Kilroy lambasted the Caesar Rodney attempt to stir up sentiment towards Charter Schools in rural Smyrna Delaware.
The News Journal played along too, here.
The meeting was attended by the following.
- Jim Hoseley, the Caesar Rodney Institute’s director of the Center for Excellence in Education.
- Priest of St. Polycarp Roman Catholic Church.
- A woman in the middle of the room wearing a purple knit hat.
- “Honey Bun”.
- The Rev. Thomas Flowers.
- One woman in the crowd who wondered aloud “where are the black people” as she looked around at a crowd of white faces.
- Mike Matthews, a Red Clay Consolidated special education teacher and union supporter,
- And one man who blurted out, “Does he also believe in Santa Claus?”
Which would leave 25 others also down there, with the backdrop of the room filled with American flags and images of Jesus….
One would assume, except for Mike Matthews, that all those in attendance were people unfamiliar with education, period. Most of us would probably call them gullible.
Delaware Today magazine was then taken to the woodshed by Mr. Hosely of the Caesar Rodney Institute because it did not include charters with its public school rankings report. Instead, Delaware Today magazine charter schools were ranked in another issue of the magazine that was dedicated to private schools.
(The obvious reason it did so, was because Charter Schools are run like private schools and not, like public schools. Obviously missing the logic that if they were run like Public schools,and funded by the public school system, they might as well be Public Schools. That they are run like a Private School, is the whole point of charter schools…)
Next, the Caesar Rodney spokesperson bashed Markell because his state of the state did not mention vouchers. There are those who “philosophical” believe that there should be more of a “free-market” approach to our schools because this will push students to higher rates of achievement.
Governor Markell’s Delaware’s public schools have been failing minority students at a higher rate than their white peers, Hosley said.
This is where the lady looked around and said,” Where are all the BLACK PEOPLE!
In the past, black people is a group that the Caesar Rodney Institute hasn’t often found strong support among this community — earlier there was insulting criticism of brown-skinned people’s reasoning on there strong support for President Barack Obama.
Unfortunately, there were quite a few things that Mr. Hoseley of the Caesar Rodney Institute, failed to mention….
He failed to mention:
- That charter schools are generally no better — and often are worse — than their traditional counterparts…
- State and local agencies and organizations in Republican districts that grant the charters have been increasingly hesitant to shut down schools, even those that continue to perform abysmally for years on end..
- Only 17 percent of charter schools provided a better education than traditional schools, and 37 percent actually offered children a worse education. Meaning a charter school has only a 1 in 7 chance of being any better than a public school… And a 2 in 7 chance of completely ruining the kids in its care.
- Standards being used by the charter authorizers to judge school performance are terribly weak.
- For the majority of schools, poor first year performance will give way to poor second year performance.
States that are in a hurry to expand charter schools should proceed with caution. The evidence of success is not all that ample.
Advocates of Charter Schools who “philosophically” believe in the “Free market system” cheer when they see a charter school closes… “See, that’s what we are talking about! Yeah, Baby! It failed. Shut ‘er down! The market system works. If it succeeded and had done well, it would have prospered. Now that it is closed, it can’t destroy any more children. The free market system works. Woo Hoo!!! “…..
When asked, they could provide no answer of what to do with those children who were now, unable to go to school…..
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February 3, 2013 at 7:17 am
kilroysdelaware
My lambasting was’t about charters by more about CSI and opportunity scholarships. Also their deep-seeded dislike of unions and they are too far right for me!
I said this; “Uncle Pete, I respect you and the family but damn, your CRI boys are so far right they are out of touch with the reality of the mainstream. Sure I support opportunity scholarships but not when CRI is pouring the Kool-aid.”
February 3, 2013 at 8:24 am
Mike Matthews
I live Facebooked the whole event. Some of my comments were even more colorful. It was quite an interesting evening.
February 3, 2013 at 8:41 am
kilroysdelaware
Reblogged this on Kilroy's delaware.
February 3, 2013 at 4:51 pm
kavips
Kilroy. When I speak of lambasting, I’m talking about putting butter and broth on a lamb broiling over an open fire. I’m pretty sure your position on charters is clear, and I don’t think anyone will misinterpret… As I have said recently, the charter concept makes sense if it were to work. but the rate of failure is horrific. Not from bad teachers or bad academics, mind you.. But from people who have to pay the bills, finagle loans and payments, run a business, buy soap, handle personnel issues, and do all that at the same time as make sure they comply with every state, local, or federal line of the law.
They just aren’t capable of handling all that, and as we can see with Pencader and the others, it’s the children who are the ones who get hurt….
Perhaps if we said, Charters can go forward but first show us $50 million in the bank, then we might have more Newark Charters and less Pencaders. That way they can employ a full time lawyer, full time accountant, full time human relations manager, and a full time food service operator…. All things that have nothing to do with academics. Only adequate finances and infrastructure will our children not get shorted by every new opening….
All these issues in public schools are handled by the bureaucracy that get screamed at as sucking away dollars from students…. They have to be done.
And Mike, I guess the tape is lost? As soon as I heard of the purple knit hat, I knew it must have been a doosey….
July 7, 2014 at 12:35 am
All About Common Core, Charters, and Public Education | kavips
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