Don't believe all the hype about charter schools and vouchers
by Gerald Kohn
Public education has been the cornerstone of democracy in America for more than a century. It has been the pathway to the American dream of financial success and social freedom. It has been a place where children learn to get along with one another despite different backgrounds, and a place where hard work leads to success.
Today, public education is facing its most serious threat: privatization. The much-discussed film, “Waiting for Superman,” has tapped into a growing belief that the only way to save American education is to fire teachers, principals and administrators and entrust the future of our children to private education companies and charter schools.
The film distorts reality and misrepresents charter school performance. The simplistic model of firing teachers, closing under-performing schools and replacing them with charter schools has been a failure in nearly every city where it has been implemented. For example, a recently released University of Chicago study conducted during the last 20 years reported that neither site-based school management nor the implementation of charter schools improved academic achievement in Chicago.
Respected education leaders have spoken about the dangers of believing the film’s claims. Diane Ravitch, who served as the Deputy Secretary of Education under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush and was once a