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Monday, June 8, 2009

Charter a way

No harm, no foul.

The one and only charter school I taught at was, well, to put it nicely rather difficult. Or perhaps it was just that one class of first graders where the classroom teacher was kinda like me. Her class was a difficult class, and that memory seems so much more significant than the awesome kinder, second, fourth, and 7th/8th grade elective classes I had there. I especially loved the second graders.

In general, I'm a proponent for charter schools. I like the bilingual immersion program. I like the curriculum freedom without the religious - or wealth, which is sort of a religion too - undertones of private schools. I like the financial flexibility they have over the regular public schools. I like uniforms. I like staggered start/end/lunch/recess times. I like how red tape is minimized and plans for improvement can be implemented faster (or bad plans can be thrown out faster). I even like the fact that parents of charter school students tend toward helicopter rather than absent.

And now, there is further research that says charter schools not only send more students onward to college, but also don't hurt the performance of other public schools in the district. Which is nice. I'm sure more research needs to be conducted, since things change and whatnot, but it is good news.

Finally good news on the education front, no?

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