"Sweet Home Chicago", a popular phrase that should be indicative of comfort and the blissful peace of returning to a place of warmth and familiarity to its residents. Ironically, this summer, with its extraordinarily high violent spree has turned this phrase into no more than a belittling contradiction in reference to "The City of Big Shoulders". The term "sweet home" is now more relateable to the Toni Morrison reference in the award winning book Beloved in which she notes, "...suddenly there was sweet home...It never looked as terrible as it was and it made her wonder if hell was a pretty place too..." (6).
In addition to the bloody summer, The Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Board of Education have been in an embittered battle over the state of Chicago Public School system. While many outsiders believe this stems from recent issues of limited resources and poor teaching, this battle has many layers that are deeply rooted in the educational apartheid that has consumed this country since its inception. The classic case of Brown V. Board of Education scarcely solved a sliver of the educational inequalities that existed and continue to impede this country. The loop holes became sink holes and flourished into our current consciouness as a failing system. The manifestations of these dark, dank empty promises is the modern public school system that we know of today, overun by non-educators, politicians and big business. Segregated schools of the past have remained and developed into pipelline factories for prisons that emulate this very state within these environments. Limited resources, dilapidated buildings, unsanitary conditions led to deserted dreams, hopeless futures and diminished self esteems. All allowed, through a loop hole we call property taxes. The victim: the students. The perpetrator: the teacher? Guilty by association, no inquiry, just assumed guilt that turned into a public massacre of the teaching profession. "Low Standardized Test Scores in Poorest Districts" read headlines throughout urban districts across the country. Leaving only the simplest of minds to concur that teachers are ineffective practitioners that were and are unwilling to provide students with a proper education.
Every teacher will tell you of their student-teaching experiences when they were so full of a tenacity for making a difference in the lives of their students. They all have the same story; lofty dreams and hopes of inspiring young minds to see the world through critical lenses that would subtly reveal its truest nature. The boldest student- teachers had hopes of creating intelligent, engaging lessons that prompted their students to want to rid the world of its' injustices and combat wrongdoing as a type of student Justice League. For some, these philosophical dreams became fruition but for the public school teacher in a disenfranchised urban district, reality smacked her in the face as her lofty dreams of helping to empower a student to inspire a community became demolished by standardized tests, outdated books, no technology, no libraries no air conditioning,impoverished mentalities, dilapidated building structures and a lack of support. Furthermore, she was blamed and shamed for the inherited flaws within the system, she became the public school's "Whipping Boy". Yet still she persevered. She endured, and suffered through a thankless job that barely paid her enough to sustain. In fact, she worked a second job to maintain, to only reinvest her own money back to her students through supplies, rewards, games, field trips and to support those students who didn't have anyone for a buffer but herself.
Her time as come to rise! She is fighting not only for herself and the long withstanding abuse she has endured at the hands of those who only think of the wealthy, the temporary or their own interests but for the injustice that has been imposed upon her students. She never intended to become a millionaire by becoming a teacher or a thousandaire at that. Her only true wish was to inspire change, one student at a time and in return receive respect and compensation that was moderately fair for the blood, sweat and tears she poured into her classroom. Even though she is being "exposed" as a hypocrite for standing up for her rights she remembers the great words of leaders who faced the same cynicism before her. She diligently protests and proudly marches with her head held high!!
Peace to the CTU,
Queen Nika
