Finally, the new contract of the Chicago teachers union is ratified and threat of looming recurrence of the strike is over. It seems like a season of union strikes in the ‘land of the Lincoln’, the tag line of the state of Illinois. First it was the Chicago teachers union, and then it was the teacher strike of District 300 of Kane County, followed by the teacher strike of Lake Forest, both suburbs of Chicago. Though each strike was triggered for a different reason, generally conditions and patterns which resulted in strikes are similar.
Parents in the Chicago neighborhoods sighed relief when these strikes were over, as the strikes were spreading from one district to other. As we all know strikes disrupt the lives of people, whether they are the people who participate in the strike or the people who are dependent on the services provided by the strikers.
Teachers strike had more-than-usual impact on families affected; as parents had to make alternative arrangements to keep their kids engaged or take days off from their work, which also had financial impact more than just the inconvenience.
It was rather nostalgic to hear the stories of people affected by strike!Pardon me for my wry sense of humor. Nostalgic, because, it reminded me of the days back in India, where strikes were and even today, are the order of the day. Whether it is for protesting against corruption, crime, political inaction or students strike, ‘bandh’ is pretty common in India. My American colleagues always wondered why Indians protested so much, when employees of the offshore service providers were unavailable or were late to work either due a strike or protest or a bandh.
Teachers strike in Chicago area was a great educational experience for some of these same colleagues. Strikes are a novelty in America; as Americans traditionally have followed different ways for expressing their anger or protest. They always called their congressmen or senators whether it is for a local or national issue. And generally the people’s representatives responded, whether they resolved the issue or not! Strike is a new and evolving concept in America. There were the infamous ‘Tea Party’ rallies and the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ sit-downs for the past two years in the run up to elections. Now there is a better perspective about strikes in this country, whether there is empathy or not towards people striking!
However, bigger question is why did the teachers go on strike in the first place? New mayor of Chicago was trying to ‘kill two birds with one shot’ as they say. He was trying to reduce the gun violence related deaths, and also to improve the educational standards of Chicago schools, whose standards by the way have been going down for a long time. To improve the educational standards and ratings of the students, Mayor wants to keep the students for a longer time at school so they can study more and reduce the time they spend on streets to get involved in the violence; Chicago recorded highest gun related deaths among all cities for the year 2012 in America. The ‘debate is still on’ whether increasing the time spent at school by students, can contribute to raising student grades; but the strike has surely contributed to some disruption and lost classes for students. Strike was finally resolved after both sides compromised on few aspects which led to strike.
Now the bigger question which begs attention is, can the low educational ratings be attributed to only schools in Chicago or is it a national phenomenon? If one looks at the educational statistics, it becomes apparent that generally the ratings of US students have been declining for the past few years.
According to a recent study conducted by Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy and governance, students in Latvia, Chile and Brazil are learning three times faster than their American peers while students in countries such as Portugal, Hong Kong, Germany, Poland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Colombia and Lithuania are improving at twice the rate. Basically it translates to two to three additional years of student learning in these countries, which leads them to surpass American students in any academic tests or exams to enter colleges.
The findings of this study show that, foreign students are beating their American peers consistently. To quote the study, ‘students in Shanghai who recently took international exams for the first time outscored every other school system in the world. In the same test, American students ranked 25th in math, 17th in science and 14th in reading’.
Another 2009 study found that U.S. students ranked 25th among 34 countries in math and science, behind nations like China, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Finland. These statistics alarmed US authorities at the state and federal level and efforts are underway to reform the education system.
Quite a few non-governmental organizations also started various initiatives to improve awareness about the challenges faced by the students and education system in general and the impact ofglobalization on the future career prospects of American students in particular. It is ironic that a country which boasts of one of the best education delivery systems in the world is now rethinking the way it educates its kids? So what ails education system in America? Is it the lack of schools or better paid and qualified teachers or the lack of rigorous testing or involvement of government in running the schools? All of these factors and many others contribute to some of the issues faced by the US education system.
If one pays attention to the impact of globalization on American economy, some of these factors become apparent. America has been traditionally a manufacturing economy. Whether it is the automobiles or electric turbines or aircrafts or aircraft carriers or any other high tech technology like satellites, Americans have been leaders and pioneers of innovation and manufacturing efficiencies. Firms like Ford motors developed the ‘assembly line’ concept which raised the productivity manifold making America a leader of the post-world war II industrialized economies.
This booming economy led to introduction of employee welfare plans where a high school graduate could find a job in one of the manufacturing firms and retire in the same firm with a good pension and healthcare plan taking care of retirement.
Emergence of relatively cheap labor and manufacturing in Asian countries and consequent outsourcing of jobs moved a lot of manufacturing jobs overseas making those high school graduates unemployable elsewhere at the same salary levels. Fast forward two decades, America now became manufacturing to a consumer economy where everything from tooth brush to lipsticks are made elsewhere and consumed here. On top of this expensive college education leads to drop outs, flooding the job market with many more unemployable people.
The financial crisis of 2008, recession and high unemployment rate is forcing policy makers in state capitals and Washington DC to find ways of creating new jobs at home. While everyone realizes that getting those manufacturing jobs back here is next to impossible, there is a realization that availability of college graduates and reduced costs of running businesses can encourage employers to bring back manufacturing jobs back to USA.
While analysis of pros and cons of American education system will need another lengthy article, if one were to ask the question of what is the single biggest change which can benefit American students, it is the international exposure. Majority of American kids are proficient in only one language which is English and rest of the world mastered it already. Kids from other countries especially India, speak at least two other languages other than English, which broadens their perspective and ability to compete.
American educators and academicians should start looking outward rather than inward. Specifically they need to introduce rigor in teaching and learning foreign languages which will expose the kids here to rest of the world. America needs more linguists and polyglots, which can open world of opportunities to future generation. This can only be achieved if the languages are taught, tested and excelled from kindergarten in a formal manner, rather than in high school. That will be a great service to the future adults of this country and a true benefit of globalization.
This article was published in Times of India
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/citizen-journalists/citizen-journalists-reports/karthik-kandamuri/The-teachers-union-strike-in-Chicago-has-posed-a-number-questions/articleshow/18624666.cms
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