In their effort to re-do last year’s mayoral election, the principals of Chicago yesterday elected Troy LaRaviere over Mayor Emanuel in the race for the presidency of their association.
It’s easy to understand why principals might’ve opted for a more Karen Lewis-like leader to deal with the mayor. Principals, arguably, have been hit even harder than teachers by the mayor’s education policies; unlike teachers, principals have to pretend they agree with the mayor’s cuts and closings, as well as his testing, curriculum, and privatization programs. From time to time, the mayor even calls in a bunch of principals to stand behind him at a press conference as he announces some new program that may or may not contradict the program he announced a few weeks before. The principals are supposed to stand there like Stepford wives, gazing upon Rahm with the fawning look reminiscent of the one Chris Christie reserves for Donald Trump.
