Opinion

JONATHAN TURLEY: Chicago schools reward protest while students can't read

Some of the sentiments expressed in Chicago could have been ripped from Mao's Little Red Book and speeches

By Jonathan Turley Fox News

Published April 24, 2026 9:00am EDT

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The Chicago Public Schools are facing a major truancy problem... among teachers.

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was up in arms over suggestions that classes should be held on May 1 when teachers wanted to be out protesting. Called International Workers' Day, May Day is a global day of protest for socialist, communist and unionist groups.

The CTU was upset when parents objected that canceling a day of class for teachers to join a political protest was a burden for working parents. These teachers believe that they are teaching something far more important through their activism. In defending the demand for publicly subsidized protests, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter explained that "teaching our students what civic action looks like requires more than textbooks."

While that does not help with the dismal proficiency scores of actual students, it is vital to training students as political foot soldiers.

CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION BUDGETING MILLIONS FOR 'POLITICAL ACTIVITIES,' ACCORDING TO FISCAL REPORT

The CTU and the National Education Association recently collaborated on a "curriculum build" to bring "social justice into the classroom" ahead of May Day. Dave Stieber, a history teacher in Chicago Public Schools is shown declaring that "May Day is a dress rehearsal for maybe there’s a random day in, you know, June that we all are, like, no work, no school, no shopping...So this is a continuation and a buildup of that."

In the meantime, with only 2 of 5 students reading at grade level, the Chicago teachers chose to lower proficiency levels rather than improve their teaching record.

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While failing on actually teaching students, the CTU is proficient at instructing politicians such as Mayor Brandon Johnson through the use of union dues to fund Democratic........

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