It is concerning that more than 150 years after Horace Mann and the public education movement took hold, we must listen to false arguments about public education. The idea was and should still be that America strives to educate its youth to their capacity through public funding. Diverting education dollars so that we re-create separate and unequal schools is NOT the answer -- it is a smokescreen for failing to invest in all our students. Charter schools should be viewed as a supplemental approach, not a substitute.
Most Florida citizens who voted in 1986 for Lottery funds to supplement our schools did not expect the Legislature to continually gut base funding. Illegal, by the way. Anyone want to focus on that issue instead of sidetracking to the charter vs public school debate?
I noticed the educators here do not like these schools and one theme I read over and over was the teacher and student attrition. These schools are not for everyone, that's why they are not government run (by government teacher's unions) schools. Just the nature of these schools (not for everyone like in public schools) makes for attrition to be the norm. Other than that... I'll have to look at these test scores and see if Detroit public schools test as well or better than their charter schools do. That seems a bit strange to me Also I noticed that Stossel said these charter schools in New York used half the money per student to educate their students than the government run schools spend? That's a win savings for the parents, and the taxpayers, if true. In public schools you never hear about teachers losing their jobs nor teachers just quitting in masse. I also noticed that detail didn't sit well with our resident educators, and I wonder what's the cause for the teacher attrition in these charter schools. One thing I did see in that video is the more than normal time these teachers were working. Overtime seems like a lost concept with these charter schools and that might not see fair to the public school teachers. How do you compete with schools that make their teachers work more hours...maybe even without overtime? That's hard to accept if you're a teacher. I think there is missing information in that video becasue nothing is that perfect. But if you can get teachers to work more hours without overtime, then the students and the taxpayers are the ones that seem to get ahead in the deal. The public school teachers and teacher's unions do not like that, I'll bet. And that is what seems to be the main point to the MAIN point of contention with these charter schools.
While an important and sad story, this kinda thing can go back n forth. There are real reasons to criticize charter schools and the privatization movement.
Thanks for chiming in, rick. When you do your research, please show your work (i.e. cite your sources ). In the meantime, a couple things to add to your post. You absolutely do hear about public school teachers losing their jobs. I've known some who were given the boot. Public school teachers are indeed quitting en masse and have been for some time. Nearly half of new teachers quit within five years. If you conduct a non-biased review of the Detroit charters, you will find a great deal of failure. I don't believe teachers unions are government entities, but someone can correct me if wrong. They bargain with the gov, so if they were gov-run, it would present a conflict of interest. I'm not a union expert, though.
I view it as part of the same continuum. Delegitimize public education from all angles, including claiming that public school teachers are groomers sexualizing children, like around the Don’t say gay bill. Their rhetoric is vile. They will destroy to prevail. But the incidents of sexualizing children seem more common from those who claim rhetoric are motivated to defend children, when in fact they are just cruel despots
First paragraph says charter schools aren't for everyone. The rest of the post talks about how they should be for everyone?
I view it as lowering oneself to their level (i.e. dirty pool) and I don't mean to be accusatory toward you, just point out that privatizers can highlight public school employees who have acted poorly too. It's a cyclical argument, whereas the evidence regarding vouchers & charter schools is a true and accurate indictment. Agree, though, that the privatizers' rhetoric is vile.
Charter schools are less expensive per student, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Charter schools can tell kids no and deny them entry. Public schools cannot. Kids who need an IEP can be 1.5X the cost of an average student to educate. Special needs usually 3X to up to 4X the average. When comparing apples to apples, Charter schools aren't any cheaper.
Legislation being proposed that would require charter schools abide by the same legislation (Ind w Disabilities Education Act) as public schools. DeLauro Introduces Legislation to Rein in For-Profit Charter Schools For-profit companies are disguising themselves as schools, trading in taxpayer funds for boosted profits at the expense of our children’s learning,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “The CHARTER Act would ensure that for-profit education management organizations can no longer jump through loopholes that have given them access to funding that has always been intended for nonprofit entities. Educating our children should be for their enrichment and future prosperity – not to maximize the profits of their owners and investors. I am proud to be joined by Congresswoman Bonamici in introducing legislation to close this loophole for good.” “Public education funding should be dedicated to supporting students and enhancing their learning experience,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “Unfortunately, existing loopholes allow for-profit entities to get taxpayer funds through the nonprofit charter schools they operate. Those for-profit entities then profit from federal funding that’s been siphoned away from programs that benefit students. Thank you to my colleague Congresswoman DeLauro for joining me on this legislation to crack down on this unscrupulous practice.