Chicago Public Schools students staged a massive walkout, demonstration, and associated teach-ins on Tuesday in support of a resolution proposed by two Chicago aldermen calling for a cease-fire in the hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip. I do not doubt the sincerity and intensity of the students’ commitment to social justice and peace, and I, too, hope for a just and peaceful resolution to the Gaza crisis and to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the larger sense.
Having said that, I have a number of reservations. First, I believe many of the protests are one-sided. I will not defend the current Israeli government — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is abhorrent and many in his political coalition are even more so — or its current war strategy in Gaza, which has resulted in widespread destruction and displacement and the deaths of so many in Gaza. But I do believe Israel has a right to exist in peace and security (it is to be hoped, in some sort of two-state solution), and it is abundantly evident that the CPS students’ protest does not reflect that concern.
Second, I do not think the proposed City Council resolution will have any real-world effect on the situation. The Israeli government, which is answerable to a largely democratic electorate, will not care, and Hamas, which is answerable to no electorate, will care even less. The City Council resolution is thus performative and toothless except as a public expression of sentiment. Finally, I do not see the CPS students taking up any other causes resulting in far more human suffering and death, including the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghurs, Tibetans and other minorities; the re-emerging war on sub-Saharan Africans in the Darfur region of Sudan; and the ongoing violence directed at ethnic and religious groups in Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India (against Muslims) and countless other places.
In this context, and I emphasize again that I abhor the current Israeli government and its war policy and that nothing I say here should be interpreted as a defense of them or “what-about-ism,” the actions of the CPS students and the aldermen proposing this particular resolution seem highly selective and hypocritical. And this is without even considering the vast problems this city faces beyond performative and useless resolutions on issues far beyond its border.
— Mac Brachman, Chicago
Good education for all
I keep reading about problems with school systems, especially the Chicago schools since the Tribune is a Chicago paper.
When I first started teaching, Ed Bossert, superintendent of Lemont High School at the time, gave me some advice: “We are here for the students.” It is our job to help the students become successful in school and in life. This was my guiding principle for over 40 years as a counselor and teacher.
This should be the motto for every teacher, administrator, school board member, teacher union member, coach and every parent.
Think of what a great and productive education system we would have if this was No. 1 on everyone’s agenda.
School choice can be good, but we must not neglect those who don’t go to or can’t go to the elite schools. Students who are struggling need smaller classes and more support. College is not for everyone, but a good education should be for everyone.
— Don Mueggenborg, Lemont
Fate of self-checkouts
Regarding “Self-kiosks can be convenient, but human cashiers may have benefits” (Jan. 31): Despite the findings of a study published in the Journal of Business Research concerning self-checkouts and customer loyalty, my loyalty rests entirely with a store that has the products I wish to purchase. As a result, I go to both my local Jewel and Mariano’s based on product availability and sales. Neither store has everything I need on a weekly basis resulting in this dual loyalty.
Self-checkouts at both stores are very convenient. Contrary to the findings of the study, I always interact with employees who are stationed at the self-checkouts even more than at the checkout lanes where other customers are always waiting in line behind me leaving little time for discussion. We will talk about a number of things other than store issues including the Cubs!
If self-checkouts are pulled, it will not be based on the findings of this study. Rather, it will be about theft, which really affects the bottom line of these businesses and is relatively easy to do.
— Larry Vigon, Chicago
Learn about Black history
In the 1920s, American textbooks only mentioned African Americans in connection with slavery. 98 years ago, Dr. Carter G. Woodson inaugurated Negro History Week to ensure that African American students would learn about the accomplishments, traditions and culture of their ancestors. Negro History Month has since morphed into Black History Month for students of all races.
Over the last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stopped the teaching of Advanced Placement African American history in Florida. He also claimed that slaves benefited from job skills they acquired. Initially, Nikki Haley didn’t mention that slavery caused the Civil War. She then double downed on her misstating history by denying that America was ever a racist country.
As we celebrate Black History Month, it’s incumbent upon every American to study and learn what so many politicians are trying to obfuscate or deny.
— Paul L. Newman, Merion Station, Pennsylvania
Abortion a difficult subject
It was disheartening to read the letter from the Rev. Clara S. Thompson in Sunday’s Tribune berating those who oppose abortion (“The children already born”).
She ends her letter by lamenting that if they really cared, “they would be doing something for the needy children already born.” Now I am ashamed to say that I don’t know where her town, Montgomery, Illinois, is located, but I find it hard to believe that the reverend would be unaware of the heroic efforts of people of every faith tradition to help children in need. For instance, the Catholic Church stands firm against abortion, and yet she need only Google the words “Catholic Charities” to find help for victims of violence, for children who are unwanted, for children who are hungry. Only yesterday, a story in the Tribune reported the return of Franciscan Health Care to a neighborhood in need.
So much for caring about children. I wonder if the reverend ever thought about this: All those years marked by abortion rights: was she imposing her idea of morality on others? Abortion is such a complicated, painful subject, I know. Let’s not stoke the fire by misguided opinion.
— Alicia Ward Resnick, Winnetka
If shoe were on other foot
I belatedly read the Sunday issue of the letters to the editor with various opinions on the abortion issue. It reminded me of a conversation I had many years ago on this issue with a female state legislator, who said: “If men could become pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.”
— Mary Lubertozzi, Olympia Fields