Amen. Public charter schools are not public. Public schools have accountability in the democratic form of voting for a school board. Charter school parents and teachers depend on the benevolence of management. and they are subject to the whim of the charter authorizer. Once the authorizer deems it unprofitable to continue to charter a school, childrens communities are subject to close. Test scores are that bar. Charters are ideological archipelagos( Rick Nagy term), they are homogeneous chosen communities. The pro-charter people I heard last night kept saying that they want this school because of their family values. How different is that from the Seven Oaks charter school which is libertarian and will teach kids those values? (as Rick Nagy pointed out). They are also self- selected: Parents must be engaged enough to get their names on waiting lists and follow those stipulations. Parents must be engaged enough to be seeking alternatives for their kids. Parents must be engaged and free enough to be able transport their children to the school as there are no school buses. Charters cant provide sports teams, marching bands, gymnasium, pools, etc. and charters generally wont provide the myriad of things that public schools. But most of all, it feels like if we continue to provide these little bubbles of community, we will isolate our children from greater society and the lessons that provides. Kids need the skills to get along with other people who think differently. Kids need some adversity (Sorry. I have 4.. and they do)... and our kids need to learn a collective responsibility for the whole. Is another charter school different from a commune? Anyway. Sorry for the rant. I am glad for my Project School friends that they have this alternative that the talented former principal of an MCCSC school has created. But it is not likely to be replicated. And the cost to many for the engaged few seems too high. I would say it IS too high. Start a private (non voucher) school for Waldorf and Green-ing. But dont take my kids public school options away to support your educational ideology.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 12:15:38 +0000
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