Does Public Education Matter?
Yesterday I wrote a blog about a tiny rural district in Idaho where the community did everything possible to support their school but it wasn’t good enough. The tax base was so meager that the school was in deficit, and budget cuts were putting the school in peril.
A reader commented that this was an instance where the district might benefit by abandoning its public school and turning it into a charter school. This, the reader said, would make It possible to leverage funds from corporate sponsors.
Another reader responded to the first one and wrote:
“If you turn your tax supported schools over to corporate sponsors, in the process you lose your local representative government. The corporate sponsors control all aspects of your public school/s-plus they will train your children for whatever the global economy dictates. I suggest, there will be no upward mobality for your children in that area of Kansas or anywhere else in the USA. These charter schools destroy the “American
A reader commented that this was an instance where the district might benefit by abandoning its public school and turning it into a charter school. This, the reader said, would make It possible to leverage funds from corporate sponsors.
Another reader responded to the first one and wrote:
“If you turn your tax supported schools over to corporate sponsors, in the process you lose your local representative government. The corporate sponsors control all aspects of your public school/s-plus they will train your children for whatever the global economy dictates. I suggest, there will be no upward mobality for your children in that area of Kansas or anywhere else in the USA. These charter schools destroy the “American
NY State Ed Dept: Lie to Students
As you may know, there has been growing parent dissatisfaction about the amount of testing that their children are subjected to.
initially, the tests and test prep increased because officials wanted to measure student growth on tests.
Then, the testing increased because officials want to measure teacher quality.
From the vantage of parents, the school day and year are increasingly devoted to testing, not teaching.
Just weeks ago, students sat for the annual spring testing. Now, in New York state, there will be testing in June,
initially, the tests and test prep increased because officials wanted to measure student growth on tests.
Then, the testing increased because officials want to measure teacher quality.
From the vantage of parents, the school day and year are increasingly devoted to testing, not teaching.
Just weeks ago, students sat for the annual spring testing. Now, in New York state, there will be testing in June,
Fahrenheit 451 in NYC
I read the other day that Occupy Wall Street and its librarians are suing the New York Police Department for destroying the OWS library of 3,600 books.
When the police destroyed the OWS encampment at Zuccotti Park last fall, they swept up the OWS library, threw the books into a Sanitation Department truck (i.e., a garbage truck), and carted them off to a Sanitation Department depot, where they remained–soiled, crushed, torn, ruined.
This was of more than passing interest to me. Of course, I was outraged to read that the police had treated books with such disdain. I love books. I like to hold books. I like the smell of books. Books are precious. When I learned about the destruction of the OWS library, I had thoughts of book burnings, a bit melodramatic, but not entirely far-fetched.
I had a personal interest in these events. A few weeks before the OWS camp was destroyed, I had received an
When the police destroyed the OWS encampment at Zuccotti Park last fall, they swept up the OWS library, threw the books into a Sanitation Department truck (i.e., a garbage truck), and carted them off to a Sanitation Department depot, where they remained–soiled, crushed, torn, ruined.
This was of more than passing interest to me. Of course, I was outraged to read that the police had treated books with such disdain. I love books. I like to hold books. I like the smell of books. Books are precious. When I learned about the destruction of the OWS library, I had thoughts of book burnings, a bit melodramatic, but not entirely far-fetched.
I had a personal interest in these events. A few weeks before the OWS camp was destroyed, I had received an