Emanuel Stands Firm On Longer School Day; Teachers Urge Caution
CHICAGO (CBS/WBBM) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he's not backing down at all in his push for a longer school day, even as teachers raise concerns about the quality of instruction in any proposed additional hours.
The Chicago Teachers Union and its supporters cautioned the mayor Thursday about confusing a longer school day with better school day.
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"We support our children spending more time in school. The question is what the quality of that time is, not the quantity," Jitu Brown of the Kenwood Oakwood Community Organization said
Emanuel says Chicago kids spend too little time in the classroom. But the mayor doesn't quibble with teachers who say any extra time should be well spent.
"We weren't having this discussion for the last 10 years. All the adults in the system, every adult, was talking about what was in it for them, not what was in it for the kids," Emanuel said. "In the last six months, we're finally having a discussion of what's in it for the kids."
CTU president Karen Lewis said the solution to under-prepared students is not more hours for current teachers but more teachers. She said there should also be an expansion back into art music and the humanities, which she says currently receive insufficient attention from the Chicago School Board.
