Charter schools versus public schools. They say charters are more innovative and free to experiment with new programs. Their freedom is indisputable. They are free to shirk the standards and the democratic notion of a free and appropriate public education for all children. What gives them this freedom? Later.
Public schools, on the other hand, are less able to experiment. NCLB came in on a wave of accountability that is still the zeitgeist in education. Teachers, schools, and ultimately the government are accountable for school success. This is failure by design. The GOP tied school survival to school success, and tied the hands of local education agencies by requiring (and defining) curricula that was scientifically proven. This led to capital-driven textbook industry designing curriculum for the nation, with the government stamp of approval.
These curricula and the government/corporate written grant programs prescribed, down to the letter, what public school teachers would do and say, when they would do and say it, who they would do and say it to, and how long they would take to do and say it. These curricula and grant programs have largely shown to be ineffective. Further, some people, like Alfie Kohn and other radicals, think that schools should be less rigid. They think students should be treated less like enlisted soldiers, and teachers should be less like drill sergeants. Radical, I know. They think other weird things like, maybe students shouldn’t be handcuffed by school cops. Maybe school cops shouldn’t be called in to take away cell phones from kids. Maybe school cops shouldn’t throw students, desk and all, across the room.
Public schools in high-poverty areas have long been the most frequent recipients of government finger wagging and prescribed education. This is because these schools, for lots of valid reasons, have lower scores on tests that the government decides to administer. Remember, designed failure. It seems contradictory, but it behooves the government to demonstrate that the government should not be in charge of education. Why?
Charter schools are not an inherently evil thing. It’s a model of innovation. It licenses interested parties to develop schools that serve an alternate purpose to what public schools offer. Who is interested in starting a charter? Lots of people! Who has the capital to start a charter? You know.
Not only do they have the capital to start a charter, they have the capital to lobby the government. They get to write education laws and the rules for charter schools. They get to say how they define success. “I am successful because I say I am.” You know how businesses present their successes in charts and reports, highlighting all their accomplishments. Well, charters get to write their own reports including what they like. Meanwhile, schools just get judged by student performance on boring, state-selected, corporation designed, for-profit tests. Whatever public schools might do to highlight their successes, their performance on accountability tests is what counts.
And what does a business need to keep running? Customers. Loyal, faithful customers who believe they’re getting their money’s worth. So while they prove their value in their way, which is not by passing government-sanctioned accountability tests but their own assessments, public schools flop on standardized tests. Or so say some. And when those public schools “fail,” their students are free to choose another school to meet their needs.
Often parents want a charter school experience for their children. Who can blame them, when public schools appear to have all the problems and no academic gains, and charter schools look so shiny and new?
So there’s a demand for this alternative to free education. And it’s available to all? It’s democratic and non-discriminatory? Nope. Charter schools’ biggest advantage is being able to choose who they will and won’t accept and educate. And even after they’ve accepted a student, if the student turns out to be a liability rather than an asset, the school can always boot them, anytime, for any reason.
Who do you think they keep? Who do you think they banish?
Especially Education 