EduShyster: The Inside Scoop on Why Massachusetts Did Not Lift the Charter Cap

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1. Chuck says:

   July 18, 2014 at 5:04 pm

   Looks like the colonizers got greedy–more so than usual.

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2. Jack says:

   July 18, 2014 at 5:31 pm

   So many major newspapers just regurgitate press releases from the privatizers. Check this one out from the Boston Herald: (written by “Herald Staff”… why two parents would ever name their child “Herald” is something I’d like to know.)

   http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/opinion/editorials/2014/07/editorial_losing_ground_on_charters

   ————————————————————————-
   “The Senate debate… was instead a rehash of a 20-year-old debate on the overall merits of charter schools, with a shocking number of senators questioning the success of the model.”
   ————————————————————————-

   To “Herald”, it’s simply “shocking” that senators would even think of objecting to intentionally and systematically starving of traditional public schools into failure by cutting their funding and then diverting that same funding to charter schools… and then using that public school “failure” that they intentionally caused through their initial starvation to then… wait for it… open more charter schools, and/or close those same traditional public schools, and replace them with charters.

   More from “Herald”…

   ————————————————————————-
   “One-by-one senators condemned the unfairness of a ‘two-tier’ educational system.

   “ ‘Are we going to have a 50 percent charter school system and 50 percent public schools?’ wondered Sen. Eileen Donoghue (D-Lowell).

   “Is she really unaware that charter schools are public schools?”
   ————————————————————————-

   No, “Herald,” they ain’t. It’s impossible for Senator Donoghue to be aware of something that is demonstrably not true. That said, good job on including the “charter schools are public schools, too” talking point. However, in fact, the only thing “public” about them is the taxpayers’ money. They are:

   — not accountable to the “public” via a democratically-elected school board.

   — not transparent to the “public”, where all their financials and possible nepotism and conflicts of interest are available to be seen

   — fail to educate all the “public”, not accepting or kicking out … err… “counseling out” all but the easiest-to-educate kids… special ed., foster kids, homeless kids, kids who are disruptive, or just a little “slower”… unlike Herald’s beloved charters, any child (with parent) who shows up on the steps of a public school with proof of living in that school’s attendance area, is immediately given a seat in that school

   and on and on…

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   • Bemo1021 says:

     July 18, 2014 at 9:04 pm

     @Jack..The Herald is The Herald. No one reads it for actual news or objective Op Eds. The Globe isn’t much more curious, but it DOES have an education reporter who is actually somewhat concerned about what’s happening. The fact is that the Head of our DOESE is also very tightly associated, professionally, with Pearson Education, and our Governor is very tightly associated, personally and politically, with The Obama Administration and its clueless education agenda. This is no longer a Red vs. Blue Sate issue..

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     • Ian says:

       July 20, 2014 at 1:48 am

       This is true. In 2009, Deval Patrick, who is an excellent gov. except for his desire to grow charter schools, called for expanding charter schools. I’m convinced though, that he’d change his mind if someone showed him the data. And it might be a worthwhile endeavor because he may run for potus in 2020.

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3. Donna says:

   July 18, 2014 at 5:41 pm

   I had difficulty making heads/tails of the linked story. It read like comedy and I didn’t understand the punchlines and inside jokes. I guess its cuz I’m from Jersey. Good deal tho on not lifting the cap on charters. Now if everyone would get it that charters are not public schools, etc. ad nauseam, the tides could turn and there’d be an end to the nonsense, and also perhaps there’d be that separation between church and state too and vouchers would cease. Ah, to properly fund public schools and stop the teacher bashing; that is the wish/goal.

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   • Jack says:

     July 18, 2014 at 6:01 pm

     Donna,

     Edushyster has a particular brand of clever snark… an entertaining style that might be a little hard to catch on to if you’re not familiar with it. From your comment, however, it seems you’ve got the gist of what she was not saying, if not all the “punchlines and inside jokes.”

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4. Lloyd Lofthouse says:

   July 18, 2014 at 6:08 pm

   I think the fake education reformer/s EduShyster refers to ignored the list of reasons that might explain why the state legislature left the cap in place—that these Charter schools are “dropout factories”.

   For instance these conclusions from a study conducted by the Center for Education Policy and Practice: first, charter schools are not educating the same students as district schools. it appears on the surface that they are teaching a similar group of students; however, as illustrated here, when the data are disaggregated by type of special need or level of poverty, the story is quite different.

   Second, what happens to those students who “win the lottery” but fail to make it
   to the finish line? We know that failure in school is a leading cause of dropping out; these schools appear to be practicing “pushout” strategies and can fairly be labeled “dropout factories.”

   But where are the students pushed to and for what particular infraction? it appears that those who are part of this “selective out-migration of low achievers” are those who find the work too difficult or the rules too strict, as the MATCH director indicated in the AEI report.

   Click to access MTA_Charter_School_Report_%209_09.pdf

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   • KrazyTA says:

     July 18, 2014 at 8:03 pm

     Lloyd Lofthouse: thank you for making an ironic (if painful) point—

     Many charters can be fairly characterized as “dropout factories” and the related “factories of failure.”

     Ah, but thar’s gold in them there hills full of dropout factories! Note the comments by Gus Wynn, Jack, Louisiana Purchase and myself on a posting of this blog re the midyear dump and how it helps the bottom line.

     Link: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/02/15/reader-offers-a-dose-of-common-sense-about-high-test-scores/

     Ain’t $tudent $ucce$$ grand?

     Or not…

     😎

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5. Bemo1021 says:

   July 18, 2014 at 9:27 pm

   47 school districts within Massachusetts are now proudly reporting that they are part of an Innovation School pilot. They are simply Charter Schools housed within the PUBLIC schools, with selective admissions, and unburdened by testing, staffing procedures, and any of those pesky unfunded mandates the rest of us Plebes (teachers AND students) are required to abide by. There WILL be two separate school systems in MA in a matter of years (despite the fact that there already IS the zip code issue). It’s a “Reformer’s” public relations scam…diverting public money from public schools to cater to affluent parents and students who have no language or cognitive disabilities. What an Educational Beacon WE are!

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6. Joanna Best says:

   July 18, 2014 at 10:00 pm

   Edushyster is awesome. . Love it.

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7. Peg Metzger (Bflo, NY) says:

   July 19, 2014 at 12:02 pm

   Yes she is! I love her too. …sense of humor and good sense in a great ” package!”

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