What a drag it is getting old... Chicago is trying to destroy the careers of veteran teachers to save money
The Rolling Stones weren’t kidding when they said, “What a drag it is getting old…” and if you’re an older, tenured teacher in Chicago Public Schools, that sentiment couldn’t be truer. When I define older, I mean seasoned, like a pot roast, full of flavor, emitting tantalizing aromas (and ideas) that evoke warm memories that stimulate the senses, inviting further investigation. When CPS defines older, its definition means overpaid, averse to new ideas, unable to hold leadership positions (translate=unwilling to give tacit approval to administration’s policies), and to further clarify, knows too much.
Although she has been the so-called "Chief Human Capital Officer" of Chicago Public Schools for less than one year and came to CPS with no experience in education or educational management, Alicia Winckler, who was Ron Huberman's choice for the $200,000 per year job, had the qualifications the corporate rulers of Chicago wanted. Prior to coming to CPS, Winckler had worked for Sears Holdings, where she was responsible for "synergizing" thousands of long-term workers from K-Mart Stores when Sears bought K-Mart. Like many of her corporate counterparts, Winckler prides herself on cutting people like they were mere numbers on a spreadsheet, and is rewarded for it. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.First of all, to look at the monetary aspect of the situation, if CPS could eliminate one older, tenured teacher making $75,000 or more, it could effectively hire two new teachers at half the cost. It’s a deal, isn’t? A twofer. However, CPS can’t just fire a tenured teacher to get that benefit (although recent events indicate it did and fortunately the court ruled they couldn’t); the Board must take steps to eliminate that teacher from the system using what is commonly known as progressive discipline. That insidious progressive discipline process can begin with a simple change in what classes the teacher teaches. For example, a senior teacher who previously taught Advanced Placement classes, might be called into the principal’s office, and told he/she will not be teaching those classes the next school year. When the teacher questions why, the answer is the ubiquitous, “We’re moving in a different direction.”
From that point on there is a systematic attack upon that teacher in terms of demotion from leadership positions, relationships with other staff members, exchanges with students — in or out of the classroom, and following school protocol in regard to classroom management. That "classroom management" is the Catch 22 wherein the “knows too much” scenario evolves. If a school’s positive behavior strategies, reminiscent of the thankfully defunct self-esteem movement, are the overwhelming focus of the “disciplinary aspect” of a school, any teacher with a memory of why the self-esteem movement didn’t work in the first place, or having knowledge of any program involving student action motivated by extrinsic rewards, that teacher’s head is on the proverbial chopping block. And God forbid, should they have their own ideas of effective classroom management!
The Chicago Board of Education could not have gotten away with the ruthless purge of veteran teachers without the collaboration of officials of the Chicago Teachers Union under former Union President Marilyn Stewart. Above (left), Marc Wigler ran the CTU "Fresh Start" program for Stewart (at a salary well over $120,000 per year). Wigler's work included testifying at Board of Education termination hearings against fellow union members, like the "Wells Four." Substance photo taken at the October 29, 2010 LEAD dinner by Sharon Schmidt.In the past nine weeks of this school year, I have been called into my principal’s office ten times, the first after the fourth day of school, and subsequently nine other times, including two observations, and told that my interactions with my students and my classroom management techniques, are antagonistic, resistant and sarcastic.
I was also directed to post positive behavior signage in my classroom, teach each aspect of the building’s positive behavior strategies, to the exclusion of any real classroom instruction, in five class periods, over four days, for a total of 20 hours of lost instructional time, and “dialogue” with my students about how they think I should be acting in my classroom.
Please understand that I am well known among my colleagues for having the best classroom management in my building. I am consistent, structured, and realistic. I do not reward students for doing what they are supposed to do; I only reward them when they do something extraordinary — which to me is going beyond what is expected of them.
But I digress. The classroom management issue is predicated on the idea that students can go to an administrator, tell his/her tale of woe, and “get the teacher in trouble,” a quote I’ve gleaned from my students who have been the recipients of discipline referrals from me. The fact that administrators have used students in their battles with older teachers really troubles me and reminds me of Orwell’s 1984, in which the Parsons children spied on their parents, reporting what Oceania’s ministries would consider “against the Party.” In the case of CPS, what some administrators are doing is tantamount to manipulating children to work for them, as in 1984; to help them rid the schools of teachers who know too much.
Another case of administrative subterfuge is removing older teachers from leadership positions in a building. With the exception of two teachers in my building, for whom teaching is a change of profession, the other “leadership” positions were given to teachers 35 years old or younger, who, although they may be tenured, lack seniority, and are therefore more reluctant to oppose administrative policies, despite the apparent vindictiveness or partiality of those policies. Along with that approach is the flagrant show of favoritism, allowing some teachers the luxury of four or more free periods to do work or attend meetings of an administrative nature — with or without a Type 75 — teaching only three or four periods a day.
In addition, there is another insidious practice of denigrating older teachers in front of students, thwarting the teacher’s authority in the classroom. For example, I wrote a discipline referral on a student whose parents I phoned twice, had a conference with the parent, student, and the principal, and despite all those attempts, was forced to write another referral, requesting a second conference be held with the parent. I requested that the student not be returned to class until the conference was held (see 30-1 of the contract), and was told by my principal, with the student in tow, that I had to allow the student into my classroom. I mentioned the clause in the contract and the principal said, “We can discuss that later.”
There are several older teachers in my building who have been unduly scrutinized by administration. One of the teachers has almost four decades of experience and a stellar record of outstanding job performance. Another has been harassed by the department chair for failure to produce documents that meet certain criteria, without training to provide the information or background for that criterion. Other older teachers have been moved from classrooms they’ve traditionally taught in so they can be moved to classrooms in closer proximity to administrative offices to provide easy access for students to curry favor with administrators when the students themselves have failed to fulfill classroom expectations. Teachers with experience, excellent classroom management, and a high student success rate, are now being cherry-picked by administrators for disciplinary action.
As we all know, there are some teachers, despite years of experience, who do not demonstrate the epitome of a superior teacher and could use some constructive, peer-influenced consideration; however, the majority of senior teachers—in years and experience—do an excellent job of demonstrating what quality teaching looks like.
We must use our connections and support one another. We must not allow CPS officials, Chief Academic Officers and their ilk, or school administrators, to remove us from our teaching positions without a fight. Use your union delegates. Call your field representatives. Never give up fighting for your rights. It is said that with age comes wisdom and now is the time to prove that old adage.
Comments:
By: No CAO with integrity would want all this testing
testing to death
and interference with instruction in their own schools, esp. if they were back as principals in CPS. So what gives? Are they that afraid? Are they pawns in the objective to have scores decrease so that more charters can open? Yet, they cut their own throats with this strategy. I have heard Daley comment about the ridiculousness of all this testing. What gives?
By: chgotchr
testing will end when the veterans are gone
Testing is not an end. Testing is a means to many ends. When the last tenured teacher is replaced by a 22 year old history major from Michigan (or Ohio, or wherever) then testing will magically end because there is no way that the teach for awhile kids or new teachers fresh out of teaching programs can move kids. Getting rid of older, more expensive, teachers simply reinforces the idea that the goal is cheaper teachers not better educated children.
By: To the Author of this article
Teacher
Did you work at Prescott Elementary school between 2008 and 2010? You described it perfectly!! What kills me is all these teachers who side with the administration...who do they think will side with them when the tides turn and they're in the cross-hairs? The ONLY way for teachers to have any voice left in CPS is if we stand together and fight for the rights of all teachers. It is amazing how many blind eyes and deaf ears were in that building as others were being railroaded out the door simply because we had a principal with a chip on his shoulder who had gotten fired from his last school! But he snowed the LSC and of course the old veteran teachers were just the disgruntled, dinosaurs in the building who's time had come for extinction!
We have to be involved in the new contract in 2012 and demand our rights back! I applaud you and this honest article you have written! Thank you for standing up for all of us!
By: Sarah
who's next
First they labeled schools as 'failing.' I was told not to take it personally.
Then they 'reconstituted failing schools (over 10 years ago). They fired all the teachers. I joined with Debbie Lynch and other PACT members and protested.
Then they 'closed and turned around failing schools' and fired all teachers and staff. Many were relieved it wasn't them.
Then they fired seasoned teachers and are purging the system of experience and wisdom.
Next they're coming for...
unless teachers, staff, parents, etc pull together and say ENOUGH!
By: Jean Schwab
Tenured teachers
This happened at Coonley too.I saw teachers that were superior teachers leave without so much as a good-bye(some just disappeared). It was sad. Some of them had helped run the school- writing grants, helping the previous Principal(Mr. Ruyak)do the paper work and leg work for the practically new building that Coonley now has and no one realizes that it was the older teachers and Principal that actually did the work to get these new projects started- it was their dream. The new elevator at Coonley was gotten because a disabled teacher,Jill Weil, filed a complaint with the Americans with Disabilities Act and won. Unfortuantely, she became too ill and had to go on leave before Coonley got the elevator but is pleased that the students and staff with disabilities can now have some help. It is a shame - a crying shame.
Barbara-You discribed the process very well. The first step is to place the teacher in a position that is very different from their previous assignments. This could be an exciting adventure for a teacher except the teacher is not given any support what-so-ever and as you say, spends too much time defending themselves. The teacher that in previous years was looked up to is now demonized - so sad. When Mrs. Kartheiser tried to "help" me, I noticed that most of the "help" was not what my students needed and took away from actvities that would be more valuable to them. The teachable moment was gone. Everything had to be planned a week in advamce.
By: Jean Schwab
Names
You probably noticed that I mentioned the school and the Principal that I taught at. I did that because I no longer teach at the school I had taught and loved for at least 19 years. Mrs. Kartheiser also must be accountable for her actions at Coonley for her 6-years there. During that time most of the tenured teachers left. As she once stated,"Parents don't want their children taught by the same teacher that taught them." Another famous quote by Mrs. Kartheiser, said with such a happy voice,was "Why, I could purchase two good teachers with the salary of one older tenured teacher." I think these principals need to be made known and accountable.
By: Lyn Walden
Down in Dixie Too
I am a "seasoned" teacher from Atlanta, but you could well have written about about my life this past past few months. My principal put every student with a severe behavior problem in my room he could possibly squeeze in, and then he threw in a couple of kids with autism, one with severe Tourette's, two with moderate mental impairments, and one with a severe seizure disorder on top of my regular caseload.Of course, I cannot handle them. Next he ordered the administrative team to ignore my calls for help and throw away my discipline referrals, even the the formal ones written expressly to him. Yes, he took all my leadership positions away from me too. He even had one of his flunkies break into my room and take my copies of the discipline referrals. (Yes, I have another set at home.) Exactly who does he think is going to train these new teachers? Who is going to mollify the angry parents he is leaving in his wake? Are these foolish administrators thinking at all? Yes, I am suing the district. They have violated my civil rights by leaving me in an unsafe environment after I notified them of such. My life and the lives of my students are in danger, and I have the evidence at home to prove just that. Just because I am in my sixties doe not make me senile.
By: Jason Glenn
Teachers should Strike from thier own union.
It seems that the Chicago Teachers Union is not doing what they are elected and paid to do. Maybe teachers should refuse to pay dues until the Union starts doing what they are suppose to do HELP TEACHERS FROM ABUSES! What good is a Union that seems to be afraid of those they are suppose to be making afraid? Filing a law suit every now and then with all that is going on in CPS is like telling criminals if they don't stop you will arrest them.
By: adi
100% true
I see the same things in my school, and unfortunately it has been working in CPS's favor so far, but I hope that the new CTU leadership would stop this dirty tricks.
Great article.