Continuing the Charter School Discussion

Continuing the charter-school discussion on the Robert Reich thread on Facebook, the following conversation took place.

William M wrote to me that charter schools are the major problem, that they are a result of a concerted effort the conservative/Xtian types use to end run the standard public school curriculum (which reflects and actual separation of church and state) and turn a bunch of impressionable kids into little narrow-minded "for profit Jesus" acolytes. And that many folks don't realize that every time a charter school is created you suck some blood out of the public school system since they are, in effect, competing for the same funds.  He says that it's a clever fifth column initiative by religious extremists masquerading as "educational reformers."

This was my response.


William: I am aware of what charter schools do.  But check out the schools in New London, CT where every school is a public charter school.  I believe it's the only city in the nation to do this.  My comment was made out of incredible frustration with the Right's was against education.  As long as there are idiots like Diane Douglas here in AZ who was just voted in as State Education Superintendent and has NO education background, we have a problem. I was a public school teacher  years ago and always believed in the system.  With Republicans decimating funding for public schools, the system no longer works.  When you get Republicans who don't believe children have a right to a good education, we D/P/Ls have to find a way to make sure we raise intelligent youngsters to counter what the idiot religious fanatics are raising.  If Republican-controlled states are killing public education, we have to wrest control back and funnel tons of money into education or fight them another way-through our own charter schools. Have you another suggestion?

Now, what do you, who may be reading this, think about a public, Progressive/Liberal national chain of charter schools?  Can it be done?  Should it be done to combat the Right-wing onslaught of stupidity?

This is not just an important issue.  It may be so urgent and critical to the life of this nation, that it will become imperative that these kinds of schools take the lead to produce critically-thinking, intelligent individuals who believe this country should work for everyone and words like altruism, generosity, humanity, kindness, equality and goodness become the norm.