdem
I agree with you. My sister and I went to CPSs. In our days we still had teachers from WW1 (yes the were OLD and scary) and WW2. They were great teachers. We learned about US history backwards and forwards through the Depression. We learned about our Constitution backwards and forwards. They sounded just like Mark Levin.

My sis and I are four years apart. The kids in my class all had two parents. More than half the kids in my sis’ classes were divorced. Our culture changed overnight.

My sister's kids are in Florida. The Public School System, like in most places, leave much to be desired. They moved into a neighborhood with a great K through 6th grade school. The middle school was horrid. My niece did well on national tests. Because she did so well, she placed out of all English classes. IOW, no more English.....she was only 12 years old!!!! They took out both kids and sent them to a very good and unbelievably expensive private grade and high school. My BIL was laid off and they are barely pulling through....

I don't know what to say anymore.

12 posted on 09/12/2012 1:36:46 PM PDT by Chgogal (WSJ, Coulter, Kristol, Krauthammer, Rove et al., STFU. TY)
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To: tired&retired

While you have your calculator out, run these numbers: 350,000 students divided by 25,000 teachers on strike, and that’s the average class size.


13 posted on 09/12/2012 1:43:08 PM PDT by Cyber Liberty (Obama considers the Third World morally superior to the United States.)
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To: tcrlaf

and there lies the disconnect with the rest of us. a short day for me is 10 hours.

Most people it’s 8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week year round for as much as HALF what these “teachers” make.

To bad Chicago does not have a Reagan as mayor. He’d fire the whole lot of them like the air traffic controllers.


14 posted on 09/12/2012 1:44:54 PM PDT by cableguymn
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To: neverdem

At some point, free market or not, someone’s going to figure out 9 out if 10 teachers have absolutely no qualifications, and all those masters degrees don’t amount to a hill of beans. Does anyone else remember honors announcements at college graduation? It was a trickle in math and hard science, a steady stream for the humanities and social sciences, and a flood for business school. Where was education? For me, at least, nowhere. Because they were a school unto themselves. Most likely because however corrupt higher education has become they’d still blanch at pretending even business school is comparable to education school. And this at a university that used to be a “normal college,” or school for teachers.

I, who’ve had nothing to do with school since taking a bachelor’s, could teach a kid reading, writing, and the times tables in my spare time, if I really wanted to. It’s not that hard. There’s absolutely no reason you have to pay as much as they do, especially given the results. Nuns used to do it for free and better.

Physics, chemistry, calculus, that’s different. Pay them more. But ABCs and math up to algebra could almost be taught for minimum wage.


15 posted on 09/12/2012 1:45:10 PM PDT by Tublecane
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To: tcrlaf

Good teachers like my late wife did not stop working after leaving her classroom. She worked a couple of hours every night and a lot on the weekends. Taxpayers got their money worth from her and there are lots of devoted teachers like her.

Teachers worked 6 hours per day and Rahm’s unilateral extension of the workday by an hour is a 16.7% increase in the work day. He provoked this strike for his own political reasons.

Teachers get great health benefits but their pensions are not particularly generous.

Anyone who has to deal with the Chicago pupils (75% of Blacks out of wedlock, gang infestation, worshippers of Evil) and/or their insane parents gets burned out VERY fast. I would not be able to do their job for 150Gs a year.


16 posted on 09/12/2012 1:45:10 PM PDT by arrogantsob (The Disaster MUST Go. Sarah herself supports Romney.)
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To: ridesthemiles
Ditto
17 posted on 09/12/2012 1:48:43 PM PDT by Chgogal (WSJ, Coulter, Kristol, Krauthammer, Rove et al., STFU. TY)
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To: neverdem

Surely you jest! It would be impossible for Illinois to make the changes Wisconsin did for several reasons. First, the governor is bought and paid for by unions and special interests. Second, the number of dead people voting in Chicago is directly related to the number of votes necessary to approve or disapprove any initiative or elect or un-elect any politician that would try something like what Wisconsin did. Third, the majority of the people of Illinois have the progressive illness that renders them delusional and completely irrational.


18 posted on 09/12/2012 1:49:32 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet (Skittle pooping unicorns are more common than progressives with honor & integrity.)
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To: neverdem

Impossible! Nothing could turn wretched, dirty, crowded, corrupt Chicago into Wisconsin!


19 posted on 09/12/2012 1:50:55 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic (Joe Biden is reported to be seeking asylum in a foreign country so he does not have to debate Ryan.)
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To: arrogantsob

“76 Gs is not a huge salary”

How does it compare to the Median income for Chicago? Probably at least 30 grand more. And that’s not including benefits, nor factoring in hours worked per day and the tact that they’re off for three months a year.

I realize the entire point of unions and government monopolies is not to think about it, but what would these teachers make if they had to compete with everyone else in the job market and schools had to compete with every other expenditure? Not this much.


20 posted on 09/12/2012 1:52:54 PM PDT by Tublecane
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