Jan Resseger explains how School Choice Promotes socially undesirable outcomes.
She quotes civil rights leader Jitu Brown on the illusion of choice:
Equity and Liberty Conflict When It Comes to the Education Market
The Journey4Justice Alliance’s executive director, Jitu Brown understands that an equitable system of public schools—regulated by law to protect students’ rights and the public interest— is likely to be more adequate, stable, and equitable than what a competitive charter school market provides. In his Forward to a report, Failing “Brown v Board,” published in May 2018, Brown addresses Bruce Baker’s concern that in education, the charter school marketplace undermines equity even as it expands freedom of choice: “In education, America does everything but equity. Alternative schools, charter schools, contract schools, online schools, credit recovery—schools run by private operators in the basement of churches, abandoned warehouses, storefronts; everything but ensuring that every child has a quality Pre-K through 12th grade system of education within safe walking distance of their homes.”
Tying school assignment to residence and demanding that every child attend a school in her neighborhood is a cause, not an effect, of intense school segregation, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest.
So that’s why we should let Eva have all the schools she wants and eliminate neighborhood schools? Of course her schools are intensely segregated so that defeats your point.
Exactly.
We have witnessed twenty years of school choice that has failed to deliver on its promises. We have witnessed the dismal results, false claims, endless profiteering, increased segregation, the destruction of neighborhoods and public schools. People are no longer looking for more “choice.” Most people are now trying to protect their public schools from corrupt legislators that try to impose unwanted choice on their schools. Choice that drains resources from public schools intensifies inequity.
“The Journey4Justice Alliance’s executive director, Jitu Brown understands that an equitable system of public schools—regulated by law to protect students’ rights and the public interest— is likely to be more adequate, stable, and equitable than what a competitive charter school market provides.”
Corporations and the 1% are the main supporters of choice. They do not care about opportunity or democratic rights for other people’s children. They do not care if students have certified and qualified teachers. Corporations and the 1% believe that computers can deliver education to the children of those that are not rich. It is the cheapest idea of all, but it does not work for most students. Corporations and the 1% do not care about our children’s futures. Their goal is to monetize students and extract profit from them. Privatizers are like bounty hunters. They put a price on the heads of other people’s children while their own children get a stable, quality comprehensive education
“substantively equal” was a phrase that popped up in the quote from Baker in Resseger’s article. What this means is that students who come from poverty will need much smaller classes to address greater needs. Those who suggest people should not have children if they cannot care for them sound an awfully lot like Scrouge, wanting the poor who do not want to go to the workhouse to die and reduce the surplus population.
It is not heartless. nor “Scrooge-like”, support responsible parenthood. Our nation currently has a $21 Trillion dollar national debt, that is mainly fueled by entitlement spending. The illegitimacy rate for black children is around 78%, welfare has virtually destroyed the black family.
Young girls who do not have the financial resources to support children, should not be having children. That is not Scrooge speaking, that is just good common sense.
OMG, Chuck, racist much?
First, you know we don’t have welfare anymore, right?
Second, welfare is not an “entitlement”. Social Security, for instance, is an entitlement. You are entitled to draw Social Security after retirement because you’ve paid into it your entire working life. It is self-sustaining (or would be if politicians would stop taking money out of it for pet projects) and not a drain on national spending.
Third, you do realize that the majority of people who receive government assistance are white, right? Beyond the proportion of blacks and whites in the population. In fact, the largest chunk of food stamp recipients are white rural Walmart workers and Amazon warehouse workers.
Should not be having children sounds good to those who want a society based on rules, unbending and decisive. To those who see society through a different lens, this attitude is utopian and fanciful.
What do we do as a society for the children we have for whatever reason we have them? That is the practical question. Sure, many of their parents are worthless. What can we do? We will not change the parents. What do we do for the parent who works three jobs to make one salary? Think that parent is a bad person? They sure will have a hard time taking junior to the library with three jobs.
Closing and defunding Planned Parenthood will add to the number of poor children that are innocent victims of poverty. These children require care regardless of the decisions of their parents.
YES. What a society does for children, no matter their parentage, parents’ skills and parental wherewithal, exactly describes a society.
School Choice = just more JIM CROW.
Nothing resembles Jim Crow more than exclusionary land use regulations working in tandem with neighborhood traditional public schools. Westchester, Suffolk, and Nassau Counties in New York have a combined 4 million residents, almost no school choice (just 5 small charter schools in all three counties combined), and the most segregated public schools in the United States.
https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/ny-norflet-report-placeholder
Westchester needs to intensify segregation by introducing charter schools that are completely white or black.
As the UCLA Civil Rights Project memorably stated,
“The charter school movement has been a major political success, but it has been a civil rights failure. As the country continues moving steadily toward greater segregation and inequality of education for students of color in schools with lower achievement and graduation rates, the rapid growth of charter schools has been expanding a sector that is even more segregated than the public schools.”
https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/choice-without-equity-2009-report
35 years of studying various school choice programs convinced me that school choice programs vary in at least 7 ways, and the differences are significant:
What is the SCOPE? (within a building, in a section of a community, in a metropolitan area, across district boundaries, etc).
What are the STANDARDS? What standards are participating schools held to?
Which SCHOOLS are involved/are eligible to participate? Magnet? District? Private, parochial, higher ed, etc.
Which STUDENTS can participate? All students? At risk students, using specific categories? Students who can pass a standardized test or some form of audition?, Students whose families can afford to live in an area with no or virtually no affordable housing?
What level of public SUPPORT is provided – Do participating schools receive equal funds to other public schools in the state? How much of the funding comes from the state? How much from local property taxes?
What SITE is used? “Bricks and mortar, K-12 facility, higher education facility? On-line?
What STAFF/FACULTY get to participate in the instructional process?