Reporter's Notebook: Chicago schools face nightmare as Illinois pushes progressive politics

The disconnect between the progressive ideology driving these new standards and the realities on the ground could not be starker.

I set up the camera and thought of how far this man’s world was from the new standards that the education leaders in Illinois believed would uplift Blacks and shrink the performance gaps between Whites and Blacks. While most people certainly would have no issues with teachers being "culturally competent" and "responsive" to students, what struck me when I first read the new standards was there was no mention of the word "merit." These new standards would require teachers to subscribe to "progressive values" and "hold high expectations in which all students can participate and lead as student advocates or activists." (The rule-writers recently changed "progressive" to "inclusive" but every aspect of the new standards reflects progressive politics.) How would these "high expectations" help this young Black man out looking for work?  Illinois lawmakers approve 'culturally responsive' teaching standards