Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results
The teacher’s command of his class is total. “Which one is the whole number?” he asks crisply. “Is it seven over three, or is it four?”
He zeroes in on a child who gives the right answer, then the next task: “Seven over three divided by four over one? Hands, please – I’m looking for straight arms.”
The classes at Sci Academy, a charter school in New Orleans, feel like an assembly line; with each task stripped down to component parts, and the teacher orchestrating a brisk interaction that draws in students’ bodies as well as their minds. They click fingers as a substitute for applause, or