http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/nov/11/myth-charter-schools/?pagination=false http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/31/philadelphia.charter.schools/index.html?iref=allsearch http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/09/study_finds_charter_school_stu.html HMMM the myths of charter school
Charter schools are just another attempt to privatize and re-organize the public school system. Republicans have wanted to privatize public education for years and require the Federal government to pay private corporations a premium to educate our kids. We can't let public education turn into another HMO. Valuing education starts in the home, not at school. Even great teachers need willing and serious students to be productive as educators. The ONLY people who should be reaping any financial gain from public education are the TEACHERS. End of story.
Here charters schools have to perform or risk losing their charter. My former neighbor had to pull her son out to home school him because the charter school he was in was berating him for not making the grade in a few subjects while he excelled in other. Berating him to the point he was having psych issues over it. She tried to put him in his former public school in the same district and was told her he had "given up" his home school rights when he enrolled in the charter and he was welcome to open enroll to a waiting list because the school was full and not accepting any students by open enrollment. She said remember me I live in this schools enrollment area. She home schools him now. She was nearly in tears for weeks on end on what to do. It was a total catch 22 for their family. I think if they perform and can make the grade fine I guess but I really don't understand why there is a need for them.....honestly. Do they really outperform regular schools??
The problem with public schools is the kids have too many rights. The school doesn't have the power to discipline anymore. When I was a kid when you messed up the punishment was so bad you didn't want to mess up again. Throw a snowball clean the front steps of the school with a spoon after school and be forced to find your own way home. Get detention three times you copy the front page of the newspaper in Greek. Personally I think the education part isn't the problem its the discpline part. Keeping the assholes oin line so that those who want to learn can learn.
Please... take a look at all the folks in prison. Many of them will tell you about being discipline and still going the wrong path. You got to influence mentally to win.
THe problem is the parents and not the schools. no amount of private or public school will make up for bad parenting. end of story.
Kids are outright arrested and fined for infractions these days. We're talking K - 12. I don't have any numbers on hand to back it up but I'm pretty sure kids are getting expelled and suspended far more today than in the past as well. Which would be interesting seeing how violent crime among adolescents and teenagers is dropping. I don't think it's a matter of kids not having discipline as much as many schools figure it's not worth the effort to curtail devious behavior. Look at how many kids in school these days get bullied while the schools don't do anything until they have a suicide on their hands. I do think schools had more of a moral investment in their children's future in the past than most public schools and teachers do today. To me it's mostly education that is the problem. Children in this country are simply taught how to take tests and memorize facts. The ones who are taught that much at all. They're not taught to think critically, question, or look at the world from different perspectives unless they're lucky enough to go to a high quality public school (which the vast majority are not). Also I think America's attitude towards education is a problem. There are countries where the citizens would LOVE to be educated. Here it's just seen as a rung in a ladder on the way to the top for most people and isn't valued much at all besides being a commodity.
Interesting point but I guess it depends on where you live because now kids have more rights than I ever remembered having. In my district teachers now have to prove cause for detentions and during detention kids are only required to do their homework for the hour they are kept after and then the school is responsible for getting them home. It doesn't get the message of punishment across. I do agree the education is something to be desired but there's hope http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16879336 They're trying to implement different classes that help students deal with life challenges as well as academic ones.
I agree, kids have too many rights. Jase had a point also about the infractions. Arch,, I have to agree with you about the parenting. Now,, combine all this and that's the problem. Kids know they have the rights now and take those infractions as a joke as if it's cool or something. Parents now are kids themselves. I can recall in my town a girl and her child both riding the school bus together. smh. And a parent(s) whooping there child is out the door. My single mother beat my ass, then explained why, with love following. I knew right from wrong because she taught me and I turned out a upstanding, respectable, educated, hard working young man. What I'm saying,, you all have valid points, and they all contribute to this major problem we have with our kids. IMO
I think that's the key right there, Stizzy. Sometimes you have the punishment with no loving explanation, or you have "love" with no consequences, which really isn't love at all. There has to be both discipline and love. Kids need direction and whether they think so or not, they want it. And it doesn't stop when they get out of grade school. Teenagers are my heart. It's such a confusing time and too often, if parents aren't careful, kids at that age fall through the cracks because we think they're old enough to think for themselves and that's not always the case. They need attention, love, direction and patience more than ever. Sometimes, all they want is just for their parents to listen and understand. To pay attention.
Education has become a multifaceted problem with many causes, lots of blame, and very few viable solutions. At the collegiate level, education is big business with spiraling costs, selective clientele and a staff who fly under the radars of relevancy and scrutiny. I had several professors who only sold books that we never covered, and left teaching to assistants and grad students trying to get into the "system".... Yet, without a degree from a recognized university/college and graduate credentials, an individual's market value and bargaining power diminish substantially when looking for a job... College is a necessary evil for most who desire to be successfully employed and "fairly" compensated... At the state/municipal level, for a variety of reasons, education has become hostage to the same principles that drive corporate businesses... Taxes and state lotteries, supposedly used to fund public education never seem to balance the books, cover projected costs, or deliver uniform knowledge across the spectrum of government and/or state/local standards. When states come up short on budgets, one of the first victims cut is education... The first series of schools to go were trade schools... We are now flooded with tv commercials from "colleges" offering courses in auto mechanics, secretarial skills, etc.... Districts, cities, and states have resorted to privatization in most cases to get the most bang for their allotted bucks. Contractors bid for those dollars, but each contractor's bottom line is profit... As in any contract, there are performance milestones, incentives, etc. if the contract is brought in on or under costs, with the desired results. Unfortunately, our most "efficient" contract educators place statistics over students if the numbers reflect negatively on performance. Cut the "dead weight" and keep our numbers up.... That's how they get "paid"... A side step could also lay blame on the many American corporations who have chosen to take their operations abroad and claim that they cannot find "skilled" or "qualified" employees in the states... With the money these corporations make, wouldn't it prudent to invest in state/local education beyond the superficial scholarship? Companies used to have training programs/apprenticeships etc... Costs versus profits? Parents do have a responsibility. In an ideal home, both parents are present and involved in the development of their children. With divorce rates in the U.S. above 50% of all marriages, how many ideal families exist? How many single parents juggle involvement with their children with odd work hours, bills, and other distractions that negate quality time? In the less privileged segments of our communities, how many single parents can even assist their children with subjects the parent never saw? Once upon a time, teachers knew the parents of their students... teachers would call if a student was late or didn't show up for class... Today? IMO, education, if it is valued as a step to the future of youth, must be rethought, its priorities and reinvestment must place emphasis on the child and not the dollar... Individual success stories notwithstanding, it seems we are willing to sacrifice the young and blame them for later failure....