Karen Francisco writes about education for the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. Whenever I see her work, I wish I lived in Fort Wayne, so I could see everything she writes. She is one of our most thoughtful commentators on the subject of education.
In this article, she ponders the complexity of school choice.
What happens when parents want their children to go to a school even though it has low scores?
What should public officials do? What are the tradeoffs between accountability and choice?
What should we expect of public officials who say on one hand that parents know best, but then proceed to shut down a school that parents love?
How should we balance priorities?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
People who can afford it, already have school choice. It’s not about the phony test scores from dumbed down state assessments, it’s about academic excellence in a disciplined environment.
Parents hold the schools accountable in this scenario.
I’ve always had school choice with my kids because we’ve been fortunate to be able to afford it. Catholic schools are pretty reasonable.
Public officials do NOT trust parents anymore than they trust teachers.
But this is what you get when you empower your master.
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I had an Epiphany this morning about parents and Charter schools.
I was having breakfast at a local diner and nearby was a table with a mom, a grandmom and 4 school age children.
I can always tell when it’s time for me to go back to school because I start talking to families with young children.
As I passed the table I asked the children if they were ready for school and the mom told me she was ready. She said she was trying to get the youngest who was 5 into a Charter school. I asked what her home school was. It was in a an excellent district. She said the new principal was no good and had to go. She said the school used to be good but now the principal wants the children to play more and they don’t give homework on the weekends because it’s too much for the teachers. She said if they don’t keep on the kids China will take over the United States.
I did not tell her that play was children’s work and homework over the weekend may or may not advance students and keep China at bay.
I suddenly understood that all the news stories over the last few years and teacher bashing has convinced this mother who clearly wants what’s best for her children that more homework and more hours in school and little play is the true path.
For years the public has heard only one voice. It is imperative that more teachers take over the dominant voice of education.
Thank you Diane for being a strong voice. I am hopeful that your appearance on CNN may be a turning point and more of our voices will be heard.
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Most parents I know would welcome a no weekend homework policy. So many kids today attend afterschool and weekend activities. For a parent or even a principal to say teachers don’t want an extra day of homework is ridiculous. The rule of thumb is 10 minutes per grade anyway. I also think parents would want more play in this teaching-to-the-test craziness. This mother sounds more the exception. She sounds like the mother who wrote the article about not wanting her children to have any fun time when they can be learning piano and violin instead. Yikes!!
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It is interesting to note that one parent interviewed in the article about School choice said safety was the motivation to go to the charter school. This would seem to be a valid concern for parents.
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I am from Fort Wayne, and know Mrs. Francisco. She is nice gal, however, we sit on the opposite side of school reform many times. Safety in Ft. Wayne’s public schools is a growing concern! I have had several friends who are teachers in the largest school system, Fort Wayne Community Schools, who have quit mid-year, due to violent students and a lack of administrative support. The violent students usually end up at the charter school, an Imagine school, who are usually are kicked out mid-year. The students end up on homebound instruction through Fort Wayne Community Schools. Most of the students who are removed are heavily involved in gang; the average age of joining a gang is 7! As a former substitute in the area public schools, I often tell parents to avoid the large public school system, and send their child to either a Catholic, Lutheran, secular, public school system of their choosing. Most families have voted with their feet and have moved out of district to land in a safe school system, or have began to homeschool their children. In Allen County, parents have been sentenced to jail for improper homeschooling methods; i.e. not doing a good job, so parents work very hard to do the best for their children. I rarely met a homeschooled child, out of hundreds, that is not ahead of their peers socially, emotionally and academically.
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Reblogged this on Black History 360*.
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“Dilemmas Of School Choice” is an interesting article. I must venture out and say, mandatory Curriculums with bias agendas in private & religious schools is a good reason for the majority to support public education (I am certain there are some private schools un- bias just as there are some public schools with bias agendas) but I am skeptical of the glamorizing of private or religious schools and the closing of most schools offering a public education to K-12 or closing so many of the public schools that the only choice left for some, is a voucher for a private or religious school. Vouchers for K-12 students to attend religious or non- religious private schools is something we must think about before we accept, go along with or give the state the right to choose for us. In my opinion vouchers for some religious and private schools is a silent avenue toward indoctrinating.The earliest Indoctrination of a group will assure Conservatives like “LOUSIANA JINDAL” and his Posse their ( Jindal and Posse> those who believe in two Americas within the USA) true intent a destructive New World Order, in other words beware there is more to the Republicans and some Democrats endorsement of school vouchers, after all in the 2012 Primary and General Election, conservative Republican legislators, candidates and non- candidates, had no interest in education most had degrees but proved to us they were not educated. Public or private school parents must stay informed to become strong knowledgeable voices and not mumblers.
How much longer will we allow ourselves to be bamboozled we allowed ourselved to accept charter schools under the public school banner and they are not subject to the same rules and regulations as those listed as public schools . We even accepted the Charter Schools with some of its teachers not holding degrees in required subjects.
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