PHOTO/ BILL SIMPSON
Editor’s note: In anticipation of the challenges of the new school year in Chicago, Lew Rosenbaum interviewed Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis for the People’s Tribune. Here is what she told us.
Lew Rosenbaum: What do you think union work means under the changed conditions of today?
Karen Lewis: The major attacks of corporate-style takeovers of the public sphere have emboldened the “bosses” or ruling elites to take as much as they can from workers and that the narrative out there is “You should be happy to have a job” So they will continue to hold that and the neoliberal austerity agenda over workers’ heads. It means focusing on enforcing the contract while engaging members to do much of the internal enforcement through training, support and rigorous demands that reflect the needs of all workers. I believe the union movement has not been able to break through myths of “we only take care of our own” because until recently, they haven’t. The general public sees no value in our work if they don’t get “results”. For educators, that looks like test scores and every child attending a highly selective college. For public service providers, it means everyone looks like a movie star on their driver’s licenses or each addict never succumbs to the temptation of another “fix”. All impossibilities, but it seems as if taxpayers want the impossible for their hard-earned dollars. The conditions of work are much harder as employees are often treated as if they are “at will” instead of under a binding contract. Part and parcel of the problem is that the union movement never bothered to include all workers in their demands for fair treatment at work.
LR: What are the challenges you expect to face in the new school year?
KL: The biggest challenges will be the closing and consolidations of schools next year. There seem to be some “done deals” in the works, but CPS has a tendency to pretend to be transparent while ignoring the concerns of parents and community members on the decisions they make. Another challenge continues to be the budget which has seen massive cuts (approximately $400M over the tenure of Forrest Claypool) and the devastating cuts to Special Education students and their programs, which leave the most vulnerable students and their rights unprotected.
LR: What is your view of what 21st century education should be like?
KL: A truly amazing education would be where students work on their own interests at their own pace and are provided the supports, a culturally relevant curriculum they need which does not skimp on the visual and performing arts, physical education and the opportunity to interrogate the systems of government (through systematic research) that control their lives in a restorative, just place (not a highly militarized environment) that is technically resourced and full of adults who can provide social/emotional supports in addition to academic support. Students would be able to present their competencies based on careful analysis and self-critique of their work. Testing would be limited to teacher created assessments and whatever requirements are used by higher education.
