here is how crazy things are re Charter schools

So I am taking the trolley to Campus... (takes the same time, and I don't have to hide a vehicle)... and they had this add on the trolley for a local charter school

Now that brings all kinds of bad vibes to me... a CHARTER has adds on public transit... think about it folks... YOUR MONEY is paying for THAT.

at least in my area they do it's part of how they make money

eta I just read your sig line your does not scare but it does make me wonder did not know most public transit sells ad space?

and I know how transit sells adds. But a CHARTER using your taxes and mine to buy space? I got a problem with that one.

if they are so awful and supposedly corporately funded

May I recommend a few readying things, on a meta level? Start with the Neo Liberal project not just for the US. What is happening with the Charters is them birds coming home to roost...

The Shock Doctrine is a good read... and Madfloridian's journal is almost required readying if you want to really get it. She has compiled OODLES of material on this.

I am a parent, my oldest is 31 and my youngest is 13 and I can tell you that the reason is not "propaganda" it is very real frustration the public schools who have in many cases failed miserably this fact rises exponentially if you happen to live in a large city where the failure rate is astounding and the school systems have grown quite comfortable blaming "ignorant" parents and "bad" children

when your 31 kid was in school, what was the funding of the school and how many kids were in the class? Go for the average.

These days class sizes have grown, school funding has gone down. I live in a LARGE city where that is happening...

Hell, WE USED to have a world class educational system in this state... now the master plan is mostly ashes.

You think this is accidental?

Oh and parents do have SOME of the responsibility, but not for the usual reasons. We don't like paying no taxes... but we expect all services to stay the same.

And the other fact is that society has a responsibility in here, how many latch key families are out there? Last time I checked if you are working, you don't have time to pay attention to junior.

but chiefly this is a policy decision and a plan started oh around the 1970s... and the plan is to chiefly destroy these public educational systems by depriving them of resources et al. But we need a little propaganda... them public schools don't work, and LOWER taxes... alas we find ourselves at the end of the project unable to tell what is going on. They need that, so you swallow it line, hook and sinker. I highly recommend you do read the Shock Doctrine, or Madfloridian's journal. I highly do. I doubt we can turn this around UNLESS you and I do something about it.

however should we be the ones doing the basic work when the classroom fails or simply does not do it? I have seen good teachers and bad and it has not been particular to anyone time period, not to mention that class size in my area (Twin Cities) has remained pretty stable though out the entire time
now I will also tell you that in the case of my 13 year old the school he is currently attending suggested that I put him in a charter school!!!!

I am talking about taxes which have gone down...

And if the local public school suggests charter you should start asking some serious questions as to what is going on in your local system.

As to teachers doing some of the basic work... well I went to a PRIVATE school in another country and my mom did a lot of the work with me. I guess the school was bad, or was that an involved parent? I don't know.

And yes to many parents having to help the kid with homework is onerous in more ways than one. And yes I have heard parents complaining because my god, kid got homewoerk... like homework will kill kids!!!!

No, nobody likes doing it when a kid, but darn it, it is GOOD.

And no, I don't have kids, and to be honest, I am GLAD of that. One reason is this attitude many people have round these parts against education in general. (Of course global warming and the coming ecological disaster has a lot more to do with it.)

But yes, you and your kids are victims of policy decisions made over forty years ago, and carried out by BOTH parties... the Anti Intellectualism of the United States just plays into those hands.

it is not a problem and it was asking serious questions that led to the suggestion of a charter school

as to the tax base it has gone down IMO Pawlenty has redirected money from Mpls/St Paul to the suburbs this is across the board not just schools but it has led to a situation where some suburban schools can operate with $1,000,000 surpluses and supply every student with a laptop but the "cities" are struggling to supply text books to every student.

in a nutshell.

Part of the problem is taxes. Part of the problem is the penchant for local control... yes people have tried to get a NATIONAL program going since oh Emerson, but that train left the station a long time ago. Of course anti intellectualism is part of it in the US. And part of it is... people cannot connect dots.

This is not accidental, nor is it limited to the United States.

If this was done in secret we'd call it a conspiracy, but it is quite public. There is an effort world wide to destroy public education... charters are NOT just an American problem. And if your school is suggesting one... well time to ask some questions or perhaps not.

As I said, do some research and readying. There is a reason for this... and to be crass, they don't need anybody to get any education beyond eight grade... letters, some numbers, nothing more needed for a Wally Mart greeter. We need the population to return to the educational level of 1940...

Oh and congrats, you don't complaint about homework. Alas you are the exception. Homework has become a hot potato.

This morning's announcements, at the school where I work, were brought to us by Rockstar energy drink. :puke:

:-)

This was.

You might want to ask the school's management why they support COMMERCIAL ads from such a questionable source.

Yep - our tax dollars going for advertising.

but hey it is them highly paid, entitled SCHOOL TEACHERS... :sarcasm:

Not in 7 years -- we go to school, write curricula, etc. Oh, and sleep. 9th months of 14 hour days is wearing.