Several weeks ago, on my way to run errands, I was listening to a local sports-talk radio station. The topic for the morning was the alleged grade scandal surrounding Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose. According to sources, Rose’s school records were falsified by someone working for the Chicago Public Schools. Both local newspapers broke stories that someone had changed a D to a C, apparently so his transcript would qualify under NCAA rules for a Division I school. The article also alleges that three classmates of Rose and seven soccer players from another CPS were helped, some when F’s they had received were changed to A’s. It is also reported that someone took the SAT test for Rose so he could qualify.
A misguided caller to the sports-talk show commented that the individuals involved should be given “Teacher of the Year” awards for looking out for his “best interests” just as he (the caller) would hope someone would do for his kids. I hope, if the caller ever has a major health problem that his physician wasn’t admitted to medical school because someone—looking out for his best interests—“doctored” his school records. Some people are just dumb as hair. It is general stupidity like this that has allowed the Chicago Public School system to evolve into nothing more than a pathetic joke being played on the citizens of that city. Take these other examples into consideration.
A friend of mine, who is a teacher in the CPS system, lost his position a year ago teaching high school Chemistry. According to his contract, he is allowed to “substitute” for a full year at full pay. The central office sends him out to a different school every week to “help out”, which usually means sitting around in the teacher’s lounge and reading all day. He is bored by this, so he volunteers to do different things. One school requested that he be sent back for an additional week in order to finish helping the library do inventory. During this past “unemployed” year he attended all the available “job fairs” held by the central office, looking for a full time position. According to him, hundreds of people show up to these fairs, many displaced teachers just like himself. Recruiters from attending schools all claim to have positions available and take his resume. They all promise to call him within a week to set up an interview but he never gets a call back. If he does get an interview it usually goes well. He is an experienced teacher with an “excellent” rating from his former supervisors. The person giving the interview promises to get back to him next week about the position but never calls (or returns his calls).
The last job fair he attended allowed the displaced teachers (like himself) to enter an hour before new teachers so they could have first crack at the open positions. He claims that all of the early birds appeared to be over 40. When the doors opened for the new people, there were so many that it took 15 minutes for all of them to enter the facility. He said they all were young kids who looked like they were just out of school. It has been more than a week now and none of the promised calls to set up an interview have come.
He lost his last teaching position when the school was “reorganized.” He was replaced by a first year teacher who lasted 3 months before quitting. It was reported in the news last week that the many Chicago Public Schools "lose" 25% of their teachers every year; all of whom have to be replaced. With more than 15 years experience he is just too expensive, at least when there are so many “cheap” new people available to hire. It must not be in the “best interest” of the students to have experienced teachers when their transcripts can be altered to make it look like they passed.
