Is the enemy of my enemy still my friend?

Growing up the Bud Billiken parade was always a sign that school was around the corner and we used it as an official count down to the first day of class. Registrations came between July 4th and August 1st and back to school commercials filled the airways with the latest styles and brands. As a parent the summer seems to fly by and before you know it you’re at the mall trying to get back to school supplies and new clothes (kids grow like weeds how come nobody told me lol)

This is supposed to be a time of excitement as our children continue their journey to adulthood. When parents found out that a teacher in the Homer township district 33 had very disturbing social media posts describing his mental health condition and what it has done to his behavior. He has been violent in his states of psychosis which isn’t an environment anyone wants a child in. The question is “how does this type of thing slip by during the hiring process.”

For starters every school district operates differently, but common practice is for the superintendent and their staff to interview all candidates for openings in the district. This is typically where the background checks are made and evaluated. After candidates have gone through the interview process the administration and superintendent make their recommendations to the board (the board rarely speaks to the candidate or at least in my experience that was the case). From there the board votes based on the recommendation and that person is hired. Curriculum is done in a similar fashion as well.

Back in February of 2022 there was a meeting here in district 123 that filled the whole gym. The public comment took over 2 hours as parents AND teachers expressed their positions on covid mitigations and working conditions for the teachers. Both parties were frustrated with the same entity, and I began to wonder if as a parent are we targeting teachers unfairly as a whole? Since then, I have had plenty of talks with teachers who are lifelong friends about their frustrations with boards/supers on education items and to my surprise most are just as frustrated with decisions by BOE on items from schedule, curriculum and negotiations as parents currently are (across the state). Is it time for parents to meet with teachers to get both sides of the coin on how kids are being taught, how teachers are hired and how we handle emergencies moving forward?

IL schools are on a statistical decline as standards have been lowered over time with the implementation of no child left behind during the Bush admin and renewed under the Obama admin. This has left teachers in a bind, how motivated is a kid if they know they can’t fail? How motivated is a teacher if kids aren’t motivated? Parents are left trying to navigate how to raise their children in a system that allows no failure as an option. Can we as parents revitalize the relationship with teachers to get a better understanding of the district process so our kids can have the chance to compete in the job market of the future? I think we can, and we should.