The strike in Chicago is bothering me. What if the biggest part of the story were the foregone learning of the students?!

Now, I am not a labor expert, and I am not very knowledgeable about unions. I have an empathetic heart for teachers, and I certainly support our nation’s teachers being treated as professionals.

I am not a Chicago teacher, so I do not claim to know a thing about what it is like to walk even a step in their shoes.

I am no expert on parenting, yet I am a parent for two boys of my own. My heart is sympathetic for the parents of those 350,000 students in Chicago who are stuck in a lurch about what to do with their children as a result of the strike. I know how hard it is for my wife and me to find childcare sometimes, and we have it EASY! I have never had to face whether I would be unpaid or lose my job vs. being able to care for and supervise my children.

What’s bothering me? The way the story is being reported! One of the biggest issues seems to be the childcare issue. I understand that. One of the biggest issues seems to be the treatment of the teachers in their professional contracts. I understand that. WHY ISN’T ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THE FOREGONE LEARNING OF THE STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY ARE MISSING SCHOOL?! Is school just day care? Is school just for the adults? Nothing I have read so far – and I include just a sampling of the articles below – even mentions what the students are missing in the way of learning from foregoing a day of school…days of school! What does that say about our educational priorities…our news priorities…our narrative priorities?

If you can find an article about the strike that mentions the foregone learning of students – the opportunity cost to their education because of missing these days of school – please put the link in the comments! I would love to read that reporter’s or affected individual’s perspective.

(Reuters) – Thousands of public school teachers marched in downtown Chicago on Monday and parents scrambled for child care during the first teachers’ strike in a quarter century over reforms sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and endorsed by President Barack Obama’s administration.
(http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-usa-chicago-schools-idUSBRE8870DL20120910)

Thousands of Chicago teachers rally on first day of strike
By Nick Carey, CHICAGO | Mon Sep 10, 2012

Teachers’ Strike in Chicago Tests Mayor and Union
By MONICA DAVEY, Published: September 10, 2012

In Standoff, Latest Sign of Unions Under Siege
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE, Published: September 10, 2012

In Chicago, It’s a Mess, All Right
By JOE NOCERA, Published: September 10, 2012