Initially charter schools were a viable alternative to below par schools, particularly in the inner city. Charter schools could use creative curriculum to reach students left behind in traditional schools. But as McCluskey points out, with common core standards being adopted, charter schools will operate with uniform, government-imposed, national standards as in every public school in America. So why would parents want the exciting chance to place their children in charter schools when the charter schools have to operate under the same common core standards as public schools? Does that make sense? No, it doesn't if you are talking about providing educational excellence. It does make sense if certain organizations are making money from charter schools, though, doesn't it?
That's where the hidden agenda of charter school nags at me. Who is making money by creating charter schools? Who is behind the funding of some of these charter school organizations? The Gates Foundation is a huge proponent of charter schools. Why would Bill Gates want to fund the charter school movement?
To institute common core standards and to link the consortia from state to state, a huge nationwide computer network will need to be established. Computer programming will have to be created. Who will reap the benefits from these changes being rushed through by the Obama administration? It won't be the teachers, administrators, parents or children. The only segment to reap benefits are these organizations pushing for charter schools.
That's my theory, but think about it. Forty years of increased federal spending (180% increase) has shown no measurable increase in test scores. So, why would the government create even stricter standards and take away local/state control of education? This will cost billions of dollars and more bureaucracy. Is this what our kids need to learn? Money funneled to charter schools which don't create choice for parents, but rather, funding for quasi-public schools? What kind of a plan is that?
Check your town's film listings and if you can, go see "Waiting for Superman". Some "watchdogs" here in St. Louis are going when it debuts here in early October. As you are watching, think of what information the filmmaker is giving you and how it is being presented. Do charter schools really give parents choice? Is there any difference between charters and public schools in function and curriculum? My educational mentor told me years ago..."every school, organization, professional has a vested or financial interest in your child's education. Some of these individuals and organizations truly act in the interest of the child, and some do not. It is up to you as a parent to understand this and pick the entity which will really help your child".
That's some of the best advice I've learned on this journey. Just keep this in mind and don't get swept up by Clark Kent. He may really be powerless. Or then again, he might just be masquerading as Lex Luthor.
"...the charter schools have to operate under the same common core standards as public schools? Does that make sense? No, it doesn't if you are talking about providing educational excellence....
ReplyDeleteThat's where the hidden agenda of charter school nags at me. Who is making money by creating charter schools? Who is behind the funding of some of these charter school organizations? The Gates Foundation is a huge proponent of charter schools. Why would Bill Gates want to fund the charter school movement?"
I'm not so concerned about one or more groups making money from delivering education... it's the ideas that have been branded as being 'education ' that worries me. Bill Hennessy has a quote up this morning from Woodrow Wilson, which I've also been trying to spread around every chance I can get for four or five years,
"We want one class of persons to have a liberal education and we want another class of persons, a very much larger class of necessity in every society, to forgo the privilege of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks."
, which he made in a speech to a group of high school teachers... who found it completely unremarkable.
All that the Charter Schools & Public Schools, and most Private Schools as well, are doing is trying to find a more efficient and effective method for peddling the same poison - but no matter what label they put on it, it ain't Education.
"Some of these individuals and organizations truly act in the interest of the child, and some do not. It is up to you as a parent to understand this and pick the entity which will really help your child"
Good advice.
Charter schools are as individualistic as the people who petition for the charter. Some want and strive for excellence,some have some pretty flakey ideas about education. The fact of the matter is that the Obama Administration, like so many of the Democrat state and federal administrations, is once again 'dumbing-down' the national curriculm requirements so that in a few years, when more children achieve their lowered standards, they can claim to have improved education.
ReplyDeleteWhat American needs to take a serious look at are the leftist materials that our children are being taught from, and we need to reexamine what children should be taught to embrace our history, our Constitution, our freedoms, and our economic system.
My son's AP European History Class reading assignment last night was four readings from Medieval Christians about the efficacy of beating your children. His assignment was to state three premises in these readings. The premise I found was that Christianity advocates abuse of children, and a complete absence of recognition that beating children was, and probably is, still the primary measure of discipline in cultures all over the world. American thought in the last fifty years, according to Dr. Spock, has challenged that assumption in the United States. I can point this out to my son, but it is not going to get him full points on his assignment, is it?
My point is, that for the last seventeen years, as my sons have gone through school, they have continually been assaulted by the content of the curricula, and they've hated it, and going to school. "We have to study Indians (native Americans) again this year, I'm so tired of learning about indians. Are all white men bad, mom? Is this what I am going to grow up to be like?"
Teachers have patronizingly handed me lexile reading lists for my sons, and, after perusing them, I have pointed out to them that there is not one book on the list that is a boys' interest or by a male author. They were completely unaware that was the bias of the list. And we wonder why our sons are falling behind our daughters?
Standardized math testing is primarily word problems, not written problems. Girls score higher with word problems than do boys. Our boys, in frustration, are giving up on math. Shouldn't we be teaching to ALL of the children?
Education in America nees a complete deconstruction and reconstruction to meaningful standards and content that elevate our nation rather than suppress the greatness of it's people.
Margaret and Van,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. We're working on a story in which we hope to show these connections of organizations and tracing it back to the reason for the existence of many of these charter schools....it's for the money and the agenda of these particular organizations. It has little or nothing to do about real education.
Margaret, if you'd like to drop me a line privately at stlgretchen@gmail.com, I'd love to chat with you about some of the textbook issues you mentioned. We are also working on biased texts as well as a story about a young man finishing his high school online because of similar situations he experienced as your sons did in public school.
Once you start reading, researching, and listening, it is apparent public education is failing children at all levels, not just inner city, special needs or gifted students.
Again, I appreciate all your comments. I am always learning valuable information from others.
Margaret said "My point is, that for the last seventeen years, as my sons have gone through school, they have continually been assaulted by the content of the curricula, and they've hated it, and going to school."
ReplyDeleteSame here. One that stands out from a few years ago was from the 'Connected Mathematics' program (ARGHHH!!!) (sorry, flashback...), one of the absolute worst programs out there, and we got nowhere with the teacher (who was the 'subject matter expert and evangelist' for the program), and ‘We’ve chosen this program and will stick with it’ from the school board. We finally had to tell him 'forget your textbook, don't pay attention in the class, we'll learn it at home', and the example that broke the camel’s back & resulted in our telling him that, went something like this:
"Billy has been assigned to pick the top three scoring kids in class to be on his team. Make a leaf graph of their scores and describe how you would tell the 4th place child that they couldn't be on the team. Describe how you think they will feel."
A math question.
"We have to study Indians (native Americans) again this year, I'm so tired of learning about indians."
Oh do I ever feel your pain. From our oldest (now 22 and out), to our youngest (now 11), every. damn. semester. wigwams. 'lived with nature'. argh.
One result of this stuff which I noticed either in our kids, or their friends, was that they mocked their classes & teachers, either in class, or after; and I don't mean the typical Tom Sawyerishness attitude that we might remember and which probably all students have directed at some of their teachers since time began; but in a perceptively cutting 'Jon Stewart' or I suppose 'South Park' sort of way. They didn't believe the bogus material, they despised their teachers either for pushing the manipulation on them (I was surprised at how much of it they all picked up on), or for being ‘stupid enough to believe it themselves’, and with the exception of about five teachers between them, they had zero respect for their teachers, their materials or their schools.
Saddening (infuriating) as that may be, it's tempting to think 'Oh good, they're not fooled', but the flipside is I think even worse and more difficult to cure than simple factual mis-education and incompetence, and that's the deep seated cynicism it breeds in the kids.
Absolutely Poisonous.