In Slaying Goliath, Diane Ravitch looks at the ways in which parents, teachers and activists are successfully fighting back to defeat the forces that are privatizing America’s public schools. Ravitch writes about the Disrupters, who believe America’s schools should be run like businesses, with teachers incentivized by threats and bonuses, and school children treated like customers or products.
Ravitch lays out, in extensive detail, the facts showing that the ideas put forth by school privateers have failed; their promises of higher test scores have not come to pass; the "great hope" of Common Core has been a dud.
Arrayed against the forces of disruption, Ravitch writes of the Resisters: parents, teachers, grandparents, students, bloggers, religious leaders, and unions, who are fighting back to successfully keep alive their public schools.
Diane Ravitch is esteemed, acclaimed, and admired for leading a grassroots movement with a following across the country of tens of thousands. Ravitch has advocated for less testing, increased teacher salaries, reduced classroom size, and for addressing poverty and hunger.
Ravitch was born in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Wellesley College and Columbia University. She is a research professor of education at New York University and the author of eleven books. Ravitch is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Don’t Let Black Educators
Become Black History
The CTU Speaks! podcast is recording a special Black History Month panel on the disappearance of Black educators—in Chicago and across the country—and what teachers unions and community allies can do to reverse the trend.
Hosted by Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and featuring rank-and-file CTU members, Dyett hunger striker Monique Redeax-Smith and writer/activist/organizer Charles Preston, the panel will discuss issues facing Black educators in schools today, and what is lost when Black teachers become Black history. You won’t want to miss this!
CTU Speaks! co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros will kick off the night! Never miss an episode—subscribe today on your favorite podcasting platform. The event will also be taped and later released in podcast form.
Cocktails will be served from 5-6 p.m.; panel taping is from 6-8 p.m.
Chicago PEACE Brunch
February 29, 2020, 11 am
CTU Center, 1901 W. Carroll
Keynote Speaker: Pastor William Hall, St. James Community Church
Plus special guest speaker and CPS graduate Dr. Clinton Boyd, Jr.
In addition, the CTU choir will perform musical selections, and stay tuned for a guest musical performer. Plus, there’s still time to join the choir, so get in touch if you’re interested by emailing lupecoyle@ctulocal1.org. The rehearsal schedule will be announced soon!
Sex Ed Works
Healing to Action—a grassroots community group that focuses on worker empowerment and fighting gender-based violence—is holding listening sessions with students, parents and caregivers, community and educators, to get input on their campaign for improved sexual education in CPS.
Healing to Action wants to hear from any and all CTU members who have an interest in the CPS sex ed curriculum and training or for whom it has implications (from PE and Health teachers to clinicians and counselors to members of our Women’s Rights and LGBTQIA Committees, and beyond). Join us at this session to help win the sex ed our students deserve.
NOTE: CTU will also hold a training all day on Saturday, March 28. Any member may attend the Saturday Conference.
Our new contract creates a tremendous opportunity to build our power in the classroom. This spring’s Building Delegates and School Leaders Conference will be a space for learning and collaboration that expands the knowledge learned at the conference in January. Register below.
Workshops topics will include:
- implementing the new class size contract language
- fighting for new sources of progressive revenue
- using PPCs, PSCs, PPLCs, and LSCs to make your school better
- putting new sports contract wins into motion
- the new bilingual education contract language
- sustainable community schools, and many more…
So, join us to
- Build contract knowledge, organizing skills, and leadership experience.
- If you’re new to union activism, learn from veterans about how to find people in your school to work with
- If you’re a veteran, think about who you can bring along to help train a new generation of union leaders.
Your union needs you.
