By Larry Grau, DFER Indiana State Director
I’d originally intended to use this week’s blog post as an opportunity to go into detail about our experience at the Democratic National Convention – a truly great week where we had the privilege of hearing President Obama, former President Clinton and other DFERs share their vision for the future of our country.
The Teachers’ Strike
However, since last week, in the world of education, a very unsettling story has pushed its way to the forefront. I’m talking of course about the ongoing teachers strike in Chicago.
Ironically, among the many enlightening and edifying moments we experienced at the Convention, we also saw firsthand the tendency of many Democrats to rally around certain messages only when they are convenient. And that’s certainly the case here as we bear witness to an unfortunate clash between Chicago Teachers Union and a reformer attempting to improve the city’s public education system – a clash that ultimately hurts children more than anyone else.
Certainly, more stringent teacher evaluations, in addition to other reforms set to go into effect, present a greater challenge and higher set of expectations for teachers, but the issue ultimately boils down to whether we value accountability.
The Effect of The Reforms – in Chicago and Beyond
When the reforms now being protested in Chicago were initially proposed, many of the very people on the picket lines today supported them (when it was convenient). Now that they’re beginning to take effect, reality is setting in for many of Chicago’s public school teachers.
In Indiana, we too are soon to see the effects of reforms we’ve enacted to evolve our educational system to meet the needs of our children. The question we have to ask ourselves – and schools and educators also have to ask – is, are we interested in convenience, or are we more concerned with ensuring quality teachers are preparing our children for the future?
The Big Picture
There’s a misconception that when a teachers’ union isn’t happy, teachers in general aren’t happy. To the contrary, we consistently speak with teachers in favor of bold reform. They want to ensure their students receive the best possible education, and they’re not interested in working alongside anyone who does not share that outlook.
My hope is that more and more teachers, administrators and schools begin to see the big picture, adopt that mindset, and aim to avoid any such conflict in our home state. Our children are too important to leave them sitting on the sidelines.
Larry joined the DFER team at the end of 2010. He has over twenty years of experience in research, policy development and analysis, and evaluation, primarily in the areas of education and youth development. He was formerly the chief education policy advisor to Governor Frank O’Bannon, and served as the Education Finance Analyst for the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee prior to that.