Chicago Teacher's Union Seven Day Strike Finally Over

      Over 400,000 Chicago kids were stuck at home as teachers from across the city went on strike for the first time in 25 years. With 90% of kids living below the poverty line, it is important to have a safe place to go during the day. In the past decade schools have cut down on arts, physical education, music, and libraries and have ignored increasing class sizes and and vanishing social workers and full-time nurses.

     To understand the strike we need to look at and examine what the union proposed.  let's start with the average school day: the union proposed that the school day and length of the school year should be longer. Also, Teachers proposed that they should not be evaluated so highly on how their students do on standardized tests, whereas,  they need to be evaluated on a more personal level. Next, instead of closing struggling schools that are in dire need of repair, fix them and give them so tender, love and care. Finally, teachers need more respect; especially the ones working in rough neighborhoods and difficult environments. To read more about the strike, click here. 

     Although the strike was much needed for the teacher's sake, we need to remember that for seven days straight when kids should be in school, had to stay at home. When we go back to look at the 90% poverty rate, most likely many parents need to go to work to provide an income for their struggling families. What did the parents do for seven days when they should be working while there kids stayed home from school? Do they deserve some kind of compensation for this extra week of "summer"? 

       This strike is a good reminder to people in the US, that when you think you are alone, you're not. If many people come together and fight for what they believe is right, things can change and become better as exemplified in the strike. Do you think the strike was a necessary thing that the teacher's did? If not, do you think they should have done nothing at all?