Education is a right

Here's the striking teachers in Chicago:
 
Background, the CTU walked off the job on Monday after negotiations fell through with the Chicago Public School Board. 

Many people in the media are saying that the Teachers are already overpaid and not working hard enough so therefore they are harming students by striking when they really need to work harder to make sure the students learn. (Here is an example in the NYT). 

The fact is that in Chicago, the teachers are, by law, limited to only negotiating their salary.  (Here is a really great article that lays out some of these basic facts.) Therefore the other factors like: number of students in the classroom, the amount of support staff (i.e. Social Workers, Librarians, and School Nurses), the amount of standardized testing, how they are evaluated, etc are non-negotiables. The CTU is on strike over salary because legally they have to be.  However the push towards privatization of PUBLIC schools is what this strike is really about.  Chicago, and many other cities and states, are moving towards a school system where parental "choice" is put above providing a good education for ALL.  Privatization is  damaging to students are educators alike.   Public schools are the place where students who are kicked out of private schools or charter schools go.  They are the place where kids go that have no money or way to buy an education.  This strike is forcing us to ask the question: "Is a good education a right or is it something that you have to earn?" My answer is clear - Education is a right.

When we see Education as a fundamental right for all children we begin to understand that funding the educators and the schools that they work in is a moral imperative.  In CPS there are 160 schools that do not have a library.  Only one quarter of the schools have full time arts and music teachers.  Mayor Emmanuel has appointed a School Board that is more interested the bottom line than in students.  Our Public Sector cannot, and should not, be asked to behave like private, for profit, institutions.  There is no profit in educating students with disabilities. There is no profit in teaching students to think critically and challenge the basic assumptions of our society.  There is no profit in learning how to play the violin or learning how to paint.  There is a societal benefit to making sure that everyone has basic abilities and are able to think for themselves.  When we have good public education we are creating the society in which all things are possible and freedom is truly available.  Yet in Chicago, and other places around the country we are violating rights in the name of profit.

The CTU strike is symbolic of where our country is going.  Are we are country that has totally embraced the lie that private corporations, with a goal of increased profit for the already wealthy, have the answer to our social ills?  Or are we a country that believes that some things, like education, health care, and basic dignity, are more important than monetary value? 

The choice is clear and I have decided, that I, must side with the teachers.  Siding with the teachers is siding with the students.  I am siding with those that do not have the money or the ability to buy their education.  I believe that everyone has the right to an education.