Re: [Phys-l] How Much Value is Added at Elite Institutions - Response to Haim #2

[Marty Weiss <martweiss@comcast.net>]

On Jan 27, 2011, at 12:08 PM, trappe@physics.utexas.edu wrote:

> This is especially true if anyone in the crowd mumbles the word  
> "VOUCHERS" for the schools who "don't need to prove their  
> accountability because they are inherently superior".

Vouchers is another joke foisted on the public by politicians who have no clue as to what really goes on in the typical public school.  The places where vouchers would be pushed are the inner city schools.  The parents and students from these schools accepting vouchers to a nearby private school would be the 10% who showed up for parent conferences.  The rest would still be in the inner city school struggling with just getting there on a daily basis, leaving these schools worse off than before.   So, the politicians and others, ignorant of the daily life of teachers and students in the inner city, say,  "Close the failing schools and send the students to better schools and charters."   Another joke... leopards don't change their spots.  What makes anyone think that just because these students would be moved to another school their life styles would change and they would suddenly be transformed into model students?  
And, what makes these politicians think that teachers who work in charters and private schools without the safety nets of tenure and regular working hours can handle all comers?   The dirty little secret of charters and private schools is that they can, and do, kick out students who are unruly or cannot (or will not) do the work.  Oh, they claim that nothing of the sort happens, but the reason it is so rare is that they accept only those who fit in, in the first place:  those who will wear the uniforms, those who will show up every day on time, and those whose parents will show up for meetings and sign the pledge to help their kids learn.  The squeaky clean image of charters and private schools is fraying as more students and parents buy into the hype.  This dirty secret came to light recently in Philadelphia where students from a charter school and a nearby parochial school got into a brawl near the subway station close to both schools.  And, what caused this brawl involving several dozen charter and parochial high school students?  The UNIFORMS the charter students have to wear!  The charter students claimed the others made fun of their uniforms!  It seems the colors and "cut" of uniforms became the new excuse to have an old-fashioned street-war.   Several participants were kicked out of their "elite schools" and where did they go?  Back to their neighborhood high schools!   

Marty

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