Thomas Ultican writes that it is time to give up on the failed charter experiment. He reviews Carol Burris’ Charters and Consequences.
The establishment of a dual system of publicly funded schools, he says, is not sustainable
Big profits. Big money for marketing. Big salaries.
The key to success? Creaming the best students, tossing out the others.
Innovation? None.
Breakthroughs in achievement? None.
Enough.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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Unfortunately, we have reached the “twilight zone” era of public school privatization where evidence and logic matter little. Privatization is backed by the rich and powerful that wield their wealth like a sword. Unless more parents and citizens rise up against these special interests groups, more schools will continue to be privatized pushing public education past its tipping point. We need a large active, resistance to stop the unethical, and undemocratic assault on public education. We need to actively campaign against complicit representatives that do the dirty work of the wealthy corporations, and we need to unseat them.
Privatization has caused enough harm to communities and students, and any minimal gains from creaming have been dwarfed by bad practice, shameful profiteering, waste and fraud. Charters schools have left school districts with stranded costs and students, as a result of the massive folly of privatization. The futures of our young people have been placed in jeopardy by the endless, ineffective, experimentation. Ideology and profit have been the priorities in many states while student needs have taken a backseat.
Privatization is not sustainable. Unless supporters of public education actively fight back, it is the public schools that will hollowed shells, pushed to the point of collapse. In Florida Scott has recently passed a law that puts charters on equal footing with public schools. These types of laws are designed to intentionally undermine public education by siphoning funds from public education. Jeb Bush is trying to use extortionist practices to eliminate the class size law which, if enforced, would automatically make tax payers pay more. Without class size limits, it is much easier to over burden public schools to the point where they can no longer function. It is clear that this is his evil strategy.
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Thank you, retired teacher. AMEN.
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Absolutely eerie: We really are in a twilight zone where “evidence and logic matter little…”
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