tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post7566595786034345605..comments2024-03-26T07:00:11.620-05:00Comments on Wisdom of the Hands: Common sense on teachingDoug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-57197899177631932802010-10-08T16:46:54.112-05:002010-10-08T16:46:54.112-05:00What I think that you might see in the movie "...What I think that you might see in the movie "Waiting for Superman" is that the parents putting their children in the lottery are already preselected as being parents who have a greater than normal interest in their children's success. That in itself is putting an edge toward higher achievement. If every child has the advantage of having parents firmly committed to their children's educational success, we would not settle for the schools we have now.<br /><br />One interesting statistic is that 17% of charter schools do better than average public schools. Does that not also mean that 83% do no better or worse? But then the measure for those statistics is standardized testing which doesn't measure the things that are most important, creativity, self determination and teamwork.Doug Stowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-32467549888444553712010-10-08T12:47:27.795-05:002010-10-08T12:47:27.795-05:00Mario, that is not the case here in San Francisco,...Mario, that is not the case here in San Francisco, where the charter schools have to choose students by lottery just like all the other public schools in the city. The families have some choice--they list the schools they'd like to get into--but the schools have none; they do have to take one and all. Charter schools here are in no way private schools, unless you mean that they are free to use a different philosophy of education than the other schools--which IMO is perfectly compatible with being publicly funded.<br /><br />Like you, Doug, I don't think standardized tests are any guide at all to a school's success. But I think charter schools should beware if they find minority families aren't choosing them.Amyhttp://sermonsinstones.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-21422407799607072252010-10-02T05:28:17.231-05:002010-10-02T05:28:17.231-05:00The main rationale for charter schools is that we ...The main rationale for charter schools is that we need new models to reshape education, but I think we have model enough in Finland. Sure we would rather invent something homegrown, like a school where kids do video gaming all the time and adults are only present to double check scores, kind of like the clerk at Walmart who overseas self-checkout.<br /><br />We have a great model for education that we completely ignore. We have teachers who we marginalize. And one could say we have chosen idiocy for the next generations.Doug Stowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-72764467906812891432010-10-02T05:18:57.021-05:002010-10-02T05:18:57.021-05:00Charter schools run the gamut from great to horrif...Charter schools run the gamut from great to horrifically bad. They are on some levels private schools run with public money. They don't have to take one and all, like public schools, and they don't have to keep their problem students. With rules like that, no wonder they produce better test scores.<br /><br />Mario<br /><br />PS I was not a K-12 public school teacher, but at the community college I dealt with their graduates.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-70091051524870406142010-10-01T06:52:16.484-05:002010-10-01T06:52:16.484-05:00I think it is interesting that Ravitch came full c...I think it is interesting that Ravitch came full circle from her support of No Child Left Behind. She came to here senses.<br /><br />I don't have any particular complaint about charter schools except that they are being sold as the magic bullet when they actually are better only 17% of the time (as measured by standardized testing). Which is a vicious catch 22. Standardized testing is a poor measure of success and we need to get back to hands-on common sense in learning and schooling.Doug Stowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-3200172485388062162010-09-30T20:33:54.186-05:002010-09-30T20:33:54.186-05:00I have to admit it is hard to open my ears to Dian...I have to admit it is hard to open my ears to Diane Ravitch after reading her The Schools We Deserve. I don't know if her opinions have changed since then, but it was a monument to bland centrism in educational thought.<br /><br />What is your complaint about charter schools? I hear it from UUs all the time, but in my book there is no reason for one educational philosophy (the local Board of Ed's) to be the sole one available in the district's schools. Let different approaches flourish in one city.Amyhttp://sermonsinstones.comnoreply@blogger.com