Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Monday, November 9, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
Schools as a business
Another excellent article from Denis Smith. He hits the inherent conflict of interest between operating a business and doing what is right for the students.
http://www.plunderbund.com/2015/10/27/are-public-charter-schools-also-considered-businesses-mind-the-quotation-marks/
These charter schools are operated as personal fiefdoms. This is another great example
"If people consider a school to be a business enterprise, inevitably the profit motive gets confused with the educational mission, which is what schools are supposed to be all about. The proliferation of for-profit national charter school chains has been a chief contributor toward the blurring of pedagogy and profit. And entities like Imagine and K12, a publicly traded company that is a big player in the virtual school field, only add to the growing perception that charter schools are first and foremost businesses and thus are all about money and privatization."
"Likewise, the nation is indebted to the Washington Supreme Court for its ability to teach us a civics lesson and, in the process, highlight a problem of democracy. When a board that is hand-picked by a private corporation and spends public funds to run what is called a “public” charter school that is a problem of democracy due to the absence of voter input – a violation of the democratic process.
We also should extend our thanks to the League of Women Voters for helping the Washington Supreme Court to understand that a school is not a business, but it nevertheless must be our business to ensure that schools are learning communities, not profit-centered enterprises, governed by citizens chosen in elections by qualified voters, not by corporations."
http://www.plunderbund.com/2015/10/27/are-public-charter-schools-also-considered-businesses-mind-the-quotation-marks/
These charter schools are operated as personal fiefdoms. This is another great example
"If people consider a school to be a business enterprise, inevitably the profit motive gets confused with the educational mission, which is what schools are supposed to be all about. The proliferation of for-profit national charter school chains has been a chief contributor toward the blurring of pedagogy and profit. And entities like Imagine and K12, a publicly traded company that is a big player in the virtual school field, only add to the growing perception that charter schools are first and foremost businesses and thus are all about money and privatization."
"Likewise, the nation is indebted to the Washington Supreme Court for its ability to teach us a civics lesson and, in the process, highlight a problem of democracy. When a board that is hand-picked by a private corporation and spends public funds to run what is called a “public” charter school that is a problem of democracy due to the absence of voter input – a violation of the democratic process.
We also should extend our thanks to the League of Women Voters for helping the Washington Supreme Court to understand that a school is not a business, but it nevertheless must be our business to ensure that schools are learning communities, not profit-centered enterprises, governed by citizens chosen in elections by qualified voters, not by corporations."
Monday, October 12, 2015
Ohio Education Research Center Reviews E-Schools
An extensive report from the Ohio Education Research Center . E-schools are not successful. More dropouts, poor performance with similar demographics. No magic bullet/solution or excuse was determined. It is a failed one billion experiment.
A very thorough report. The conclusion:
E-school students’ performance
on standardized tests are dramatically lower, especially for
math, compared to those
students who attend a brick-and-mortar school. Test scores
plummet the year a student
transitions to an e-school. E-school students’ scores see
incremental increases in the
subsequent years. However, it is important to note, that despite
subsequent increases their
scores remain below the scores they received prior to entering an
e-school.
What is the cost?
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-06-12/one-year-with-a-bad-teacher-costs-each-student-50-000-in-lifetime-earnings
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Dealing with e-schools: Kids in first year in online schools learn little, never catch up
Drilling down into the data. The results for e-schools is not pretty. The kids fall behind and never catch up.
Meanwhile the taxpayers pay millions and some corporations and sponsors make a lot of money. $6000 per kid.
"Test scores plummet the year a student transitions to an e-school," that study found. "E-school students' scores see incremental increases in the subsequent years. However, it is important to note, that despite subsequent increases their scores remain below the scores they received prior to entering an e-school."
Ohio Education Resource Center
An ugly graph.
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/09/dealing_with_e-schools_kids_in.html
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
CURMUDGUCATION: OH: 200 Failed Charters
Another take on the 200 failed charters in Ohio. Curmudgucation is a very good blog
CURMUDGUCATION: OH: 200 Failed Charters: When the Washington State supreme court ruled charters unconstitutional just before the school year started, charter fans were outraged. &q...
CURMUDGUCATION: OH: 200 Failed Charters: When the Washington State supreme court ruled charters unconstitutional just before the school year started, charter fans were outraged. &q...
200 Charter School Failures and Counting
A thorough article on the waste of taxpayers dollars in this community school experiment.
It points out the lack of appropriate supervision by sponsors. They have a conflict as there fees depend on the existence of the school, not the results.
It points out the lack of qualified disinterested school boards. Ohio lets the managment company pick the boards and then presents a contract with the terms the managment company writes in that contract.
"In Ohio, for-profit companies run most charter schools, according to a 2014 Beacon Journal analysis. Some of the largest are out of state. Contracts allow many of the operators to hire employees and negotiate vendor and landlord contracts without seeking approval of the school board. In many cases, contracts are with parties related to the for-profit operator."
It points out the lack of appropriate supervision by sponsors. They have a conflict as there fees depend on the existence of the school, not the results.
It points out the lack of qualified disinterested school boards. Ohio lets the managment company pick the boards and then presents a contract with the terms the managment company writes in that contract.
“I wonder why people sit on Boards? Is it a cheap self esteem boost?”
“ I often think the many Boards I have seen are lead around by the nose anyway.”
"In Ohio, for-profit companies run most charter schools, according to a 2014 Beacon Journal analysis. Some of the largest are out of state. Contracts allow many of the operators to hire employees and negotiate vendor and landlord contracts without seeking approval of the school board. In many cases, contracts are with parties related to the for-profit operator."
http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/blame-and-ignorance-follow-200th-charter-school-flop-in-ohio-1.625609#.VgAYW9DsFP0.mailto
No question the education education system needs help. This points some of the many flaws.
No question the education education system needs help. This points some of the many flaws.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)