Homestead mailing list

["Melody O." <melody AT crecon.com>]

At 08:49 AM 1/14/05 -0800, you wrote:
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
>To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
>Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 6:48 AM
>Subject: [Homestead] William F. Buckley on charter schools
>
>
>> August 17, 2004, 1:33 p.m.
<snip>>> students at (most) charter schools are doing worse than students
at (most)
>> public schools. These are data put together on fourth grade students.

It is an interesting dilemma.  In a city nearby where I live is a charter
school that a friend's children go to.  In fact, these kids travel 30 min.
to get to it.  I haven't discussed it much with my friend, because I know
my anti-public school views would shine through and I value my friendship
with her more than that.  However, I have gleaned info such as the fact
that they use many typically homeschool material in their school and let
the kids work at their own pace.

I wonder how successful teachers who themselves were schooled to teach in
very formal, institutional learning environments will let children learn at
their own pace and all the rest of the more child-led learning ways, which
is 180 degrees from what they were taught to deal with.

I think in programming teachers for one situation and putting them in a
starkly different atmosphere is probably a big cause in the charter schools
doing worse than public schools.  

There are also the charter schools that entice homeschoolers to get free
computers and supplies from the school districts and then teach from the
districts choice of curriculum.  It is quite possible that the curriculum
is shoddy or the paperwork that goes with any bureaucratic government
program is taking up so much time that the teacher (usually mom) doesn't
have time to actually teach.

Then there is the part of my mind that seizes the opportunity to think
"propaganda".  I suppose it is a possibility that they are intentionally
setting up a situation very much like homeschools, have it fail, then shout
that if professionals can't even teach that way that then an uneducated
person like a parent definitely couldn't and use such findings to gain
public support to legislate more laws for homeschooling.

Probably the answer is somewhere in the middle somewhere.  I just think it
is silly for parents to put their child in a charter school, thinking it
will give an equivalent private school education.  It is simply a public
school with a different name and store-front.

Best wishes,
Melody