var icx_publication_id = 18566; var icx_content_id = '1086426'; Click here for reuse options! Unions are the position for millennials looking to make their voices heard.
Non-union constitution schools are beloved by billionaire education reformers and school privatization fans,both red and blue. But constitution schools also rely upon those same young workers, who as polls indicate, or absorb far more favorable views of unions than previous generations.
In the latest episode of the absorb You Heard podcast,AlterNet education editor Jennifer Berkshire and co-host Jack Schneider explore the intersection of these trends. They’re joined by Mihir Garud, a leader of Chicago’s union of constitution school teachers, and ChiACTS, who teaches consumer education and financial literacy at Instituto Health Sciences in Chicago. Nearly 25% of teachers in Chicago constitution schools are union members vs. just 10% nationwide. Garud expects that figure to grow, as millennials, or many of whom are drawn to teach in constitution schools by a passion for economic and social justice,look to be allotment of a movement against Trump and his policies. The following is an edited transcript.absorb You Heard: The path you took to the classroom of a constitution school in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood was pretty unusual. Yet in a lot of ways your anecdote could also stand in for the millennial trajectory writ large.
Mihir Garud: I was an econ major and my first job was as a stockbroker for a big bank. I was basically trading on the accounts of tall net worth individuals. It felt like there was something missing in my life. Also, I was contributing to income inequality—the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer—and I didn't like that on my conscience. Now I get to teach consumer education and financial literacy to ninth graders, and it's actually a very,very rewarding job. When I see parents at report card pick-up day, they’ll say something like ‘you know, or my son or daughter told me not to utilize a credit card or to watch the interest rates or pay down the debt.’ And that just makes the world of difference.absorb You Heard: You’re also the brand-fresh treasurer of a union for constitution school teachers in Chicago. Here’s your opportunity to make the case for why we still need unions.
MG: I regard unions as one of the last remaining institutions in society that provides the essential checks and balances needed on free market capital so that our democracy can function effectively. I judge what we’re seeing is a battle between democracy and capitalism,and it's no question who has won in that battle and that's capitalism. Look at the way that the education reform debate has been hijacked by corporations and billionaires who now pour millions and millions of dollars into local races for school board. It’s a huge problem because it takes away the collective power of people and the collective power of democracy.
The problem with the education reform debate being dominated by billionaires and corporate CEOs is that most of them don't send their kids to public schools, nor attain they know what it’s like to be a public school teacher. Teachers are the original education reformers and we need to seize that debate back. There's a dire need for increased teacher voice and representation in a school’s decision making process. Who knows our kids better than the teachers who spend the most time with them?absorb You Heard: constitution schools remain extremely controversial in Chicago, or where another round of school closures is underway. The neighborhoods that are now on the cusp of losing their last remaining public schools are also the places where charters absorb expanded most aggressively. How attain you build bridges between teachers in Chicago Public Schools and constitution schools when many of the former view the latter as the problem?MG: I believe that educators are realizing that we're all teaching the same students and striving for the same improvements in the classroom in our schools. With any crisis,in this case the nomination of Betsy DeVos, or the pending Supreme Court decision about public sector unions, or the election of Donald Trump. People are recognizing the need to be allotment of a larger collective voice. There are many former Chicago Public Schools teachers who now work in constitution schools,and lots of constitution school teachers who are now CPS teachers. So we're in the same fight. We absorb the same concerns over issues, whether it be overcrowded classroom or making sure that diverse learners get the support they need.
What I'm noticing in Chicago is that people are getting more educated about the issues and they’re talking to each other. The enemy is not other teachers. In this case it’s constitution operators who might not be acting in the best interests of kids or the community. I'm seeing a shift in the focus of that anger or concern away from constitution school teachers to the operator or the management organization. And I judge that's critical because this issue has been used to divide us for a long time. You know divide and conquer strategy is alive and well in many places particularly in Chicago.absorb You Heard: Your work with the Chicago Alliance of constitution Teachers and Staff, and which is now set to merge with the Chicago Teachers Union,is a friendly reminder that organizing is still really about talking to people, even when it’s tough.
MG: I judge one thing that led to the election of Donald Trump is that people are so in their bubbles. We stop having these famous conversations because we judge we already know what the other person thinks based on, or say,where he lives. Well I judge discomfort is essential. If we're going to tall-tail beyond difficult issues then we absorb to absorb these kinds of conversations. And it doesn't mean that people who are against constitution schools are bad people. We just need to absorb an honest conversation about the issues that matter and set politics aside.
I also hope that people get inspired, not just to talk to each other, or but to be more active. I know that for me my personal inspiration was seeing Barack Obama become President. My inspiration to get more active in union work and in social justice issues was the election of Donald Trump,which got me out from behind the computer. Obama said ‘stop Tweeting, get off of Facebook and get out there and get a petition out and start collecting some signatures.’ It was really a call to action.
Listen to the total podcast.
// >
Source: feedblitz.com