Imagine A World Without Charter Schools?

WEALTHY SUBURBS PREFER PUBLIC FUNDING OVER PERSONAL INSTRUCTION

By A. Scott Walton

Antagonists against charter schools are idiots.
Why, because opposition to any form of enhanced education in America – which we all know lags in performance – is idiotic.
A recent New York Times report spells out how parents in suburban communities are resisting the creep of charter school ethos into their affluent school systems because they’re performing well enough as is.
C’mon people: these are teaching techniques, not zombie invasions. Shouldn’t you be more concerned with spending by the military industrial complex, the penal system or the “War on Drugs”?
What’s wrong, really, with targeting the main lessons kids receive according to their parents’ preferences, as long as other families are free to take advantage of mainstream public school teaching if they so choose?
Charter schools exist to provide an alternative; not to drain municipal coffers as their detractors suggest. They personalize the education process to a greater degree than mainstream do, and they put administrators, teachers, parents and students to more stringent tests.
Trust me: I’m living “the experiment”, so I’m familiar with its challenges and rewards.
Even though there’s a public elementary school a half-mile away from this household – where the kids do wear uniforms, and do receive language instruction in Spanish, and do have the benefit of those high-tech plasma screens to view – we chose the charter route.


It’s a few miles drive away threw heavy traffic. It enforces parent participation so strictly that everyone knows who’s worthy of censure for not pitching in. It enrolls students from far-flung districts and unfortunate household circumstances.
There are two other established charter elementary schools within walking distance of this blog’s headquarters. The new one we chose and lobbied strongly to gain entrance to - inconveniences and growing pains be-damned – just happens to be the only K-through-8 school we know of that happens to teach Mandarin Chinese.
That, according to the Times’ article, is a sticking point for the lead protestor against Mandarin-oriented schools seeking approval in a rich New Jersey enclave. His argument is that public school funds will be ‘siphoned’ off for a select few if the charters gain a foothold.
But in a world where specialization of all types grows increasingly crucial, what’s wrong with steering America’s kids toward skills where they can excel?