Dave Glowacz: What did you just say—that was very interesting—about being scared?

Griselda Canas: Well, just the way that many teachers are doing things is that we’re scared to say something . . . we’re scared to protest or to, you know, to tell somebody that what’s going on, you know, tell our story because if we do, it makes us feel like we’re, like we’re going to get in trouble, like we were the ones who did something wrong, like we should be ashamed of ourselves in some way.  Especially for “Do Not Hires.”

Dave Glowacz: Yeah.

Griselda Canas: Because that kind of sticks us in the whole . . . that they put people who hit kids, who, who . . . child molesters, people who drink on the job, people who walk off the job.  It puts us in the same pool as them.

Dave Glowacz: Yeah. So you get scared, but then you think, why should I be scared?

Griselda Canas: Yes, so that’s kind of, I mean yesterday, we were, we were talking about it, we were thinking about it, you know, should we just cancel? But it’s then we thought, what are we scared about?  We didn’t do anything.  We just don’t know . . . .

Dave Glowacz: Yeah.

Griselda Canas: And at the same time, we want people to know what happened.

Dave Glowacz: Yeah.

Griselda Canas: And if it was just . . . there’s a lot of us asking ourselves, What did—what did I do?  Maybe if I would’ve, I wouldn’t have been vocal about anything . . . I   would have just kept quiet all the time and said yes to everything, maybe they would have kept me around.

Dave Glowacz: So that, that’s a form of censorship.

Griselda Canas: Yes. And it was not like anybody was saying anything, anything bad, I don’t think so, you know. We are educated people.  Most of us have master’s, or two master’s, and you know, we, we have our own philosophies of education. And when we decided to teach, we didn’t, it wasn’t like we were going to go into our job where we were going to be working in a factory and we had to do exactly the same thing.  Plus, we know our students so we can be vocal about what we believe is best for our students. And, you know, it’s not, especially in Chicago, you know most of us have the opportunity to go teach somewhere else.  For example, I, I went to, to Concordia University and most of the people that I was there that I student taught with, we had this reception right before student teaching: Everybody chose to teach in a suburban school district.  Those of us who decided to teach in Chicago—it wasn’t just because we were, we couldn’t get another job.  It was just, it was because we really, we’re really dedicated to our job, we have a vocation, and we wanted to be, you know, we wanted to be good teachers for our students.

Dave Glowacz:  Did you say you filed a grievance?

Griselda Canas: I di—I filed two grievances.

Dave Glowacz: When?

Griselda Canas: First one, I filed 7/13.

Dave Glowacz: What was that about?

Griselda Canas: It was about the fact that I had been hired and I’d submitted the paperwork needed for, to proceed with staffing and then CPS, the principal called me and said my staffing had not gone through, the assistant principal actually called me. So I called CPS to find out and they told me I was a “Do Not Hire”

Dave Glowacz: What were your, what is your grievance about?

Griselda Canas: My grievance is about the fact, so I emailed Cheryl Colston and she told me that because I had been a non-renewal twice, I was receiving a DNH designation, and you, you should supposedly you were able to appeal it . . . that’s what I was told when I first called but she said the DNH will not be lifted and I said it doesn’t matter that he—

Dave Glowacz: Gave it mistakenly the first time

Griselda Canas: He did it to me and then, the first time, and then he reinstated me and she said, no it doesn’t matter. I heard the words, no it does not matter, the DNH will not be lifted.

Dave Glowacz: What are you asking for in your grievance?

Griselda Canas: Just the fact that we have ten days from the time we are told that we are non-renewals to resign.  Now, this policy of “Do Not Hires” is no, it’s, it’s nowhere in the, in the CTU contract.  So, I was like, you know, had I known that this was a policy, I would have resigned.  Supposedly, their words are that you can resign and you can avoid this going on your record or something like that.  You have ten days to resign.

Dave Glowacz: What does that get you?

Griselda Canas: It just doesn’t go on, on your record.  So that would have just you know I would have resigned and if I ever came back to CPS—

Dave Glowacz: Let me stop you there.  So, there’s some benefit to resigning within ten days?

Griselda Canas: Just resigning my position within ten days.  Because you have to understand that we’re told at least thirty days before the school year ends, thirty school days, so we basically know we’re not coming back but we have to continue working.  Since I’d done that the year before and I knew the toll it takes on you, you know, it’s very, it’s very discouraging, you know.  You feel like you’re not wanted there and it’s very hard for you to, you know, to keep the same enthusiasm that you would and. you feel unappreciated so You know, I did consider resigning but it says clearly in the papers that you are sent that if you are appointed to a permanent teaching position within ten school months of your non-renewal date, your seniority and sick-day bank, if any, will be restored and you will resume your tenure track.  And since I knew that in September, this month, I would have achieved, as soon as, as I started working, I would have received tenure, I was like, I’m not going to resign, you know, I’m going to stick it out and I’m going to find another position.  And, you know, I did.