I have not had a chance to write much about the assault on charter schools being led by the new mayor of New York, Bill DiBlasio and the teachers' union. As is usually the case, the battle lines have put the hard left on the side of the union and against the needs of the children. Even so, I had the chance today to read some of the more recent articles at Salon.com and the HuffPo on the topic, and I was surprised by the vicious nature of the attacks from the left on charter schools.
Did you know, for example, that charter schools are creating a "separate but equal" school system that caters to whites in the urban areas of metro New York City? At least that is what they are saying at Salon. Are they kidding? That is not just a blatant lie, but it is one that tries to dredge up the unsavory past conduct by the states of the South to attack a system which, for the first time in decades, is delivering a good education to African American children in New York. Here's the truth: one of the charter schools that DiBlasio is forcing to close has the students who scored highest among the fifth graders in the entire state on reading last year. That's right, it is a charter school in New York City whose fifth graders did better on these reading exams than those of any other school in the entire state. And the students at the school a almost entirely African American. This is not a separation of races; it is the delivery of a good education to students whose parent care deeply about their futures. It is not "separate but equal", but rather superior and exemplary.
For what it is worth, once the charter school is forced to close, these same students will have to go back to the public schools in their neighborhood, schools whose students do not even PASS the statewide reading tests. The kids will be hurt by being forced to return to terrible public schools. No one but the teachers' union will benefit. Indeed, the result is so terrible that only by telling lies can anyone even try to justify this blatant move to help the union at the expense of the school kids.
Did you know, for example, that charter schools are creating a "separate but equal" school system that caters to whites in the urban areas of metro New York City? At least that is what they are saying at Salon. Are they kidding? That is not just a blatant lie, but it is one that tries to dredge up the unsavory past conduct by the states of the South to attack a system which, for the first time in decades, is delivering a good education to African American children in New York. Here's the truth: one of the charter schools that DiBlasio is forcing to close has the students who scored highest among the fifth graders in the entire state on reading last year. That's right, it is a charter school in New York City whose fifth graders did better on these reading exams than those of any other school in the entire state. And the students at the school a almost entirely African American. This is not a separation of races; it is the delivery of a good education to students whose parent care deeply about their futures. It is not "separate but equal", but rather superior and exemplary.
For what it is worth, once the charter school is forced to close, these same students will have to go back to the public schools in their neighborhood, schools whose students do not even PASS the statewide reading tests. The kids will be hurt by being forced to return to terrible public schools. No one but the teachers' union will benefit. Indeed, the result is so terrible that only by telling lies can anyone even try to justify this blatant move to help the union at the expense of the school kids.
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