Assessing Charter Schools: Follow the Money
By Mark NaisonUnlike some of my friends and political comrades, I am not against charter schools as a matter of principle. However, I am acutely aware that the charter school movement has been used by the nation’s financial elite as a strategy to weaken public schools, undermine teachers unions, divide parents in working class communities against one another, and in all to many cases, build careers or make profits.
The following are some common sense categories I have developed to judge whether charter schools, or charter school organizations, represent well intentioned experiments in diversifying public education, or cynical efforts to undermine public schools and degrade the teaching profession.
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Clint Wasn't Always Politically Inept
By Dick MeisterYou might reasonably think Clint Eastwood lacks political savvy, given his bizarre presentation at the Republican National Convention. But he was once plenty savvy, as he showed clearly during his two-year stint as mayor of tourist favorite Carmel.
Prior to his election, folks in Carmel and elsewhere tended to think of Clint as just a craggy, handsome movie actor playing at politics. But, boy, were they wrong. Listen to what Carmel resident Jean Lajigian said after Eastwood took office in 1986:
"When I voted for Clint Eastwood, I knew that democracy worked, that we could change things. Since he's been mayor, there's been just an upbeat feeling in the community."
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