Charter schools impress half of California voters
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
Charter schools have won over about half of California voters, but these independent, non-traditional public schools are not widely viewed as the solution to the state’s education problems, according to a new poll.
Among those surveyed in the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll, 52 percent had a favorable opinion about charters; only 12 percent had an unfavorable impression.
Asked whether charter schools or traditional schools provided a better education, 48 percent gave superior marks to charters; 24 percent considered traditional schools more effective.
“As people learn more about what charter schools are, they tend to like the idea of choice,” said USC professor Priscilla Wohlstetter, who directs the university’s Center on Educational Governance.
The charter model appealed to Latino parents in particular. Overall, 52 percent of parents — those who have a child or grandchild age 18 or under living at home — said they would consider enrolling their children in a charter, compared to 38 percent who said they would not. Among Latino parents, 56 percent were in favor and 30% disinclined. More than half the state’s public school students are Latino.
Charter schools may get slightly better results than traditional public schools. But they’re still controlled by the same beauracratic system and the same state teachers’ unions that control the traditional schools. So if you disagree with current political correctness, and don’t wish for your kids to be indoctrinated with it, you’re still stuck (here in Tahoe) with either Catholic school or home schooling.
“Environmental Magnet” indeed.
Please elaborate on this political correctness. Teachings that all people are equal? And evolution.
The function of correctness is the essence of the purpose.
About 16 years back there was a choice in California between the Voucher system or the status quo at the time, the education Monopoly.
Vouchers lost.
The predictions of us who supported the vouchers has come home to roost.
California has either the worst education system in the country or the nearly the worst depending on which study you look at.
The monopoly won, they delivered the “Great California Decline” that is currently underway and I believe ultimately it’s demise.
The pensions and the pay the educators get are so out of alignment with the private sector that average income California private sector tax payers will be working until they are 80 years old while the government employees retire at 60 and will send their children and grand children on world junkets.
That is the way I see it.
I left.
We can’t miss you if you won’t go away.
You people need to look no further than your own community to see what can be accomplished in education on a local level. Take a drive to So Tahoe High. Look at what programs are offered to the kids. At the elementary level there are options as well.
But can they read, write, and do basic mathematics?
Skier,
Are you a teacher?
Options for the elementary students?
Schools are to teach the students not give them options???? Options, that’s what is important to you?
I got your options right here –
Reading – Writing – Math – Science
We need to give parents options so that they can send their kids to schools that teach what they need to know for a future.
I have a daughter at Sierra House and feel very confident that she is learning the basics; reading, writing, arithmetic. The thing I have a problem with is the lack of anything else. All kids learn differently. Some do well with the hard core infusion of only language and math but we are doing them a grave disservice by not teaching history, science, and arts. I really like the way the “Environmental Magnet” school infuses science into their teaching methods. Science is an important subject and shouldn’t be down played by the ignorant. There are actually facts to back up science, unlike some people like to think. Without science people wouldn’t live as long as they do. There would be no cure for many of the diseases that plague the human race without science. I like hard evidence over putting all my faith into an imaginary being in the sky. You can keep trying to pray away your problems but I will stick with the facts. Seriously, “God” can only do so much.
Dogwoman-
Check the state to see how well our kids are doing on state tests that focus on the 3 R’s. You will be surprised!
JS- No, I am not a teacher, I am a parent with two kids in our school district. And yes options- LTESMS, a school that focuses on science or Bijou, focusing on language. As far as the high school. Not every kid will be going to college, so they are offering education in skilled trades like automotive repair.
Yes-options.
God can do everything.
He invented science, didn’t he?
ya, and what about the ‘electives’ like MUSIC, ART, ETC…?
in the last 10 years we have decimated the arts in our schools, so that nobody feels they are needed but a society devoid of art is also lacking in humanity and the ability to problem solve in new and ingenious ways
Skier,
Perhaps you are not aware of it,
The ranking of education in the USA compared to the “top 40” economies in the world is now in the bottom half. It’s decline is continuing.
The ranking of California and Nevada schools on a national level is at the bottom of the list, depending on which study you are looking at. In fact a National report that hit the papers just 2-3 weeks back put California at the bottom of the states with only the District of Columbia (DC) below it.
So California is ranked at the bottom of a declining country.
If people want sources they can do their own research, it doesn’t matter to me, I am on my way to Seattle, WA.