4th Blog

1) Charter schools promote competition with public schools.
I can agree with this statement, but I do not necessarrily agree with its implications. Charter schools are promoting competition with public schools, but it is not good competiton. Like Professor Moomau's example of having firefighters compete in a city, having failing schools compete with each other is not constrcuctive. I do like the concepts of charter schools, they are a very essential and innovative method in education, however, when DCPS students transfer into them because they want to receive a better education they are being trapped by the false image DCPCS are sending. If both systems were yielding good results, then I would be all for a competition amongst the schools, but when they are both failing, I strongly disagree with the competition.

2) Parents, not politicians or school administrators, should be allowed to choose what school their children attend, and should be considered the most qualified to judge this matter.
I do think that parents should be the ultimate force in deciding where their child attends school. I also think that they SHOULD be considered the most qualified to judge this matter. The reality of that, however, is that not all parents are educated enough about school choice decisions to make this decision. Their should be a system implemented to make sure that the parents understand their options and be able to place their child where ever they see fit. Impoverished parents, unlike the wealthy and middle class parents are less educated about the opportunities their children have in education. In theory, the people who gave life and take care of the children should be able to decide where they get education, but the reality is that these parents are not qualified to make this decision.

3) Specialized curricula, not national or even school district curricula, are a preferred way to teach students.
I agree with this statement to a certain extent. With ununiform school systems across the nation, there is no way every student will be on the same page. I think that to educate students, you need a specialized curricula for that group. Not all students are the same, therefore you cannot try to implement the same curricula for everyone. There should be leg room to change the curricula into the needs of the student, however, certain basic concepts should be part of every school curricula.

4) Teacher accreditation is over-valued; school should seek out talented, passionate teachers regardless of their qualifications.
I do not agree with this statement. Education is too important of a task to be left just to talented, passionate teachers without certain qualifications. A lot of the problems in education faced in inner cities and specially charter schools, is that teachers are just sought out on an ambition basis. While I do think it is very important to have teachers who are dedicated and passionate about education, I think it is unfair for students to be taught by people who are not qualified for it.