Tyler Losey: Ignorance About the Charter School Movement, School Choice and Education Policy
“What are you doing this summer in DC?” I reply, of course, that I am working at a long-standing pioneer organization in the education reform movement. More often than not the answer is met with a blank stare of confusion. “Well it’s an advocacy group that has been around for twenty years that provides information, supports grassroots activism in the ed reform movement, school choice, and promotes accurate media coverage of education issues”. But even in the political and policy-wonk hub of the nation, people simply don’t understand the issues or the movement that I have been happy to work in this summer. The number of times I have actually had to explain simply the definition of a charter school is mind-boggling.
Now don’t get me wrong, this I do gladly because the more people who know and understand what a charter school is, the better. But something has been revealed to me after two short months as an intern at the Center for Education Reform (CER) – the general public’s ignorance of education policy, reform, and the charter school movement is dangerous. It is an enemy of the movement just as much as the education establishment.
Some weeks ago at the National Charter School Conference, among other, shall we say, interesting things that occurred, I crossed paths for a short time with two attendees who were there “in protest”. While I distributed tote bags and information, they came up, looked intently at the CER logo and declined taking the bags because they were “from public schools”. Before I could say anything the attendees left and merged with the rest of the crowd. Of course, this small experience highlights the larger issue of ignorance and is just one of the many ones I have had this summer. Charter schools are public schools. Most everyone at the National Charter School Conference was from public schools, then, by extension. If A equals B, and B equals C, then A equals C. This was one of those moments we all have, when we wish we had thought of a reply quicker.
Simply informing the public of the facts and circumstances of charter schools and the movement in general is extremely important and must be done since this ignorance is dangerous. Those two attendees at the conference (and all of those I have had to define “charter school” for) show that the public is in desperate need for the facts. Because if they don’t have them, their opinions will be cemented and founded on simply untrue ideas, like that charters aren’t public schools.
Thankfully, CER recognized the danger of ignorance towards education reform issues at the very beginning of its history. During the 1990s, it had Excellence in Journalism Awards to reward the articles that accurately represented the issues and the facts. And, thankfully, I have been able to help combat ignorance this summer in a much more 21st century way – by working on CER’s Media Bullpen website, which keeps the sources of education information accountable. Staying out front in the battle against the dangerous ignorance about charter schools is one of the most important things CER does, day in and day out.
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Honestly I don’t really know what a charter school is either, but i do know that the current public school system is extremely flawed and useless. Children don’t retain what they are learning and I think it has a great deal to do with application. They don’t ever really learn anything new, just more ofthe same principles in depth. No wonder kids don’t want to pay attention in class. Why would an 8yr old care about JuliusCeasar? And then be expected to listen or care when his name pops up again a few years later??
Personally I think instead of teaching students every subject possible in one school year and going further into depth of those same classes the next year for 12 years is so unreasonable. We underestimate children so very much and I think it would be more valuable to teach them basic behavior, functions and ethics before multiplication. I mean yeah it’s great for a child to be able to do extensive math at a young age but why do they need to remember what 9×9 is?? Wouldn’t it benefit them more to learn how to learn how the grass that they play on grows? Or why the sun goes down at night? Or even philosophical cliches of “you can’t fix a problem with the same thinking that got you there”. Ooooorrr, since children are so receptive why don’t they learn different languages?? Why don’t we let them pick EVERY subject they take in middle school? I mean right now its just a waste of education. These kids don’t want to learn they don’t care about school and it’s because they’re forced to listen to someone talk for 7 hours a day about something completely unapplicable to them. So instead of retaining what they’re taught they sit in class and space out or doodle or talk to neighbors and become wrestless and disruptive, and then they get punished for it! Children are BORED in school and its a waste of money and everyones time, when there are children in Kenya who just want to learn how to read a book…
It’s sad. People realize children aren’t learning what they should be and teachers notice that they act out but instead of trying to fix the problem they just try to control them or dump them off on someone else. And don’t get me wrong it’s not understandable, because we ourselves were taught in this system and told that it works but it’s becoming less and less functional every year. And the only reason that I’m noticing this now is because I’m realizing that I know nothing about politics, history or geography. It didn’t matter to me when i was young so I didn’t pay attention but now that I’m older I want to know these things but i have to start all the way back at square one. What is the difference between a democracy and beurocracy? What makes a republican or democrat and why have I never heard of any other political standing? When was the civil war and why did it start? Who was in it and what was the outcome?? Where is New Zealand?!?? I mean I can’t even tell you where Michigan is on the U.S. map!!! But now that I want to know these things I have to pay hundreds of dollars to take a class on it at a community college because the education system didn’t do their job when my education was free???
And I won’t even get into the lack of nutrition plans and healthy lifestyles. Bottom line, the education system is far too inaffective and it should start with every child going to pre school, and elementary needs to be just completely reformed. The children are our future and we’re already starting to see the decline in humanity, things need to change and fast before we all become a bunch of soul-less uncreative drones shooting one another.
I know this isn’t what you probably wanted to discuss on here and I’m sorry this is so long, but I have been searching where to vent about this and where I might actually be heard and this was the best choice I could find.