Abbott elementary takes on the Charter School Movement
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Anonymous
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I like the show but we need to understand that it’s pure fiction. Look at how well behaved the kids are - it’s unrealistic for pretty much any school tbh
And a stab at the charter is part of it Charters spring up everywhere public schools are failing because it’s the only way to let the kids who are ready to learn to actually learn and not just constantly suffer from behavior problems of other students |
Anonymous
This. The worst issues they’ve dealt with have been a kid who shows up late frequently, a kid who is obsessed with Bluey and brings it up in class too often, and I think one kid who had a pee accident? If these were your toughest moments with students, as a teacher, you won the lottery. At pretty much any public, but especially at a Title 1 school that likely has kids dealing with stuff likely to cause behavioral issues, like housing insecurity. Talking about those issues would actually make the anti-charter argument stronger (charters are not set up to help kids who don’t have involved parents at home or who are dealing with serious challenges requiring social workers and other interventions). But it would make they show heavier and less fun, which is why they don’t touch it. There are lots of realistic things about the show but they focus on the realities of being a teacher in an urban public school. They aren’t portraying the family population very accurately, because they are focusing on the middle class families. A school like this would have a significant population of kids living in poverty and that would have a much bigger impact on the school than they show. |
Anonymous
And how fair is it to send those kids with challenges to real public schools after the fiscal year has started so those greedy charters keep the money? Privatizing public education is a disgusting business and they are constantly asking for more money. They need to start asking parents and their big donors. Some things about charters, like some of the autonomy they have is a good thing, schools should have more freedom to decide programming. Overall charters are just the dollar tree version of private schools. |
Anonymous
As a teacher in one of these schools, I do worry about them being educated. It's my job. I don't need your crocodile tears telling me that me or my students are lesser than you |
Anonymous
| As someone who taught in a charter and teaches in a DCPS school, I love that Abbott is running this storyline. The charter I was at often kicked kids out after the count day. I think there’s more transparency now, and they’d be less able to do this openly, but they certainly did it..a lot. |
Anonymous
| the politics around charter schools are very complicated. they are widely adopted but not entirely successful past 3 decades experiment. i think its good to talk about the nuance. charter school performance is extremely uneven. its easy to point to a relatively hyped and more successful charter school and then claim they are an across-the-board success but that is only a limited picture and their are good arguments that the heavy shift to charter schools is even here in dc holding neighborhood public schools back. |
Anonymous
Does you kid go there? What’s it like? |
Anonymous
Nobody. Said. That. Lacking financial or social capital does not equal “less than” but it does generally equal “fewer choices”. All respect for the work you do and for your students and their families. Enough respect to allow them the choice ( even if they don’t have the money for private or the ability to move ) to seek a public education elsewhere when and if they perceive their child is not being served by the SYSTEM. |
Anonymous
This was you: "I think they get an absolute shitty educational situation and it breaks my heart" spare me your pity |
Anonymous
Should have phrased it this way: I think they ( DCPS students ) often get an absolutely shitty educational situation and it breaks my heart that anti-charter people would have them stuck in it for some political purity test, false narrative bs. Charters have in no way “ruined” public education in DC. They have strengthened it in the last 20 years. People need to acknowledge the nuance when they talk about charter schools. |
Anonymous
| there is this mantra that “choice” is great but eotp in dc can sometimes feel like all the choices are mediocre and its not clear all the various charters are adding much |
Anonymous
How familiar are you with what actually happens in DCPS vs. charters? Because the truth is there really isn’t much of a difference unless you choose something so different from the standard (like Montessori, but that also exists in DCPS). The reason why some schools in DCPS are seen as “bad” has nothing to do with the quality of education, but rather the demographics of the school. It’s kind of hard to have high test scores when so many students enter elementary school not having been raised in the best environment and when they experience food insecurity, gun violence, etc. |
Anonymous
Well, the test scores are indicative that a large percentage of resources will be focused on the kids that need remediation, potentially in large part due to their home circumstances. Wanting your non-remedial child to be challenged means you want a different setting for your child. |
Anonymous
DC Charters have taken over DCPS schools but they just don’t spin it that way. Look into KIPP DC. |
Anonymous
I’m not sure what “resources” you’re wanting that aren’t available. Do you mean curriculum? Because the curriculum for the next grade level(s) could be used for acceleration. And small group instruction addresses both remediation and enrichment/acceleration. |