Editorial: Newly minted CPS CEO Macquline King says no to CTU’s May Day push

Macquline King last week was given a three-year contract to be the CEO of Chicago Public Schools. In a memo released Wednesday afternoon, King wrote that “the District’s position is to remain open on May 1.” This despite pressure from the Chicago Teachers Union to turn the day into a “Day of Civic Action” involving both teachers and students.

That’s the right starting point, but the memo devolves into legalese when King should have been making a much firmer statement declaring that it’s wrong for the CTU to try to disrupt student learning in this manner. What we got instead was a lengthy explanation of why she didn’t think the union’s arguments for changing the school calendar were right, based on the collective bargaining agreement.

We’re glad King didn’t bow immediately to CTU’s considerable pressure. But this was a mealy-mouthed memo.

As we write, there’s even confusion as to whether the matter really is closed. The school board has involved itself, and a majority are appointees of Mayor Brandon Johnson. Parents maybe shouldn’t assume May 1 will be a school day just yet. Ridiculous.

CTU’s planned May 1 school-day protest would effectively be a walkout; the union has pushed for excused absences so students can participate. It’s bad enough that the union is asking its members to abandon their jobs; what’s worse is that they want to rope students into their pressure tactics as well.

We got a glimpse of how the union proposes to indoctrinate — er, instruct — students if this ill-conceived plan moves forward. A copy we obtained of the curriculum CTU recommends teachers use on that day goes well beyond teaching about labor history and dives into full-blown political advocacy.

For example, the union wants preschoolers to do a group project making protest signs. “Write a sign about something you think is unfair and want to change,” the directions read. We can imagine parents might be a little confused to see their 3- and 4-year-olds engaged in mock political protest. 

The plan for older students is blatant. CTU has abandoned the idea that education is meant to teach kids how to think and jumped straight to telling them what to think, with an entire portion of the high school curriculum labeled, “Things Donald Trump Did This Year You Might Have Missed,” presenting a one-sided case against the president.

We’re not fans of the president, either, but there’s a time and place for everything. When it comes to matters like history and political science, the task is to teach students to learn how to be critical thinkers and form their own opinions, not to train tomorrow’s army of agitators.

The significance of May 1, of course, is that it’s May Day — a day in history chosen by the labor movement to press for change in the workplace. We remember being introduced to U.S. labor history in high school, where its study in context belongs. But May Day teachings may seem a tad heavy and premature for those who may not have learned their alphabet yet.

Also included in the recommended pre-K curriculum are lessons on gender and sexuality, topics likely to raise eyebrows among parents in the district who think schools should be focusing on age-appropriate education for those just starting out in life. 

Another section of the curriculum includes a “youth organizing against authoritarianism lesson.” Once kids have completed the lesson on authoritarianism, the curriculum suggests having them create a public service announcement or TikTok on rising authoritarianism and what to do about it. 

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Of course authoritarianism is a destructive force. But here’s the thing: If students are encouraged to see authority entirely as something to resist, they won’t respect authority in any form. At a time when roughly 40% of CPS students are chronically absent, this is a troubling direction.

Pointing out that this culture is problematic doesn’t make someone a Trump supporter, it makes them a reasonable adult who recognizes two things can be true at once: Many of Trump’s actions deserve to be called out, and it’s not OK for teachers to tell students what their politics should be.

This mission creep is introducing a wide range of complicated social topics to kids at young ages that distract from the primary purpose of our schools: Mastering the fundamentals. This distortion creates a dynamic that blurs the line between authority figure and peer ally, which is unhealthy, unproductive and simply not the role of public schools. 

We’ve known for a long time that the CTU is focused on politics and not education.

Anyone not part of some ideological bunker can plainly see the CTU for what it is: A radical political movement intent on using Chicago schools to further its agenda.

We’ve heard from progressives who are just as troubled by this development as their more moderate peers. 

This May Day push will not address the reading and math proficiency gaps present in CPS. It will do nothing to expose kids to a love of history or literature or science. This quite plainly is a group of adult activists foisting their political causes onto the next generation, defining students in their own image, and asking them to carry these burdens for them.

In his best moments, former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez served as a counterweight to this kind of CTU extremism. King now is tasked with the same job. She needs to stand up here for CPS families.

Editor’s note: This editorial was updated to reflect later events.

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