No time to opine today, but the attention of the K-12 education world is on the continuing Chicago teachers strike. A lot of pixels are being used to cover the topic, but I believe the following are the most informative and insightful:

• Dr. Terry Moe, one of the nation’s foremost experts on teachers unions, writes at CNN to remind us that not only strikes but also collective bargaining in general is about advancing adult interests — it’s not “for the kids”
• The venerable Rick Hess offers up five thoughts on the Chicago strike, including the observation that the only winner so far is the city’s charter school community, which are educating kids and “taking care of business”
• Andrew Coulson from the Cato Institute uses the moment to illustrate why the lack of competition in government unionism contributes to harmful strikes
• The Fordham Institute’s Michael Petrilli asserts that sometimes conflict is unavoidable if we want our education leaders to do their entrusted jobs
• Finally, Christian Schneider writes in City Journal that the Chicago Teachers Union’s actions could backfire against them in a way that opens Illinois to Scott Walker-style reforms

Similar but smaller scale activity is taking place locally in Douglas County and Adams 12, but the ramifications of the Windy City walkout may ripple across the nation for some time to come.