On September 7th I rode my bike downtown to WGN Radio and participated in an interview that produced a powerful and insightful conversation about education in Chicago.  The host (Matt Bubala) was funny–even a little silly, embarrassing me at least three times. That, however, did not take away from a very rich conversation about what is wrong and right about education in Chicago.  For those of you who recognize the value of our public schools and want to ensure that others recognize that value as well, this interview provides several important talking points for you in your efforts.

To hear the interview click the play icon below.

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Some of the topics we covered were:

What is the source of the achievement gap and what can be done about it?
Why did CPS reprimand you and how will you respond?
What is the motivation behind the opt out movement?
Have you met with CPS officials and/or the Mayor behind the scenes?
Why are CPS’s finances in such disarray?
It’s one thing to point out problems, but how do you bring about change?
What are the positive aspects of CPS?

Excerpt
“As a public servant, I don’t have a duty to serve politicians; I have a duty to serve the public. I do that by ensuring the public is informed. They make the decisions about who to put into office; who to take out of office; and who to put pressure on while they’re in office. That’s part of democracy too. Democracy is not ‘We vote you in and we leave you alone.’ It’s ‘We vote you in and then we keep you honest.’ So I do everything that I can to give the people I serve–the public–the information they need to keep our politicians and elected and appointed officials honest.”