profofhumanities wrote:
I'd really like some info on the "charter schools are bad" idea. I will admit to knowing very little about them, so I am open to learning from anyone with more knowledge.
The problem with charter schools is that they put public money in private hands. Charter schools are not required to follow many of the rules and regulations that public schools must.
Charter schools are rarely any better, and drain money that should go towards traditional public schools. Since charter schools are allowed to set their own admission policies, many will not admit special-needs, ESL, or below-average students. This means that the charter school looks like it has a phenomenal success rate on paper, while actually just having the top students from public schools.
Charter schools then can gain more money (leveraging their ill-gotten test scores), expand, and further drain funds/brains from the public school system. The worst part is that many politicians will use these "success stories" to fight for more private education, all while pocketing funds from private education lobbyists.