Charter schools…does anyone care about the children?
By now, everyone knows that teachers’ unions predominately hate charter schools, and, seem to be doing everything in their power to to stop new ones, and put existing ones out of existence. No bigger battleground seems to exist than New York City.
So, yesterday’s scores in the New York State Assessment Program offer hope…hope to children, hope to parents who care about their child’s education, and hope to Eva Mascowitz’s Harlem Success academies.
At all New York City’s public schools, 60% of third, fourth and fifth graders passed the math exam; at Harlem Success, 94% passed. In the state language arts exam, 49% from the city schools passed compared to 78% at the charters. The 94% pass rate for the academies’ black and Hispanic students surpassed the 73% pass rate for white students taking the exam in New York State.
And yet, Ms. Moskowitz is meeting with substantial resistance in her attempt to open another academy in the Upper West Side. A “noted” opponent of her plan is Matt Damon.
Why is the left, while proclaiming the need for better education, so intent upon keeping our children illiterate?
The charter schools (and private schools) simply put the public schools to shame, and their very existence is just a thumb in the eye of the teacher’s unions and puts the lie to their claim of caring about the children.? They just can’t stand up in comparison.
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Why do you think that they work so hard to destroy voucher programs?? Because some schools and some teachers are pitiful, the unions won’t get rid of them, and the parents don’t want their kids “taught” by them.
I cannot understand?why?mediocrity? – at best – is encouraged.?
If you believe in the forward progress of humanity, altruism or selfishness the following holds true:? An educated populous is self sufficient, productive, creative and independent.? And that pays forward and back (to those whom have invested in them).?
Else, what is the point??
Yes, I am selfish.? I want an educated person taking care of me in my old age.? Not some? dumbed down should-have-been?armwrestling me for my tapioca pudding.?
I remember when the only option to public schools was to send your kids to parochial school…then came Montessori schools.? None of the current opponents to charter schools had a problem with those options because parents were paying out of pocket for their kids’ education and their property taxes were going to support the public schools they didn’t want their kids attending.?
It all comes down to people questioning the public school system in this country (which *should be* handled at the state/town level, not federally):? the results of standardized testing, teachers’ benefits, tax dollars wasted to provide staff for clubs like “students for international socialism” (hand to God, it’s a real club at my kids’ high school)…
Perhaps the problem is semantics.? Instead of simply calling them “charter schools” they should be called “public charter schools”–take the word “voucher” out of the whole debate.? People pay taxes and they should have a choice of which school they send their children to.?
Oh, yeah:?? Why does Matt Damon dislike other peoples’ children?? hmmmm?
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How did my comment jump yours?
What’s up with comments “awaiting moderation”?? My comment above makes no sense without the one I posted just before.
I’m with you Winni, I’ve had a couple of posts tagged “Waiting for Moderation”
Yeah I love seeing cute little kids holding up signs they will not be able to read for 3 more years. That clip that Jim plays makes me want to hug that little girl.
It should be noted that charter schools?whose teachers are union members? preform no better then public schools.? The outperforming charter schools are staffed with nonunion teachers.?
Charter school supporters have really stooped to low levels by having children hold up signs supporting charter schools. Their children should be taken away and sent to MoveOn.org camps to make propaganda and dance videos, or sent to Communist, anti-semite, pro-terrorism summer camps on Norwegian islands.
?I wanted to post my reply to you but this amazing technology did what it does.
?Why don’t we just mandate the school year to be 200 days? The little buggers might get something from inculcation. And we would be getting a little more for our education dollar.
I have seen proof positive to me anyway, that Charter Schools work. 2 years ago on a school vacation day, I took my then 8 yr. old granddaughter to the Peabody Museum. There was an 8 year old black child all dressed in white oxford and pressed pants sitting with his laptop. He explained to me everything in the science exhibit and showed me more on his laptop. He told me proudly about his NH charter school.? There were dozens around just like him. They gave up a vacation day to help at a science exhibit! That would not have happened in my day. Take that Matt and don’t call me racist.
Thank you for that story, Lynn.? It shows that a good school, uniforms, discipline and good teachers transcend the left’s soft bigotry of low expectations that comes from trying to put a band aid on bad schools after the fact, i.e. affirmative action.