Steven Singer here explains why any public school, no matter how “bad,” is better than ant charter school, no matter how “good.”
He begins:
But if one had to choose between the worst public school and the best charter school, you’d still be better off with the public school.
Does that sound crazy? Does it sound ideological, partisan, or close-minded.
I don’t think so.
Imagine if we said the same thing about tyrannies and democracies.
There are good tyrannies.
There are bad democracies.
Still, I’d prefer the worst democracy to the best tyranny.
Why?
Because even a badly run democracy is based on the principle of self rule. The government gets its right to make and enforce laws from the consent of the will of the governed.
Even if our representatives are corrupt and stupid, even if our federal, state and local agencies are mismanaged and disorganized – there is the potential for positive change.
In fact, the catalyst to that change is embedded in democracy, itself. Egalitarian systems founded on the principle of one person, one vote tend toward fairness, equity and liberty much more than others.
Bad leaders will be replaced. Bad functionaries will be retrained or superseded. Bad agencies will be renovated, renewed, and made to serve the will of the people.
However, in a tyranny, none of this is true.
Even if you have a benevolent tyrant who does nothing all day but try to do whatever is best for his or her subjects, that is a worse state of affairs.
Eventually the tyrant will change. Absolute power will corrupt him or her absolutely. Or even if this bastion of human goodness is incorruptible, he or she will eventually be deposed, replaced or die.
And there is nothing – absolutely nothing – to ensure the next tyrant is likewise benevolent. In fact, the system is set up to increase the likelihood that the next ruler will be as selfish, greedy and malevolent as possible.
This is because it is the system of tyranny, itself, that is corrupt – even if those that fill its offices are not.
The same goes for good charter schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Singer writes that good tyrants can change, and “absolute power will corrupt him or her absolutely. Or even if . . . incorruptible, he or she will eventually be deposed, replaced or die.”
The above also answers the question: WHY the RULE OF WRITTEN LAW? and WHY no one, and especially presidents are not (or should not be) “above the law.” Once the Constitution and the law is thought-through, written down, and accepted by all on principle, then those in power can be deposed, replaced, or die and the law remains, creating the potential for political stability and for a country NOT being ruled by the arbitrary whims or religious (or other) ideologies of those in power.
That’s exactly what’s at stake now. The irony is that Trumpism comes in under the dog whistles of “take America back” and “make America great again,” while actually trying to destroy what actually HAS and DOES make America great: The general acceptance of the principle: all equal UNDER the rule of law. CBK
LikeLike
Evidence of the aptness in the argument is that “education” can be taken out and any issue under the sun can be inserted. Helps to explain why our Dear Leader’s supporters really don’t care about norms, the Constitution, or history.
LikeLike
His is a bit of a rant.
Our dear leaders of North Korea and The US will meet soon, apparently, and observers will be hard pressed to distinguish the one egotistical despot from the other. With Trump, the voters have to endure the tyrant for 4 years.
However, for charter schools, if they don’t perform to the parents liking, the kids will be pulled out ASAP. The market will correct poor performers, yes even with poor or non existent oversight.
LikeLike
The kool-aid tastes good going down, but the side effects are killer.
LikeLike
With no operational transparency or metric of performance other than the fatally flawed and essentially useless standardized tests, it is not possible for parents or anyone else to come close to determining education quality. The market cannot correct for hidden cronyism and corruption, even though you somehow think that magically, it can. No oversight means no market forces are in place (are permitted) to drive whatever corrections the market determines are required.
LikeLike
Conflating tyranny with monarchy. Classic!
LikeLike
Some of the big cities give mayors far too much control, even those cities that have not been taken over by the state. Cities should be able to choose their school boards the same way that other communities can. The cities in which the mayor chooses the board often allows the mayor to award board positions to big donors. This promotes cronyism and corruption. All people should have the right to vote for school boards in a democratic society.
LikeLike
It’s helpful to also look at this rather obvious truth about the charter sector through the lens of Gresham’s Dynamic, the process whereby ethical business’s are driven out of the marketplace by unethical, corrupt ones. Here’s a link that explains this and refers to Akerlof et al’s original Nobel prize winning work. http://scholarfp.blogspot.com/2014/10/greshams-dynamic-why-bad-actors.html
LikeLike
Here is another article on the topic by William K. Black. Though it describes a situation in the financial markets, the parallels are inescapable. http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2015/03/why-are-top-tier-audit-failures-so-common.html#more-9208
LikeLike
Well, just look at the videos in the upcoming post; Success Academy students looking very unhappy & scared. Taking all the joy out of learning & childhood.
LikeLike
I often buy multiple copies of books favoring public education, one for me and one to give to a teaching colleague in the hope it will be read and the message spread. Unfortunately, I usually find out months later the gift books were tossed aside. But Steven Singer’s Gadfly on the Wall is being read and passed around. My colleagues, Rheephormy though many may be, find the writing style appealing so it is getting through to them. I just wanted to pass that along.
LikeLike
Agree with Singer. Go Public Schools and Public School Teachers. The deformers are sooooo WRONG!
Been noticing how “mucho” exaggeration is even being used re: scientific news, which cheapens the scientific information. Has this country gone daft?
LikeLike