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| Chicago Teacher Union President Under Fire for Mocking U.S. Secretary of Education |
| posted by: Alix | November 17, 2011, 10:39 PM |
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Chicago has been an education reform epicenter ever since newly elected Mayor Rahm Emanuel took the reins in January. The debate over length of school day and improving outcomes for students have been hot topics of late, however a speech by Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and her inappropriate comments regarding Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have been gaining national headlines this week. In an event in Seattle last month, controversial figure and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis gave a speech to a packed house of union representatives on education and the struggling state of teacher unions nationwide. While the rally style speech was just business as usual for Ms. Lewis, the cameras were rolling and what followed became quick blogosphere fodder. The October 1 video, posted online late last week by Education Action Group, showed Lewis saying, "Now, you know [Duncan] went to private school 'cause if he had gone to public school he would have had that lisp fixed." The CTU chief, who is also the vice president of the American Federation of Teachers under Randi Weingarten went on to mention illicit drug use in her college days. "I am the only black woman in the class of 1974 from Dartmouth College," she said. "... People are impressed ... I spent those years smoking lots of weed, self-medicating. ... Oh, I'm sorry, there are kids here. I wasn't supposed to say that, right? Too late!" As the video went viral, many were calling on Lewis to step down. Yesterday, Ms. Lewis and AFT representatives indicated that she will not resign from her post despite the controversy and obviously inappropriate comments. In prepared remarks deigned to turn the heat on her reform adversaries Lewis stated, "Some of what I said was inappropriate and insensitive. No one should ever resort to personal attacks." In attempt to smear reform bloggers, Lewis added that "neo-conservative, anti-labor and anti-public education bloggers – with a history of distorting and misrepresenting the truth" –were ultimately responsible for filming, promotion and distributing the video. Meanwhile, AFT's Randi Weingarten defended Lewis saying she "is a good soul" and that she "did the right thing by apologizing to Secretary Duncan." Karen Lewis has frequently been in the spotlight since Mayor Rahm Emanuel took on the cause of education reform in Chicago, a city notorious for inefficiency and failing schools. In a fiery exchange with, Ms. Lewis called Mayor Emanuel "clearly anti-teacher" and accused the mayor of yelling and swearing at her during a meeting. Mr. Emanuel has denied the charge. Click here to watch the video and judge for yourself. What do you think about the situation? Should Karen Lewis resign? Comment below.
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