Putting a stop to the waste....

One of my favorite topical bloggers is ex-Liberal in Hollywood: Clark Baker

In One Arab’s Apology, he highlights a brave statement made by an Arab-American on Islamic Fringe terrorism and the reason why there aren't more Arab Americans speaking out..

But Clark's MAIN passion is highlighting the monstrous waste and loss of potential engendered by Public School systems brought about by the ultimate untouchable special interest group, Teachers Unions... and their political toadies

Since he is in LA, he has likely the worst offender in the nation: The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) as a target close at hand... his latest piece on the subject points out the efforts of one man to salvage the youth of Los Angeles from the stinking garbage scow of bureaucracy self-promotion and incompetence that threatens not just the local area but the country as a whole.. and put them on a schooner to success by way of the Charter School.

Steve Barr’s Charter School Vision

Kudo's to Steve Barr, who shows how one guy and some vision and perseverance can make a difference, and thanks to guys like Clark Baker for periodically pointing this out....
Otherwise, we'll just have the occasional inspirational movie, like Mr Holland's Opus or the several others we've seen since the 'Blackboard Jungle' where we all go away feeling warm and fuzzy.. and continue to allow the cancer of failed schools to infect us and our children.

 

I attend a Charter School(second one actually) and let me tell ya they aint all there cracked up to be. My first charter school closed late last year on the eve of my senior year due to $$$$$$$$$$$ difficulties.

The thing is charter schools are held hostage to enrollment. They are totally reliant on the per pupil money. So students are like pawns being perused. The schools often way over exaggerate their programs and strengths to draw in as many students as possible. So often you get these characters who've been bounced out of three different public schools, so they go to your charter school who is likely in a bit of finical peril and is in no position to reject students regardless of character.

It all turns into a vicious cycle. Teachers are forced to baby-sit these a$$hole losers who are never in any kind of mood to do anything. Zero motivation :cry: As a result the teachers are unable to pay much attention to students who aren't completely destructive when not being watched. They always make the mistake of teaching to the bottom, trying to help these brainless losers catch up while everyone else is stagnant.

That said charter schools can offer pluses. Its smaller, teachers tend to be unique types with different backgrounds, less cliques, and most of all freedom! Once you gain the trust of the staff you get a very long leash to design your own projects and a bunch of other stuff. Last year I skipped out of class to go watch midweek Fulham and a few MNT games. They gave it a blind eye because I'm a good student who did my work. My old school also gave me the opportunity to be captain of the soccer team. Fact that we only won two games and lost our playoff game 16-0 aside it was a lot of fun and wouldn't have happened at a big public HS.

The best charter schools are the ones with an enrollment cap and can weed out the bums, as well as a specialty that they do really well at, say writing, performing arts, agriculture. But all too often they get away from their specialty and become unstable. Have to be very careful when choosing and even if you are you can still get screwed.

 

Another thing to consider before throwing Charter Schools your full backing P-fog. They are a republican brainchild but they can also be a vehicle to teach real left wing stuff. The teachers and administrators are very often of the liberal persuasion. The schools don't really seem to be moderated, at least not in Minnesota. So the teachers are really free to teach what they like.

Just the other day a class of mine had a long conversation about the 9/11 conspiracy theories, Lose Change movie and all that. The conversation was really one sided and it seemed most were really taking to the idea that 9/11 really was an inside job until I offered my piece about the Bush administration was way way to incompetent to plan and pull off such a thing inside nine months of taking office. Really I'm sure you could teach about anything at a charter school as long as your students pass the state standardized tests. Unless of scores are low the state doesn’t really seem to be bothered to check in on the schools. In my experiences anyway. Enough of my ranting for now.

 

Good post, Spencer, thanks for writing from first hand experience...
What you see is not unusual... sorry to say. Ohio has had the same experience.. several Charter Schools have failed due to poor funding, poor management or a combination of factors.

But unless the established system must compete, the public schools - particularly tose in large and major cities will fail their clientele.

 

Don, Do they allow jet-skiing on the Riverwalk in the San Antonio of your world?

If I were to make up a parody of Dem/ Labor Union talking point stereotypes, I couldnt have done any better
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Bottom line:

The schools will be better if they have more money... long time mantra long since disproven. And... You didnt get a single point of what I was talking about.

I could dredge up any number of 'big-city' Dems using public education as a campaign issue... all the same time sending their own kids to those 'exclusive private schools'.

Until Dems get over their hypocrisy on it, dont expect me to read your comments on that issue with any result other than to want cry.

Because it is REALLY a community issue... has nothing to do with political stripe. IT FIRST requires parent that at least pay attention to their schools.. then insist on looking at how the schools spend their resources.

Charter schools are NOT the answer... they are only a useful component to use in measuring performance of ALL basic education

 

Not sure what your on about here Don. Its not as if a voucher system defunds education. The funding follows the student. The funding is still there its just that the student is no longer tied to a giant high school in his/her neighborhood. God forbid a student might be able to leave a school that’s constantly failing for a private or charter school.

As my posts above expressed the charter school system needs some tweaking. It’s got some issues but there are success stories and general idea is excellent. It just needs some tweaking. I don't see why public schools should be immune to competition. If they suck they lose students and thus funding. Fair enough.

 

In Ohio...SOME of the funding, not all, follows the student. Not sure about elsewhere.