Mar 10, 2009 10:52 pm US/Central
Mayor, Teachers Address Chicago School Violence
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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New Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman
CBS
It's a story that really struck a nerve. CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine's report that more than 500 Chicago Public School students have been shot over a 16-month period elicited e-mails from parents, teachers, police officers and neighbors. It also prompted a big reaction from a world-recognized peace activist visiting Chicago Tuesday.
After all he's been through, battling apartheid in South Africa, not much shocks Bishop Desmond Tutu. Until we asked what he thought of students being gunned down at the rate of one a day.
It was among the first things he heard upon arriving at City Hall.
"All of us must be appalled," said Desmond Tutu.
"These families, they see their loved ones - 9-, 12-, 14-, 16-year-old gunned down," Mayor Daley said.
It's the toughest challenge facing Daley's new schools CEO Ron Huberman.
"Well, I think what you're hearing, and what I'm hearing is that people are ready for more action," Huberman said.
Huberman is known for his smarts.
Amina Matthews from Operation CeaseFire is known for her street smarts.
"I lived the life in west Englewood, I know, and I have a reputation in west Englewood, that 'been there, done that' and they know I love them," Matthews said. "They call and say, 'Amina, this is going on, can you get over here?' And I'll stop it at the front end."
How to cut down on the violence which has injured hundreds; touched thousands of students' lives depends on where you sit.
Tuesday night, some of the best and brightest teachers honored for achieving national certification shared their ideas.
"Any type of conflict can be solved without using violence, that's the most important thing that we need to start focusing on," said teacher Adelric McCain.
"To turn them away from the path of violence, you have to show them respect, and that's the only way they are going to start believing in themselves," said teacher Maria Soto.
Ron Huberman is counting on these teachers and others already in place to change things.
"We have certain principals and leaders in the school system who, within their schools, create a great culture of calm, and this is irrespective of neighborhood, of percentage of kids in poverty, it has nothing to do with it," Huberman said. "It has everything to do with the leadership in some schools."
And the community where Matthews is one of about 20 specialists on call 24/7.
"It's going to take all of us together: Huberman, the governor, CeaseFire, families, doctors, lawyers, ministers," Matthews said. "We're going to have to get out here and take our city back because this is our city. Chicago is a vibrant city, it's a beautiful city. It is unacceptable that we're losing babies like it's raining down here."
There'll be more reaction Wednesday morning when Chicago Police Supt. Jodi Weis joins the Reverend Jesse Jackson and others to speak out against what Jackson calls "the massacre of our children."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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