What I really think he means is that they should never miss a day of school if it’s to participate in a boycott protesting his school closings, cuts and demolitions.
As I write, dozens of kids are joining their parents for Education is a Human Right—a one-day boycott of schools to demand, among other things, an elected school board, spending TIF dollars on public schools (as opposed to private basketball arenas) and a moratorium on charter expansions.
A lot of the parents and students will head over to the CPS central office to give the mayor’s appointed school board a piece of their mind at today’s board meeting.
Obviously, the mayor’s not happy with this: “I do not think it’s appropriate to advocate that children stay out of school. If you want to make a statement, go to the courtroom. Don’t take it to the classroom. Children belong in school. They belong there learning their reading, their writing, their math, their colors—whatever it is.”
Well, again, I’m going to have to disagree with my mayor. I’m not sure what going to court is going to do for parents, teachers, or students protesting the mayor’s policies. It’s not easy to get a favorable ruling against an all-powerful mayor, as the Chicago Teachers Union recently learned.