Henry Bienen, outgoing CPS Board Member, ex-President of Northwestern and interim head of the Poetry Foundation, recently discussed his thoughts on CPS and the CTU. In response, WCT turns our spotlight on Henry Bienen:
Bienen's thoughts on CPS during Rahm's 1st term: "The schools improved, no doubt about it..I can't see that it comes from any lowering of standards in any way."
Chance that Bienen understands the realities of grade/attendance manipulation: 0
Amount of regular CPS teachers spoken to by Bienen while serving on BoE: 0
Opinion of CTU: "There are very few places that have as good a deal as the CTU."
Assessment of his own wealth: "I'm not that rich."
Value of his 161 E. Chicago Ave. condo: $1.3 M
Percentage of CPS teachers eligible to collect Social Security: 0
Percentage of retired CPS teachers collecting less than $3,000/month pension: 42%
Percentage of retired CPS teachers collecting less than $2,500/month pension: 27%
Opinion of elected CPS School Board: "Poor idea."
Bald-faced lie: "I believe in democracy."
Effete false-modest musings on new poetry job: "When I was a freshman at Cornell, my poetry teacher was W. D. Snodgrass, a great poet. I met my wife in his class...I had lunch with Snodgrass, who was a very wonderful guy, very informal. He said to me, "Henry, either you have a very complicated ear for poetry, or..." And the 'or' just hung there."
Behavior during CPS Board Meetings: "When parents would come before the board with questions, he never even made eye contact, like, 'I have to endure these unwashed masses in front of me.'"
-Karen Lewis
Wife Leigh Bienen's job: Law Professor at Northwestern, special interest in capital punishment reform
Likelihood that Northwestern's Innocence Project sent an innocent man to jail: 100%
Probability that Henry and Leigh Bienen are clueless about life in Chicago: 100%
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