Week Three: CTU Strike

This week has been exciting, nerve-wrecking, interesting and emotionally draining as the Chicago Teacher's Union called a strike for the first time in twenty-five years. While I have been longing to be back in the classroom with my students, I feel fortunate to have gained much experience and knowledge from keeping up-to-date with the latest happenings by watching the news, reading the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune. I truly believe the Chicago Teacher's Union has set the tone for many of the large urban districts in the nation regarding the needs for the teachers and the students: increased pay (with increasing school hours), fair evaluations, textbooks on the first day, air conditioning, rehiring preferences, etc. Not only are these negotiations important for current teachers of Chicago Public Schools, but also for myself as an educator seeking employment in Chicago after internship year. While Chicago Public Schools is the first to tackle these issues, I truly believe the articles the Chicago Teacher's Union has brought to rise will continue to be haggled in many districts across the nation.

Before the strike, my teacher was telling me about all the negotiations that had to be made. She is one of the union representatives for our school, and played a large part in organizing and supporting the strike. Although the union did not get the credit it deserved from the media during the strike, I am thankful for the negotiations that have been made between the mayor and the Chicago Teachers Union. I am excited to get back to school tomorrow and see my third graders! With over a week off, I anticipate having to re-teach lessons and go over routines, procedures, and content again. I'm anxious and ready to begin guided lead teaching, where I can put all my knowledge from the teacher education courses into action. While this was a very exciting time in Chicago, looking back on this experience I can definitely see myself using the knowledge from this in my future endeavors- whether it's administration or obtaining my first job.