One of the most pressing issues facing the United States today is its failing educational system. While many solutions have been proposed, the idea of charter schools has been both popular and controversial. The topic of charter schools is being debated in as many places as local school board meetings to state supreme courts. Though on the surface, charter schools seem like an exciting and promising step for the future of education in America, they are not the answer to this country’s ever-increasing educational problems. Charters will drain already scarce funding from regular public schools, and many of the supposed “positives” surrounding them are uncertain and unpredictable at best.
Charter Schools are best known for combining traits and features of both public and private schools. Charters schools are not restricted to many of the rules and policies put on other public schools (Gale 1). For example teachers are given more free reign in charters, and they are not expected to stick to a certain curriculum. Because there is no specific criteria in place for teachers of charter schools, pay scales do not have to be followed for teachers and administrators. Also, charters are publically funded and have specialized accountability for producing certain results.
While charter schools may seem appealing at first, further research shows that they, do, in fact have faults. Because of the high standards portrayed by charters, the brightest students in public schools often flee to charters in search of a better learning environment. Ironically, charter schools usually attract less-qualified teachers due to lower pay. Often, the result is many students eventually leaving the charter system, sometimes with a decrease in learning a...
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Mhoon, Jim. "Focus on the Family." n.d. Focus on the Family. Document. 20 November 2013. <>.
Ravitch, Diane. "The Success of Charter Schools is a Myth." 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Document. 20 November 2013. .
... middle of paper ... ... 13 Feb. 2014. Pascua, Psyche "Public vs. Private vs. Charter Schools" Great School. Web.
Wilson, Steven F., and Research American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy. Success At Scale In Charter Schooling. Education Outlook. No. 3. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 2009. ERIC. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
She realized that choice and accountability were not the answer, but that curriculum and instruction were more viable solutions to America’s educational dilemma. Ravitch suggests that to abandon public schools is to abandon the institution that supports our concepts of democracy and citizenship and to the promise of American life (Ravitch, 2011, p. 12-14). The idea of school choice is rooted in Milton Friedman’s essay concerning the government’s role in education. Friedman asserted that society should support and contribute to the maximum freedom of the individual or the family. He maintained that the government should provide vouchers to help support parents financially on their children’s education, which parents could use at the school of their choosing; so long as the school met set standards. Therefore, this creation of choice would stimulate competition, which Friedman believed would increase the development and improvement of nonpublic schools, as well as, create a variety of school options (Ravitch, 2011, p. 115). As a result of the choice movement, the public received three versions of school choice: voucher schools, private schools, and charter schools. Each of these schools receives public funding, but do not operate as traditional public schools, and are not managed by a government agency (Ravitch, 2011, p. 121). Charter schools became the most popular choice of this new
Arguments For: Allows individuals or groups with innovative educational ideas to put them into practice without being unduly hampered by local or state bureaucracy. These schools may have unconventional hours, experiment with curricula, specialize in certain types of teaching or design programs tailored to a particular audience or community. Charter schools can introduce the ingredient of a measure of needed competition to the public schools. They may provide for more accountability because schools that work will be rewarded and those that do not will be changed or even closed.
The fine arts were once highly revered by the community and were a part of everyday life, yet today the fine arts must face their biggest competitor, that being sports. Sports have become a big business and many schools find it easier and better to cut arts programs due to low funding rather than athletic programs. Even though fine arts programs are not as profitable as athletic programs, they should be funded equally to athletic programs because they help student achievement, help students improve their cognitive skills, and encourage creativity.
Many individuals have been affected negatively by trouble makers in school. Troublemakers have either disrupted classes or bullied other students. Yes, trouble makers may harm one’s learning environment, but should they be kicked out of school? Though many individuals argue that troublemakers will not change and hold the class down, they should not be kicked out because they need help. Most of these kids that are disobedient do not know the distinction between right and wrong. We should not withdraw trouble makers from school, rather, we should help these troublemakers and teach them right from wrong. In the article “Let’s Really Reform Our Schools” by Anita Garland, she states that American high schools are disasters because there are troublemakers (694). She asserts that the withdrawal of troublemakers in schools would make the learning environment peaceful for students who want to learn
Wetzel, JR. N.p.: n.p., n.d. American Families: 75 Years of Change. 1990. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
While private invested charter schools may seem to be the right choice for some children,
Charter schools are public schools of choice, meaning that families choose them for their children. They operate with freedom from some of the regulations that are imposed upon school districts. Charter schools are accountable for academic results and upholding the promises made in their charters.
Hamilton, P. (2009). From a cradle to college to community building: A charter School in
Raymond, Margaret E. (2014, February 1). To no avail: A critical look at the charter school debate. Phi Delta Kappan, Vol.95 (5) pp.8-12. http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6aa05956-5bfe-43eb-9eec-b90be0fefa60%40sessionmgr113&vid=9&hid=125
I agree with critics of the film in one way; Charter schools are not the answer to our current system’s problems. Charter schools are a direct product of an attempt at privatizing education. That is, trying to make public education into a private business where companies can invest and profit. Public education is a basic right provided for us by the government, and paid for by taxpayers. Charter schools take taxpayer money, give it to companies, and put the burden of teaching our children on the compa...
To understand the actual differences of charter and public school quality of education, it is important to emphasize a fact often lost in the debate; namely, charter schools are public schools, which simply operate under different guidelines. This reality is more critical because of how perception clouds it. Charter schools are perceived as private institutions, supporters of them tend to be conservatives who feel the schools represent the value of competition in education, while opponents typically express the need for public school reform as more crucial in promoting educational equality (Rofes, 159). This political and ideological compone...
Many contest that charter schools outperform public schools in test scores, graduations, and success rates. However, the numbers prove on the contrary. In 2003, the Bush Administration did research of 70% of charter schools throughout the United States. 83% of those schools performed no better or even worse than public schools did. The ratio of 2:1 outnumbers charter schools underperforming than over performing (isreview.org). Many investors of charter schools are for-profit companies. In the state of Ohio, more than half the charter's money goes to profiteers. A miniscule 8% of schools received a positive review and rating, compared to 63% of public schools statewide. Focus then should turn to the teachers, these teachers, on average, have fewer years of experience than that of public school's teachers. In 2009, the odds of a charter school teacher leaving his or her profession was 132% greater than that of a public school teacher (isreview.org). these teachers were not let go for conduct detrimental to their student's education and success but voluntarily walk away from their career. The...
Public schools across the nation are being labeled as low performing schools at a very fast rate. Low performing schools (LPS) are schools that do not meet the required standards that state officials set each year for all schools. These standards may include a certain graduation rate, certain goals for standardize testing, and a limited number of behavior referrals. The majority of public schools do not meet these standards. They often struggle with high dropout rates, low standardize test scores, low graduation rates, and disciplinary problems. These problems can truly hinder the future of these schools and the students attending them, so they are placed on the academically unacceptable list; low performing schools list. Although those problems standout they are forming from smaller problems within the schools. Many of the schools on the low performing list lack in the quality and quantity of teachers and books. This causes students not to meet the expected standards on standardize tests. Low test scores can lead to high dropout rates and low graduation rates. Another small problem they face is overcrowded classrooms which bring along the huge number of discipline problems. It can add to the low test scores because teachers are often interrupted with discipline problems while trying to teach large classes. Students who have trouble grasping the concepts that the teacher is teaching and who are constantly involved in disciplinary cases often dropout of LPS. When public schools lose students the state officials cutback on the schools’ finances that they receive to fund the school.