"The Real Lesson of the Chicago Teachers' Strike: Fire Them All and Start Over!", an article written by Wayne Allyn Root, on Foxnews.com, argues that we must stop supporting the use of government tax money to fund ineffective teachers and instead hire replacements at a third of the cost, but implement a pay-based-performance policy. Root argues that Chicago teachers are among the highest paid, but have the worst performance rates. By raising their wages during this “Great Depression,” we are adding billions of dollars of debt to Chicago's education system. To uncover Root's underlying purpose, the following articles will be used in contrast which also serve to further complicate Root's argument. The Horace Mann Report To begin, Root informally expresses his thoughts on the teachers' strike. “Chicago teachers are among the highest paid in the nation. And their performance is among the worst in the nation... they went on strike because they weren't happy with a big raise and didn't want to deal with performance reviews every now and then. (Root 2012)” Root expresses himself sarcastically, thus downplaying the purpose of the strike in order to discredit teachers and convince the public to support his demand and reduce school funding. The reason we are investing more money in teachers' "gold-plated health packages" is obvious. Root doesn't consider the dangers of Chicago, where parents attack young students and gang activity is everywhere. There are many more factors than can be attributed to teachers for student achievement. Various reports lead to the lifestyle of children, where most of them are well below the poverty line and live in violent neighborhoods. Teachers work voluntarily in these situations recognizing the type of crime. Statistically, more and more children are becoming involved in gangs. These “little friends” are children who have been shown all their lives that the only way to survive is to stay in this cycling system of violence. The only way to break this chain of abuse is to introduce these children to a higher quality education where they will learn more than simply pulling triggers. It is a fact that there is a greater chance of a child getting involved in criminal activities if they do not receive proper education. Whether more money is invested in available educators or not should be the least of our society's concerns. Kozol's commentary on the 2012 teachers' strike, played by Liz Dwyer, highlights that the money invested in the education system is not as important as the quality of the education itself. Kozol and Horace Mann believe that all students should have a common, high-quality education despite the costs. "The other question that richer people ask is, 'Jonathan, can you really buy your way to a better education?' also sets it in motion. "I don't