Juan Gonzalez: And We Have a Winner: Karen Lewis! ( And American teachers.)

Boy... this is a good way to wake up. First Warren, then Romney, now this. We're on a roll! ( Whatever that means.)


Chicago Teachers Union leader Karen Lewis pushed back — and won
Feisty firebrand has emerged as new champion for millions of public school teachers

Today's NEW YORK DAILY NEWS



ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chicago Teachers Union head Karen Lewis has emerged as the new champion for millions of frustrated public school teachers.

Karen Lewis, who last week led 29,000 Chicago teachers on a school strike heard across the nation, has suddenly emerged as the new champion for millions of frustrated public school teachers.

Many of those teachers are sick and tired of being made into scapegoats by politicians and corporate honchos who never spent a single day in front of a classroom.

They are fed up with overcrowded classrooms in rundown buildings, with bureaucrats who keep hiring high-paid consultants despite huge budget deficits, with new state laws that tie teacher evaluation to their students’ test scores, with the constant closing of neighborhood schools and the stampede to charter schools.

But most of all, they are furious at the lack of respect for them and their profession.

Until this week, no one — not even American Federation of Teachers chief Randi Weingarten — had found a way to turn back the tide of teacher bashing.

Then the feisty firebrand Lewis burst on the scene.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/chicago-teachers-union-leader-karen-lewis-pushed-back-won-article-1.1161008#ixzz26pDEXlCn