A teachers’ union official minces no words: “Our
public school system is now up for sale to special interests.” In rebuttal, the representative of a New York
hedge fund responds: “Within 24 hours of the parents lawfully petitioning their
own government to transform a chronically failing school, district officials
chose to hide in a back room.” And this
portrays the conflict over whether to convert a standard public school into a
charter school.
What are charter schools? The criteria vary, but generally they differ
from traditional schools in that parents are given options with regard to the
schools their children attend and the rules under which they function. Many are nonprofit, in which the teachers
need not meet certification standards nor be dues-paying members of a union. The claim is that students in charter schools
will do better than in ordinary public schools.
Perhaps they do, but it’s uncertain whether it’s a matter of cause or
effect.
The belligerents phrase their arguments in
grandiose ways: “Children of working-class families possess the right to demand
quality education,” as opposed to “Parents must have the ability to transform
their chronically underperforming schools.” But the conflict is far more profound than the
hyperbole suggests. The root of the
problem is that massive amounts of taxpayer dollars follow the student, where
under the formulas predicated upon Average Daily Attendance (ADA), fortunes
will flow to those whose schools can be governmentally sanctioned. It’s this perennial conflict over the money
which causes the battle to rage on as it does.
I contend it doesn’t matter much how a school
functions or whether the faculty is particularly competent. Bright and motivated students will do well
while those that are dull and lethargic will do poorly. In this regard, nothing will ever change.
There’s a fundamental flaw in the American
public school system which the professional educator dare not acknowledge. It’s that there are millions of youngsters
impressed into the system that have no legitimate reason to be there. Legions of youths will grace the seats of
countless classrooms and never learn much of anything. The simple fact is that it’s designed to operate
in exactly this manner.
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If you enjoy this
weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly
Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, The Road to Prosperity
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