Do We Remember the 3 R’s

Chicago Public School teachers are on strike. Undoubtedly they will get it settled quickly. Teachers are anxious to be in the classroom (aren’t they?) and the kiddies need to be there too.

It is the “why” that seems to be confusing some of us. A lot of schools are not accomplishing much these days in providing scholars for Colleges and Universities. We’re not high on the list of scholastic achievers in the World Market.

Unfortunately, I think the real answer is in the following quote:

The Chicago Teachers Union, representing more than 29,000 teachers, had been meeting with the Chicago Public Schools at the union’s downtown offices until late Sunday when the union announced that the strike would start Monday morning. With teachers out of the classrooms and on the picket lines, 144 schools opened from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to provide breakfast, lunch and care for students.

Now, feel free to correct me – but the reality seems to be that when “school” is out, kids are not eating, and they are not being cared for. Why for example, would the Mayor of Chicago be talking about keeping these kids, who are out of school, “safe?”

Isn’t feeding and caring for kids the responsibility of PARENTS. Where are the parents? Will these kids go without meals? Will they be wandering the dangerous streets of Chicago (check out the murder rate of young people in Chicago) instead of being safe at home?

Maybe we owe the teachers whatever it is they want. That is, assuming they are caring for, feeding, and educating our kids.

The Scripture has a lot to say about parenting. Maybe every parent in Chicago should get a Bible Study lesson. On second thought, maybe every parent in America should get a Bible lesson. Children are precious in God’s sight. Surely they should be taught, fed, and cared for by parents so that when arriving at school teachers have a happy, healthy child to whom they can unfold the power and glory of intellectual apprehension.