At Charter Schools, Short Careers by Choice

CAT Tracks Editor's Note:

Expecting a rant?

I don't dare...

It's 3 a.m., if I started ranting and raving, I'd never stop!

Two paragraphs were particularly offensive to me...

First:

“Strong schools can withstand the turnover of their teachers,” said Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach for America. “The strongest schools develop their teachers tremendously so they become great in the classroom even in their first and second years.”

There's only one problem with that, Wendy. (Well, actually, there are too many to mention.)

THE problem, Wendy, is that the whole current education reform movement, the whole purpose behind the creation of your TFA, was to save "failing schools".

Bears repeating, Wendy...

..."FAILING SCHOOLS".

I don't know about your planet, but on the planet where I live, "failing schools" are by definition NOT "strong schools".

The second paragraph pissed me off simply because it reminded me of all those snake oil salespersons passing themselves off as "education consultants"...

Observing two first-year math teachers, she noticed that both were reviewing place values with sixth graders. “We might not be pushing them as rigorously as we can at this point,” she said. And when one teacher exhorted her students to give themselves a celebratory chant, Ms. Singleton corrected the teacher’s instructions. “I have to interrupt,” Ms. Singleton said. “It’s two claps and then a sizzle.”

"Two claps and then a (freaking) sizzle?"

Advice like that is always the dead giveaway...

...of why the "education consultant" is flitting about the country raking in money instead of teaching the children....

..."two claps and then a sizzle" doesn't work in the real world!

Okay, I'm done!

And not to rub it in, but...