Unleash the charter school revolution

[Counselor706]

The average fourth grader’s reading score dropped 5 points since 2020 — the most significant drop among the age group in over two decades. The math test results were even worse as the average 9-year-old faced a 7-point drop, making it one of the most disappointing results in the test’s history. Moreover, lower-performing and disadvantaged students encountered greater test score losses than their peers, further widening the achievement gap.

Undoubtedly, teacher unions and the politicians who kept schools closed must be held accountable. But that will not immediately help the students who suffered academically. Students and families deserve more than a scapegoat; they deserve a reimagined education system. One that actually works.

Yet, the high achievement of charter schools seems only one of many reasons why a new report found "three in four parents" want their education options to include "more public charter school offerings in their area." This is because, in addition to improving their students’ test scores, charter schools positively affect test scores for students located in nearby "traditional" schools. For instance, two recent studies found significant academic gains for students who remain in traditional public schools when charter schools increase enrollment.

Regrettably, despite the extraordinary impacts charter schools can have on local communities, many localities force an arbitrary cap on the number of charter schools and students allowed to be in them. Every school year, students nationwide participate in lotteries to gain a coveted seat in the school of their choice. These lotteries let children dream of an opportunity to receive an excellent education, unlike many current systems that determine a child’s educational opportunities based on nothing more than their home address. A child’s chance to attend the school of their choice shouldn’t have to be a gamble, however.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...-family/unleash-the-charter-school-revolution

 

[EmptyTank]

you lock them out of the schools
and pray to the union

and the results you get
are the results you get

will the participants of this revolution use finger guns

or will they be shouting into school safe zones

either way there will be quaking and tears

will the counter kabuki be drag shows

 

[phrodeau]

I’m sure that amateur teachers can perform much better than professionals.

 

[ll74]

Meanwhile

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/11/nyregion/hasidic-yeshivas-schools-new-york.html

New York’s Hasidic Jewish religious schools have benefited from $1 billion in government funding in the last four years but are unaccountable to outside oversight

 

[Chobham]

Meanwhile

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/11/nyregion/hasidic-yeshivas-schools-new-york.html

New York’s Hasidic Jewish religious schools have benefited from $1 billion in government funding in the last four years but are unaccountable to outside oversight

Exactly what does that have to do with "Charter" schools?

Short answer. Nothing.

 

[Chobham]

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...-family/unleash-the-charter-school-revolution

The author is calling for one solution to the issues with the public school systems that were brought to light by the Wuhan Flu pandemic. However what the author acknowledges but overlooks is the fact that Charter Schools are Public Schools and subject to all regulation pertaining thereto. In the State I currently live in Charter Schools were shut down just as the Public Schools were. The same for the Private schools. Religious Private schools were like wise subjected to those edicts but managed to quash the orders based on 1st amendment grounds.

However another phenomena was taking place. An increase in Home Schooling along with two sub-variants thereof.

The first variant is "Pod" schooling. This is where a neighborhood gets together and creates their own defacto Private school. The students meet at one of the parents homes, or even different homes on a rotating schedule, for instruction on a regular daily basis. Some of these neighborhoods have even hired credentialed teachers as 'tutor's' to lead the instruction. This arrangement gives the parents complete control of the curriculum (subject to state laws concerning home schooling) as well as the suitability of the 'tutor.'

The other variant is what is known as 'graded' learning (although I don't think the term graded is all that precise). This is where each child is allowed to progress according to his or her own ability. If what would nominally be a 5th grader is capable of 8th grade level math then that child is taught and tested at the 8th grade level. The same would apply to any other pertinent subject matter. This would also apply to the slower learners. Each child would progress at their own ability without being "passed on" or "held back" based on some artificial grade metric.

 

[JohnEBbad]

Home schooling works. This I know to be true. But I don't think that it is universally true.
There is a need for public education, but I don't believe in one size fits all either.
There have to be choices, variety and niches that reflect the students.
If they are known to not be capable of scholarship then
a path to the trades needs to be there.

 

[JohnEBbad]

Since smaller communities cannot offer such plethora of choice,
perhaps a system of public boarding schools to allow
students to embark upon a career path...

 

[JohnEBbad]

"This arrangement gives the parents complete control of the curriculum (subject to state laws concerning home schooling) as well as the suitability of the 'tutor.'"

Aye, there's the rub. Government being what it is, as it feels its power to indoctrinate to slip away,
it will then begin to intrude into the home legislatively in a manner to recreate
that "atmosphere" which its subjects fled from initially.
Those laws will become more laws.

 

[Chobham]

The public school system has been corrupted by union and political dogma starting with the indoctrination that the only path to success is with a Univ. degree. So many alternatives are being actively suppressed.

 

[Chobham]

"This arrangement gives the parents complete control of the curriculum (subject to state laws concerning home schooling) as well as the suitability of the 'tutor.'"

Aye, there's the rub. Government being what it is, as it feels its power to indoctrinate to slip away,
it will then begin to intrude into the home legislatively in a manner to recreate
that "atmosphere" which its subjects fled from initially.
Those laws will become more laws.

True enough but their success will vary from state to state and more people will vote with their feet.

 

[JohnEBbad]

What we have most recently witnessed in the genre of "voting with their feet," is the exodus of Californians unable to cope with the system there, but upon their arrival to new communities, they revert to their old voting patterns born of a mindset that they approve of 'intellectually-theoretically' seeking to impose the same structures and behaviors that they just fled from; it's always going to work out better with a restart (i.e., they don't approve of the culture that they just fled to).

 

[Chobham]

What we have most recently witnessed in the genre of "voting with their feet," is the exodus of Californians unable to cope with the system there, but upon their arrival to new communities, they revert to their old voting patterns born of a mindset that they approve of 'intellectually-theoretically' seeking to impose the same structures and behaviors that they just fled from; it's always going to work out better with a restart (i.e., they don't approve of the culture that they just fled to).

That is/was true to a certain extent based on previous patterns, the Wuhan Flu is/was a game changer. Florida is a good example of that.

 

[JohnEBbad]

We've had a lifetime of too many examples of political lessons learned having but a fleeting lifespan.

 

[Chobham]

We've had a lifetime of too many examples of political lessons learned having but a fleeting lifespan.

True enough, but previously it was incremental, not a game changer like the past two years.

 

[JohnEBbad]

If a soft revolution occurs and nobody reports on it, did it really happen or is it just the 'new normal?'

I'll lay you dollars to donuts that the majority of the population has no inkling that
there has been a mountain sea change underway...

It's always been this way.

 

[JohnEBbad]

That's why Orwell wrote something along the lines of, the chocolate ration has been increased from 1.87 grams to 1.79 grams; it was an astute observation on the nature of people either in thrall of or intimidated by Big Brother (government). It is just accepted as it is.

 

[LittleDixie]

The schooling system in this country was created to emulate the "Prussian model" of teaching. This approach to schooling did not aim to educate a child to bloom into a free thinking individual, but rather to teach them to read, write and follow military orders. The Prussian model was a process of turning children into citizens, each of which would be able to understand orders given to them. Our school system has evolved on its own path, but it has retained the aspect of a factory turning out gears, rather than an institution of learning and innovation.

It can be seen throughout America that teachers are trying to modify the youth to accept their gender and sexuality opinions (as well as their politics). They aren't trying to give students tools to allow them to come to their own conclusions, they are pre-programming societal views into them to achieve a cultural change. Incidentally (and provably), they are terrible at actually teaching children useful things.

Public schooling should be abolished entirely. The taxes that people pay for public schooling should all be refunded to the people who pay them. Private institutions will emerge that will teach according to what the parents want (a functioning, creative, free thinking young adult), and teachers who fail at that mission will lose their students. Private schools, charter schools and home schools should be the rule, not the exception. The government should have no say in how children are taught, and should not steal money from us to waste on these useless teachers in public schools.

 

[JohnEBbad]

Abolishing public schooling would punish the children whose parents have no means, ability or inclination to educate their children which is one reason why it has been found necessary to mandate a public education. I think that in an Information Age, we can eliminate the public school mandate, but education cannot be optional for children, but the parents should also have the latitude to make choices that best fit their family's culture.

 

[icanhelp1]

Abolishing public schooling would punish the children whose parents have no means, ability or inclination to educate their children which is one reason why it has been found necessary to mandate a public education. I think that in an Information Age, we can eliminate the public school mandate, but education cannot be optional for children, but the parents should also have the latitude to make choices that best fit their family's culture.

It's my opinion, a soft revolution would take the form of trickle down funding where fed monies would follow the individual child in the form of a stipend, regulated in such a way as to insure academic standards are achieved and maintained. Academic standards drive the train not unions. Parents are given choices as to how to school their children and where to send them for that schooling. Establish competition within the education system where academic achievement is the measurement that drives choice not government strong arm tactics. Get rid of teachers unions and the department of education and mandate the responsibility to educate to the states with agreed upon educational standards.

 

[Chobham]

Haven't you gotten the news? Standards for children and teachers both are discriminatory.

 

[JohnEBbad]

Indeed. I forgot. If you "feel" smart enough, you're educated. We see a lot of that here...

 

[icanhelp1]

Haven't you gotten the news? Standards for children and teachers both are discriminatory.

Perhaps competition would be a step towards eliminating discriminatory practices. Parents need to take back their rights as citizens. Giving each child equal footing by providing an equal allotment for each child and allowing choice would be a step forward. Our bloated government is slowly eliminating our freedom of choice shoving down our throats one size fits all mandates. Our political system is a reflection of how informed our citizenry is, pretty poor right now. People want change but keep voting in the same old hasbeens.