Mayor

Why the Mayor Was Here

Goldman Sachs is giving away money, apparently.

Here’s the story (and reason for the press conference:

Goldman Sachs is funneling $25 million in loans and educational grants to Chicago-area small businesses, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday….Of the $25 million, $20 million will be in loans to small businesses and the remaining $5 million will fund an educational program at City Colleges of Chicago…

The City Colleges program kicks off in January 2012 and will run for five years, with each cohort completing an eight- to 10-week curriculum that meets on Saturdays. Cheryl Hyman, the chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago, said she expects 25 to 30 businesses per cohort. The classes are free and will cover topics such as finance, marketing, negotiations and human resources.

City Colleges has an existing entrepreneurial program, but “we didn’t have anything as robust and structured for small businesses,” Hyman told the Tribune.

There’s more, which you can read about HERE.

 

Tuesday Teaching Question

Tuesday Teaching Question is a regular feature that attempts to get a conversation going about teaching.  Typically, the questions attempt to be very practical.  TTQ is brought to you by CAST.  If you have a question that you’re dying to have featured in an upcoming TTQ, e-mail me at hwc_cast@ccc.edu.

The mayoral race has been heating up and the primaries are a few weeks away (2 weeks from today to be exact).  I’m attempting to get the preservice teachers in my Math for Elementary teachers classes thinking about the impact that the new mayor would have on their future livelihood by asking them to read the candidates education platforms and discuss them.  (Phew, that was a long sentence!)  Anyway…

Are you incorporating the mayoral race into your classes?  If so, how?

Mayoral Control of Schools

So, I guess we’re going to have an interesting political season here in the city of Chicago, and when it comes time for the tributes to Mayor Daley to come rolling in, you can bet that he will get a lot of credit for having “taken over” what was, at the time, described as the worst public school system in the country and making it, if not great, at least better.

Since the day that the Mayor (at no insignificant political risk, it might be added) made his move, more than one other city mayor has walked the same path. Here is an interesting assessment of the results of such “takeover” efforts.

Something to think about as the next, Would-Be-Mayors present their visions of Public Education in the City of Chicago.