Just strike??

The Chicago Teacher's Union authorized a strike. They have been striking for at least 2 days. Who knows how long this could go on? I support the rights of union workers and others to strike when things aren't right. I support certain tenets of the strike but don't support it 100%. The fact of the matter is the city of Chicago has been downsizing teachers and closing schools for sometime now. If the policy was based solely on "student performance" it wouldn't be that bad. Some of the dismissals are political in nature and to save the city money. Let me be clear though. The status quo is not an option. As of 2010 the high school graduation rate in the city is at 55.8%!! How has this been allowed? I'm not blaming the teachers;parents, and the school system share the blame as well. I assign a large portion of the blame to the system. The Board of Education system. Were I a parent of High School age children there is only about 30% of schools within the city I would be comfortable sending my child to. So all of the CPS students excluding charter school students haven't been in school for 2 days. Schools in Chicago started after Labor Day. About 144 of the schools in the city have been open since the strike basically as a limited baby-sitting service. There are teachers protesting across the city as they should. However, I see problems arising in the downtown area. Students that would normally be in school could be out terrorizing the city. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/08/02/media-covers-up-violence-of-flash-mobs/ I believe a vast amount of CPS students are honest, non-thieving students. I guess the more important issue is what the kids aren't learning. Teachers should be held accountable but there are other ways to measure student performance besides standardized test scores. I think some of the requests are laughable though. I can understand a raise if you're working more hours.. Understand though the city of Chicago, the County of Cook and the State of Illinois have some of the highest taxes in the country. State and city governments here have been terribly mismanaged. It isn't just for a teacher to be fired just because they can. It also isn't right to pay all the teachers the same amount and not take into account skill and success. All of the teachers aren't successful in instructing. Great teachers should be incentived and rewarded. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204226204576601232986845102.html