Mr. Emanuel, Please Don't Squeeze Out the Charmin!

         

          For years, there has been talk of no toilet paper in Chicago Public Schools. It is a reality now. Of all the insulting, inhuman things a teacher can to do to a child is to pass out a piece or two of t.p. as they toddle into the bathroom. This really happens. How embarrassing! I’d rather not go to the bathroom. And frankly, do you know how much toilet paper you need until you are in there sitting on the pot? What about those poor girls on their period? Do they come swinging their tampons and toss them into the trash? Gross, right? I think we should give Rahm his two allocated squares of t.p. in the hall before he goes in the john to take a dump. 

          My heart sang and I shouted a loud "Hoorah!" when I saw the online version of the Tuesday, July 02, 2013, Chicago Sun Times. A picture shows the chair of the Local School Council from the school where I taught for thirteen years talking at a meeting of LSCs from over thirty schools. The LSCs in this group, named Common Sense, are refusing to accept the budgets given to their schools by CPS. Murphy School’s budget went from $5.2 million to $4.4million, a 20% decrease. That is a typical decrease given to many schools. Teaching positions are being cut. Class sizes are increasing. Materials will not be purchased. After school programs and interventions for struggling students will disappear. I will not make crappy comments about the loss of basic supplies such as toilet paper.

          There is a joke that teachers are the only people who steal supplies from home for work. Every trip to the store, I was buying something for the room: staples, nice paper, wires and beads for mothers’ day gifts, stickers, yoga bands for kick bands for my ADHD students, special teaching materials for kids who needed an extra push, and books, books, and more books. Really, the list was endless. Now, what will be added to teachers’ shopping carts? There will be no extras purchased by the schools. Will there even be money for the consumable text books used for math or the materials for the science units? Do they expect teachers to reuse the balloons used in science experiments? “It’s okay, Little Suzy. Seymour didn’t get his slobber on that balloon. No, no. Those are boogers, dear,not slobber.”

          Will there be money for substitute teachers next year? Will classrooms be “covered” by teacher’s aids or the art or gym teacher? In the case of the teacher’s aids, it is not legal. There has been a cut in the money to allow for substitutes. So, the security guard could be covering a classroom. To me, this sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Then, probably, the principal will be blamed, not the administration that made appropriate coverage financially impossible.

          I visited “my” school twice in the last week of the school year. I was stunned at how dejected the teachers were. Every year by June, teachers are exhausted. That’s normal. There’s a lot of work to do and the kids are maniacs. This was more than simply exhausted. This was a sample of “the beatings will continue until morale improves.” A teacher friend told me that she loves her job but hates her employer. Teachers are now being evaluated on how students perform but all the things to help enhance performance, or even teach basics, are being taken away.  It felt like Mudville after Casey struck out.

          Teaching can be a wildly fulfilling job. To see the light bulb flash over a struggling student, hands popcorning around the room in enthusiasm to answer a question, or the need to find harder material for someone who suddenly “gets it” is what gives us joy. We are creative in ways to keep children engaged. We search to find ways to motivate even the most reluctant child. The hours are long, the pay isn’t in line with the amount of education we have, and there are days that are emotionally taxing because we truly care about our kids. Right now, however, we are the moles in the whack-a-mole game.

          DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be a pity party for teachers. We are a pretty tough bunch and it takes a lot of whacking to get to us. What this is meant to be is a warning to parents. This constant barrage at schools is hurting your children. It diminishes the resources your child needs to become an educated person. It encourages your child’s teacher to teach to a test and not take the time to be the best they can be. In fact, a poor environment for teachers is an even worse environment for children.

          After I got home from visiting school, I talked to a young parent I know. I told him to move out of the city. I said to go to the suburbs, or better yet, leave the abyss of Illinois and go to a state that funds education. I felt tremendously sad to be saying this. People who have known me for years would be stunned to hear me say it. I stunned myself. I chose to raise my kids in Chicago and to send them to a neighborhood school. They received a great education that isn’t possible to achieve in today’s situation. I am proud of having been a public school teacher.  The system, however, is fighting all of us, parent, child, and teacher every step of the way. It is such a shitty experience, in fact, that I will need to take the whole roll of t.p. with me to do my business.

          So, HOORAH for the parents and Local School Councils who are fighting to save their schools. After all, the best way for a child to learn is for teachers and parents to work together. You are showing your child education matters when you are willing to stand up for it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

          Now, anyone want to go with me to t.p. the mayor’s house?

For a little levity, here are a couple wonderful toilet paper advertisements.

http://www.charmin.com/charmin-videos-and-commercials.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksO35s3Bffc

The Chicago Sun Times article
http://www.suntimes.com/21100024-761/local-school-councils-band-together-reject-cps-budgets.html 
A Chicago Tribune opinion piece by Eric Zorn
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-oped-0703-zorn-20130703,0,705922.column