Beyond Charter Schools: Thinking About Public Education's Future
Dear Deborah,
I hope that you enjoyed your time in Belgium and returned with some interesting stories to share about the schools there. Although Belgium is not one of the countries typically cited as an example of educational innovation and success that we can learn from, I imagine that like other nations in Western Europe that have a strong social-welfare system, its education policies must be very different than ours. I also know that its economy has been contracting as a result of the global recession, even if conditions aren't as bad as they are in Greece, Spain, and Portugal. Is the Belgian government cutting education, healthcare, and other social programs? It will be interesting to hear how schools are faring in the current economic climate.
In thinking about your last entry I've been taken by how frequently charter schools have come up in our exchanges so far when so few children in the United States are actually enrolled in them. Although there are a few places where charter schools now enroll a significant percentage of the students (Harlem and Albany, N.Y., are two places that come to mind), across the country less than 5 percent of all students are in charter schools,
I hope that you enjoyed your time in Belgium and returned with some interesting stories to share about the schools there. Although Belgium is not one of the countries typically cited as an example of educational innovation and success that we can learn from, I imagine that like other nations in Western Europe that have a strong social-welfare system, its education policies must be very different than ours. I also know that its economy has been contracting as a result of the global recession, even if conditions aren't as bad as they are in Greece, Spain, and Portugal. Is the Belgian government cutting education, healthcare, and other social programs? It will be interesting to hear how schools are faring in the current economic climate.
In thinking about your last entry I've been taken by how frequently charter schools have come up in our exchanges so far when so few children in the United States are actually enrolled in them. Although there are a few places where charter schools now enroll a significant percentage of the students (Harlem and Albany, N.Y., are two places that come to mind), across the country less than 5 percent of all students are in charter schools,
