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Page 2 of 3 [Editor’s Note: The following material did not make it into our January 2005 issue. We are hoping to begin publishing a number of community calendars once we are firmly back on a regular production schedule and have worked out some details. We hope our readers will purchase these exciting videos and also get the earlier ones covering the Save Senn movement and the protests against Renaissance 2010.] “Report from Labor Beat” Labor Beat covers Daley’s attacks on working people, anti-war movement Labor Beat in the first shows of 2005 concentrated on the conflicts between Mayor Daley (and his appointees) and Chicago’s working people. We didn’t plan it that way, but apparently Daley did. For our January 13,14, 20, and 21 show we had a two-segment show, the first segment of which was the rather large city unions protest across the street from City Hall on Dec. 14. Decrying the fact that city unions (custodians, firefighters, crossing guards, streets and san workers, etc.) have been working without a contract for 18 months, union leaders and selected members tore into Daley. The Labor Beat segment is basically the high points of the speeches edited down to about 15 minutes. The impact comes from the energy and sustained intensity of a very real anger (something with is totally lost in the 15-second bite that the local stations gave to this) combined with genuine, open contempt for Mayor Daley. Dennis Gannon (Chicago Federation of Labor head) leads the “dump Daley” chants. (A sustained dollop of these speeches were also covered on our radio show, Labor Express — Sundays at 7pm on WLUW, 88.7 FM.) The second segment of this show was a speech given by U.S. Labor Against the War co-convenor Gene Bruskin at a recent labor anti-war meeting in London, and offers useful insights into the international campaign to defend Iraqi trade unions under the puppet government and continuing occupation. The January 27, 28, Feb. 3, 4 shows were really variations on the same theme: Daley administration putting it to Chicago’s working families and labor’s opposition to the war...could there be some connection? Anyway, this next show’s title is “Arne Duncan and the Done Deal”, which was the first of two segments. This is an edited down piece about what essentially happened at the Dec. 9 Senn HS/Community “dialogue” with Arne Duncan over the Navy Academy proposal. [See Vol. XXX, No. 1-4 of Substance for coverage of this whole issue.] The core of the segment came when Duncan was interrogated (nailed down) to where he admits basically that he had already made up his mind about how the School Board was going to vote on Dec. 15. So Senn H.S. supporters that night learned that there wasn’t going to be any process of sharing views and democratically arriving at a decision. It was a done deal. One revelation followed upon another as we watch Democrat Congresswoman Jan Shakowski bared her bourgeois fangs and declared that she had “no philosophical objection to having a Navy Academy at Senn High School.” The footage shows the significant development of Shakowski getting booed and hissed by her core demographic as she finished. The second segment of this show was a talk at a recent Chicago Labor Against the War forum given by VVAW national coordinator Bill Davis (who is also president of Machinist Local 701, but not appearing in that capacity). Davis dwelled upon how the military tries unscrupulously to recruit youth. So, overall, we had here a series of events where Chicago’s working families are finding themselves in sharp conflicts with the Democratic Party on a Ward, City, and State/National level around the questions of trade union rights and the growing militarization of society. Are there going to be any developments in political consciousness coming out of all this? That’s the question I’m wondering. For those who missed the shows, here is our CABLECAST AND PURCHASE INFORMATION: • “Chicago City Workers Rally” (Cablecast on CAN TV, cable Channel 19 in Chicago — Thurs., Jan. 13, 9:30 p.m.; Fri., Jan 14, 4:30 p.m.; Thurs., Jan. 20, 9:30 p.m.; Fri., Jan 21, 4:30 p.m.) • “Arne Duncan and the Done Deal” (Cablecast on CAN TV, cable Channel 19 in Chicago — Thurs., Jan. 27, 9:30 p.m.; Fri., Jan 28, 4:30 p.m.; Thurs., Feb. 3, 9:30 p.m.; Fri., Feb. 4, 4:30 p.m.) VHSs of these videos can also be purchased for $20 each by mailing a check to: Labor Beat, 37 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60607 (Please indicate which title your are ordering)” In solidarity, Larry Duncan, Labor Beat
Stewart should fight the real enemy
January 23, 2005 Privatized ‘tutoring’ in Chicago January 17, 2005 Substance: I know that you’ve often been critical of the Chicago press for their coverage of the Chicago “school reform” plans, but you should also note when one of them does something well. On Martin Luther King holiday, the Chicago Sun-Times ran a very detailed piece outlining the pitfalls of privatized tutoring in large districts like Chicago. This is a stunning article. From the lead of the January 17 article by Kate Grossman through the details, we should be paying close attention. I’ll quote the lead, then summarize: “At a time when thousands more Chicago Public Schools students could find themselves working with private tutoring companies to improve in the classroom, those tutors are facing their own troubles, a Chicago Sun-Times examination has found,” Grossman wrote. “Instructor turnover is high in some schools — the private tutors generally work with academically struggling kids after school in classrooms — and the quality of instructors can vary wildly, the newspaper learned. “What’s more, the firms can be hampered by the school system’s notorious bureaucracy, reluctant principals and their own inexperience in running large programs.” What the Sun-Times reported raises the following issues (at least): • Some of the kids are difficult to handle, even in small groups. The feds are insisting on private, for-profit firms (because that was the whole point, after all); • The private firms use scripted programs. We should ask what they are; • If half the kids in Chicago are “eligible” for tutoring (i.e., they come from “failing” schools), maybe the money should be spent on the schools, not on tutoring; • It’s very important to remember that this isn’t extra money; it comes from the current allocation of Title I money. No wonder some principals aren’t happy—they’re victims of theft. Before signing off, I’d like to quote, again, from the January 17 article in case some of your readers (especially those outside of Chicago) haven’t seen it. “At Linne [Elementary] School in the Avondale neighborhood,” Grossman continued, “seven fifth-graders started the new calendar year with a new tutor — their third since October. “During their first January session with the newest instructor, he seemed in over his head. “A reporter in the classroom that day witnessed two kids misbehaving repeatedly. While some students worked on multiplication questions, others had nothing to do. A game of math bingo, where everyone was supposed to participate, saw only a few takers. “‘The tutors are struggling,’ said Mary Kovats, a full-time Linne teacher who tutors in the CPS-run after-school program and has observed the EdSolutions private tutors there. That firm works with about 2,000 kids at 41 schools. “‘These kids have discipline problems, but we live with that every day,’ Kovats said. ‘I know how to handle the kids, I know what they need.’ “In schools where private tutoring is going well — and plenty of examples exist — the instructors often are CPS teachers hired by firms to teach their own students four hours a week. The largest firm, Platform Learning, has 1,100 instructors for 13,500 kids. About 82 percent are CPS teachers or full-time substitutes. [Emphasis added]. I hope someone will investigate and get the logic of this one small part of “No Child Left Behind” straight: Premise: Because the “failing” school district has “failing” teachers, the district can’t provide the tutoring itself, and has to privatize the service; But, the law allows the private companies (which charge at least double what the service would have cost from the district) to hire the same “failing” teachers for its for-profit service (which we assume is not a unionized service); But privatization (a) saves money, (b) improves the service, and (c) helps the kids. You’ve got to be kidding. Susan Harman Principal, Oakland, CA
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