Trendy Tuesday

         Today’s topic in Trendy Tuesday is the teacher strike in Chicago.  I am all for people receiving the benefits they deserve; however, not at the expense of our children.  It’s hard to make a judgment because we do not know all the facts associated with this case.  We are limited to what the news tells us.  As a teacher, I sympathize with the teachers in Chicago.  They deserve to have a say in their district and the decisions being made.  One of the complaints the teachers have is their evaluations may be tied to student growth.  Is that such a bad thing?  I don’t think so.  For those of us who teach in Tennessee, we are used to this.  This past year, Tennessee implemented a new evaluation system.  Fifty percent of our evaluations are based on classroom observations, thirty-five percent is based on student growth, and fifteen percent is based on student achievement.  Maybe I don’t think like everyone else, but I think teachers should be held accountable for how their students grow.  No one is saying the students have to grow to proficiency levels, they just need to make some growth over the course of the school year.  As teachers, isn’t that what we want? We’ve all had students who we knew would probably not be considered proficient on the state test; however, we were excited because we watched that student make academic improvements.  For me, that’s the best feeling in the world.  The teachers in Chicago have every right to strike in order to have their rights protected.  For that courage, I applaud them.  If you haven’t heard yet, the Chicago teachers’ union has voted to accept the terms of the negotiations and will return to work as early as Wednesday.  We should all applaud their determination to stick up for what they believe is right.  Most of all, we should all be extremely thankful that the children in Chicago will be able to continue with their education this week.