TEACHING WHILE BLACK

                         Teaching While Black

I spoke at the BOE , Board of Education Meeting May 23, 2011. I was the last speaker and the program will air Saturday May 26, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.. channel 21 CAN TV. We have an influx of teachers that were once superior and excellent who are now being given E-3s, unsatisfactory ratings. Of course over 75% are in African American communities. I requested a FOIA into the actual numbers from CPS in terms of a breakdown by age, race, tenure and seniority and gender. Of course they'll give me some bogas information and not the accurate information. However, we have other sources of information gathering.

I also talked about the situation at CVS. CVCA , where teachers at that school worked under the leadership of one of our most dynamic principals in South Shore Doug Maclin. Upon his arrival four months into the school year, the school was in chaos because of the previous administrator who bullied and harassed teachers. Upon his removal, the teachers were motivated and inspired by the new leadership so they pulled together and literally lifted the school out of the dismal state it was in. The principal was recognized for his accomplishments but 80% of the teachers will be fired. Many will go home with unsatisfactory rating s that will end their professional careers. Thanks for all the hard work teachers!

In addition, schools like Julian High School, where teachers who were once superior and excellent are now being given unsatisfactory, E-3 ratings by an interim principal, once fired by CPS are just another example of the injustice and inequity that permeates the system.  Principals, many of them African American schools are encouraged and applauded as they pass out unsatisfactory ratings to young teachers in their early thirties virtually destroying their careers. In the community, we call this a “Willie Lynch” styled approach used by corporate America. Having another Black used as a “whipping boy” to brutalize those who were chosen arbitrarily for punishment.

 Therefore,   I am totally convinced that there will be no justice for teachers who work at CPS. Because of the privatization model being force upon the public sector, we know that traditionally private companies have seen minority workers as inferior workers and systems where African Americans in particular flourished under their own leadership have found now that workers once rated superior and excellent are now “unsatisfactory”. This rating is basically subjective and has no real quantitative or measurable substance. Therefore union grievances are generally lost because of the vague and unverifiable nature of the charge. Basically, we could say that these teachers were caught “Teaching While Black”.

The result of this exercise in institutional racism, the African American teaching force will have lost 80% of it's teaching force by the end of  2012. A reminder that the job of racial cleansing and purging of minorities  was earmarked to be finished by  the end of  Renaissance   2010 for elementary schools and 2012 for high schools.  Since the late 90's when Jackie Vaughn was president, there were almost 17,000 African American teachers now we have about 4,630 with 16 schools closing in the African American community this year. Also of the 100 schools closed 97 are in our community. Basically what that says is , Black people you just don’t measure up!  Now that REN 2010 is officially over, we are a deaths door.

In Chicago, the goal of racial cleansing has gotten off to a great start with the implementation of the Chicago model as the national model for school reform across the nation, we can look forward to this happening in every urban school district across the country. Unfortunately no one cares. There hasn't been a single significant campaign to defend the rights of these teachers by their unions or anyone else. The teachers inability to solidify and organize themselves has been the greatest weapon sued against them. In Illinois legislation called Senate Bill 7 , targeted Chicago teachers for  an anti-large urban school district legislative initiative that stripped teachers of seniority and forced a longer unfunded school day with no significant compensation for teachers in Chicago. This bill was signed with the all Illinois unions sitting at the table. That includes the IEA, (Illinois Education Association), IFT , Illinois federation of Teachers and the CTU, Chicago Teachers Union. The impact of this legislation will further weaken the public school infrastructure and strengthen the traditionally racially biased corporate takeover of public education.  

The impact of the corporate takeover of public education is particularaly damaging to African Americans because of the important role that educators have played in the upward mobility of our people. The stripping away of these role models, moving us back 100 years when our children and people were used as merchandise for corporate America, will have long reaching implications that will erode and stagnate our social, psychological and economic progress for generations to come.