In Charter School Fantasy World, Teacher Experience Irrelevant
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By Randy Shaw
Beyond Chron
As the New York Times reported on August 27, most charter school teachers only remain in the profession for two to five years. In contrast, traditional public school teachers average nearly fourteen years of experience. But in the fantasy world of charter school proponents, far from being a shortcoming this lack of teaching experience is a positive. One charter school official told the Times, “There is a certain comfort level that we have with people who are perhaps going to come into YES Prep and not stay forever.”
Wendy Kopp, whose Teach for America program is criticized for high turnover, said “The strongest schools develop their teachers tremendously so they become great in the classroom even in their first and second years.”
I’ve never met a teacher who believes they were “great” in their first two years. But the business model for charter schools relies on this fiction. It requires their advocates to praise inexperienced teachers and high turnover even though every other profession---law, medicine, accounting and all of the construction trades—value experience and longevity. The turnover numbers are further evidence that the case for charter schools is unraveling, as veteran teachers and activists are winning the battle against elite-driven “reform.”
After years of being on the defensive over high teacher turnover rate for charter schools and participants in Teach for America, proponents of these programs have embraced this shortcoming and reconstituted it as an asset. But while the adage, if you have a lot of lemons make lemonade can work in some contexts, the idea that inexperienced teachers