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QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Sep 20, 2012 -> 11:33 AM) ^^^ That's exactly what I meant. Actually, at my daughter's school that's exactly what they do. She told me that at least one kid has to sit in a completely separate lunchroom. Surprisingly, the kid's parents haven't complained to the school that they need to completely ban peanut butter and all other products that may contains nuts. Instead they let their kid know that he's a little different than all the other kids so he has to do things a different way and it's OK. We had this at our kid's school as well. However, it was only through 3rd grade when some of the kids may not know how severe the allergy was and how they could effect it. Now the the girl (my daughter's friend) eats with her friends in the lunchroom and everyone with her realizes what they can and can't bring.

QUOTE (CyAcosta41 @ Sep 18, 2012 -> 01:51 PM) Paraphrasing Duran Duran: "HIS name is RIOS and HE dances on the sand." (and it pains me to paraphrase that group because nobody hates hates Duran Duran more than I do). The season is far from over, but Gordon Beckham is wrong -- he said "that might be the play of the year." That WAS the play of the year. Fundamentals; hustle; playing hard every moment. As the games become more important, little things matter -- big-time. Most people pooh pooh momentum in baseball, saying cute things like "momentum is only as good as tomorrow's starting pitcher." And indeed, momentum can be overstated. And have a short shelf-life. But gosh darn-it ... the Rios play should absolutely energize these guys in the same way a playoff caliber team is energized when an accomplished hitter gives up an at-bat to advance the runner to third, or when El Duque galvanizes the 2005 team when he pitched his inning for the ages and retired the Red Sox without allowing a run. It won't guarantee wins and losses from this point forward, but I'd love to see "The Takeout Slide" be a springboard for virtually non-stop hustle and intensity until 2012's final pitch! Who would have characterized Rios like this last year? What difference a year makes. Who says players can't change from year to year. The baseball card doesn't say everything.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 18, 2012 -> 11:16 AM) They will be NO more effective after this strike ends. How much would you like to bet that the school system continues to get worse, despite all of these "added awesome benefits for the children"? I will venture to say that they will be more effective in teaching a class of 25 students versus a class of 35 students. However, I don't think this let get through so it's a moot point.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 18, 2012 -> 10:59 AM) We disagree. You're point is what is, simply put, nonsense. Not only that, but you have an inherent bias here, and it shows. The story fits my narrative because teachers are greedy douchebags that don't deserve a raise. The CPS teachers want more money for less work, and a better all around situation for THEMSELVES. Don't f***ing stand there and pretend they'red oing this for the children. Just can it. This is incorrect. The money involved is already agreed upon. It's the evaluation procedure that is the key. The teachers want a say in what the principal deems "effective teaching." The class size is also an issue. If you've ever been in a room with 35 kids, you know how difficult it would be to be an "effective instructor." That is an impossible situation.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 04:01 PM) Because when you have 2 children who cant agree, you need an adult to supervise. Id rather the school system took care of it themselves, but according to StrangeSox they are currently striking because they cant come to an agreement on how to resolve this. That is inexcusable. I agree it's a tough situation but throwing more money into more administrative functions and taking it away from instruction is not what I would want to do. The administration should just to what's fair.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 03:57 PM) But that sets up this issue in Chicago entirely because it leaves no mechanism for redistribution from wealthy districts to poor districts, and as has been noted previously, the CPS area is one of the most poverty-ridden school districts in the country, with nearly 90% of its students qualifying for the federal free/reduced price meal programs. I agree it is a poor way to do it. It makes it tough to get good education in Chicago. The educational funding in Illinois is unfair. Back when there were factories and such in low income areas it worked out to the benefit of the areas. Not so much since they are gone. I'm just pointing out that the way the system works and why Illinois seems to be "underfunding" the state school system.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 03:53 PM) Yep, I am completely unfamiliar with teachers. I only spent 21 years of life in schools, spent over $250k on education. I have no experience to say, this teacher is competent and that teacher is not. Im sure that it would be impossible to find 3-5 ex-educators who have no relation to CTU/CPS who live in Chicago, who would be impartial. Right from your proposal: Mentor Teachers will be CPS employees. Why do we need conflicts of interest? Why cant we just get impartial people? You act like Im suggesting to hire a random person off the street. I just want people who are not connected to CPS or CTU. Imagine the uproar for the cost of this program. Hiring people not connected with the schools to evaluate the individual teachers. It sounds good but it just adds to the administrative costs to the schools. Why take more money away from actual teaching. Just use a team of admin and teachers and be done with it. The problem is that there is too much money going to non-instructional purposes already.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 03:12 PM) That's because they borrowed billions from the pensions and gambled it away...and now they have insolvent guaranteed public pensions they need to fix. So, they raise taxes on the state/local level through the roof, and it can't even make a dent in the problem they created, so they start taking it from everywhere else, too...such as schools. And IL/Chicago residents will continue to re-elect them. The part about the State of Illinois being one of the lowest with funding education is somewhat misleading. Most states collect property taxes and distribute them fairly evenly to school districts while illinois has the property taxes go straight to the school districts in the area. So this makes it look like the state doesn't contribute much compared to other while in reality is just the way it is distributed is different. We don't really have less funding it's just that we have rich school districts and poor school districts.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 08:48 PM) No I am informed, and am so each time we pay for all this in taxes. If you were informed, you would know those benefits aren't free. In the end It doesn't matter to me if it's salary or some gold plated benefit it goes into. Then there is no 90k salary as you said before. You are not figuring it out correctly just making blanket statements. Paying taxes does not equal being informed Do I think we pay too much in taxes. Yes. is it because of the teachers. No. It has much more to do with the inefficiencies in the administrations in all of the government agencies in this state. As I stated before, since I'm the wealthy looking down on the rest I declare this part terminated.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 08:37 PM) the teachers are totally out of touch with reality. the wealthy entitlement class looking down at the masses, "let them eat cake". If you truly believe that teachers of all people are the wealthy class, there is no further reason for discussion.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 08:37 PM) It is still a hell of a lot harder to fire a teacher than it is to fire a normal person in the private sector. Illinois is an at will work state. Do you know how they fire you in the private sector. You get called into a meeting usually with HR, you are given some papers to sign and then you are gone. As long as its not for sexual orientation, age, or gender discrimination you are pretty much good to go. You can fire people for just about anything. And they don't have any appeals process. It is not difficult to fire a teacher prior to tenure. It is not called firing because until tenure your contract is "renewed" every year. Thus a teacher can be called to the principal and told they are ineffective and let go. There is a grievance process but it rarely works in favor of a teacher. This is why they work hard to get tenure.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 08:36 PM) not buying it. You're wrong and if you were informed you would know this. Did you know that the 16% (not 20%) increase is mostly benefits and not salary? The 90k number you came up with is if it's all salary.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 08:12 PM) From what I heard the teachers are now demanding a 20% increase. So, that will put the average close to 90k a year? Also, they don't want to be evaluated in any rational way, and they don't want to ever be able to be fired, no matter how bad they are at their jobs. The strike has nothing to do with kids, it has everything to do with greedy adults trying to soak the rest of the city because they think they have a desperate hostage on their hands. This is totally inaccurate. They just want a say in how they are evaluated so a principal isn't the only person who determines if they are an effective teacher. The current system allows a principal to unilaterally say you are ineffective and I can fire you. There is not an acceptable grievance procedure for a teacher to appeal the decision.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 08:14 PM) I dont want a union, so why would I ask why can't I have a union? Unions breed laziness because your raises are based on collective bargaining, not personal merit. They also protect worthless employees instead of just the good ones. There was once a great need for unions before workers had rights...today they're a corrupted version of what they were meant to be. So I repeat...why would I ask to be a part of that? No thanks. This is totally true especially in teacher's unions. Some raises may be negotiated but most are performance based. For example the attainment of a degree. The only raises I've gotten in the last 5 years, prior to this year, was being granted tenure and being elevated to Associate professor. This took 6 years of research, presentations and publication as well service to the community to achieve. Who else needs to provide pro bono service outside of their job to earn raises. I don't agree with everything the unions do but they do not all breed laziness and do promote personal merit.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 04:59 PM) Why dont you tell me what this strike is about because I have it so wrong. The ones who didnt show up clearly dont take it seriously. Some of these kids are going to be adversely impacted, its just not fair to them. And as a person, I put the needs of innocent children over the needs of adults who are getting paid considerable money to show up and help these kids. If being a teacher in CPS is so bad, why dont they go to another school district? The strike is really about who gets to evaluate a teachers effectiveness in the classroom. Administration, peers or both. The administration wants it to be the principal only so they can hire and fire who they want. The teachers want a checks and balance system with a team to evaluate. The real problem is the only way to legally strike is over economic issues so the teachers cannot use only this issue. They must continually bring up the salary or benefit issue or their strike could be declared illegal.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 01:04 PM) I don't think you do, actually. You are still entitled to what you put in. You're pension doesn't change that. You are just not eligible to contribute more or continue taking part. I do lose it. It's called the Windfall act or something to that effect. I cannot draw from my pension and social security. I have to pick one.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 12:44 PM) They also don't pay into the SS fund, so it's not like they lost the money. No but we not get any choice in the matter either. I lose all of the social security I did pay for the years that I worked prior to teaching. Granted I teach at the university level not the CPS but many of us do lose alot of money due to the screwed up pension system.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 12:47 PM) And really, this whole way of doing things by pre-setting numbers like that is a crappy way to do things. Set a baseline set of salaries per level/seniority/degree/merit, agree on a market basket, and say in the contract they get a COLA based on that basket for the length of the contract. Then, seperately, if they want to argue for a raise beyond that, that can be up for discussing and adjustments to the original baselines can be set. But predeterming raises like that seem, to me, to be a stupid way to do things. It is very poor way of doing things. This is part of the reason for the strike. I haven't read all of the posts but the strike is essentially centered around one issue: review. The money and hours are all bsically agreed upon. What they can't agree upon is who reviews the effectiveness of teaching in the classroom. The administration wants it to be an adminstrator only and the union wants there to be an administrator and peer team.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 12:30 PM) Yeah, my degree also took me 3 extra years and cost $100 grand. Most teachers to even make a little more money need to go get a Master's degree as well.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 12:30 PM) CPS isn't college and professors are often researchers first, teachers second. It's not really the same thing. This is only true in Carnegie Level 1 universities which most schools are not.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 10:33 AM) Aside from a publicly funded pension + lifetime health/dental benefits, you mean. The pension is a point of contention. It should be publicly funded as our entire job is to benefit the public. Our job isn't to make money or profit as it is for most people. With your pension you have options as well as social security. Teachers do not get the social security. We do not get lifetime health and dental benefits. We currently get it to 65 and go to medicare like many other retirees. The benfits are self insured meaning we pay a large portion of all of our medical and dental benfits as the state contrbution has decreased to almost nothing. Also there is a member of the administration who decides on what our medical and dental contrbution is without input from any other sources. The teachers benefits including retirement currently ranks in the bottom 1/4 of states in the US. Currently our retirement doesn't include a death benefit for spouses. If you die does your spouse get anything from your retirement plan?

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 10:27 AM) Isnt this what youve been claiming? That teachers have it so bad that they should be getting all of these benefits, pay raises, etc, while the rest of us struggle and either take pay cuts or get no raises? Because if they arent working harder than anyone else, why are they deserving of special privileges in a time of economic strife? I received my first raise in 4 years this year. Teachers aren't getting any more benefits than most others.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 10:23 AM) I did read the rest of the post. Once again, you need to read your own post. They only spend 1,000 hours instructing. That is their job. You have been arguing that teachers spend so much time at school teaching, but now by your own admission they only spend 1,000, with almost another 1,000 coming OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM, where they can, POST ON SOXTALK, and take MENTAL BREAKS. Most people go to a job and have to do at least 1,600 hours at the work site (that is 8 hours a day for 200 days), I dont know anyone who has a 48 week work year and gets 2 weeks vacation, plus all federal/state holidays (read your own post for gods sake). Last I checked there were 52 weeks in the year, where did that other month go? Their job is also to prepare for the instruction. If you really think that most teachers (I know there are some but it is the minority) don't spend more time outside the instruction time then you need to go work with one for a month.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 10:14 AM) What full time employee only works 1,000 hours per year? Some firms expect attorneys to bill 200 hours a month (50 hours per week). That is 2,400 hours. I know I put in more time out of the classroom between preparation, Grading etc. than in the classroom. Teachers must do more outside the workplace than most other professions. Also the compensation is slightly different from a law firm to a school. Do law firms make you buy your pencils and such on your own? Many teachers purchase thing for their classrooms that schools do not provide any longer.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 30, 2012 -> 06:44 AM) Anybody ever hear an explanation of why Robin made a pitching change with a 7 run lead in the 9th inning with 2 outs and the bases empty? Seemed very unnecessary, and from the expression on Veal's face he seemed pretty surprised. My guess is that Jones hadn't been in a game in awhile and he wanted to keep him sharp. Too lazy to actually look it up but that's usually why moves like that occur.