Charter Schools and The Camel's Nose In The Tent.
The Camel's Nose In The Tent.
One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.
A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.
Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.
Charter schools for all in Philadelphia?
From our partner paper, The Inquirer, an interesting post on the possible coming dominance of charter schools in Philadelphia:
Could all of Philadelphia's school-aged kids soon be destined for charters?
As the district struggles with a serious cash deficit, a top Democratic senator saidMonday there has been talk in Capitol halls of turning all of Philadelphia's schools into privately-run charters.
Sen. Vincent Hughes says he heard from "high-placed sources" over the weekend of "charterizing Philadelphia's school district in its entirety," a plan he likened to "a holy war."
"That's untenable, unacceptable," Hughes told reporters during a press availability. "That abrogates contracts, that changes the entire dynamic of what would happen in a school environment. And it takes the school discussion to a whole other level."
He would not give details on just who those high-placed sources are, or whether they are even in the Corbett administration.
"They don't get too much higher," Hughes would only say.
Read the rest here.