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The Turks are coming...to a charter school near you - REMOVED PER JH
There are a few parents of Magnolia students who are defending the school and claiming there are no Gulenist ties (or obvious ones anyhow). I am wondering what these same parents think of the 60 Minutes story. 60 Minutes is far from perfect (as a recent story very much proved), but they put a lot of resources into investigating the story and I have not heard anyone claiming they did not get their facts right. It's easy to come down on the Reader because they are not a huge news organization, but this information has been documented by several sources. Why would Magnolia be insulated from the influence? Surely just because they've put in place a school where the influence is less obvious doesn't mean it's not there. I'm commenting rather late on this, but am sincerely curious whether the Magnolia parents are simply dismissive of the entire idea of the Gulenist movement permeating American charter schools or whether they see their particular school as somehow outside of this.— December 5, 2013 3:23 p.m.
Is High Tech High at Liberty Station smoke and mirrors?
@ Joaquin_de_la_Mesa I agree that they have created an environment/school population that fosters good test scores.— September 17, 2013 3:38 p.m.
Is High Tech High at Liberty Station smoke and mirrors?
It's refreshing to read something even remotely critical of the charter movement (or at least an individual charter), as our local news sources do nothing but rah-rah them and gloss over facts. Although it was interesting to read about this family's journey, it was also a little disheartening to see that there was absolutely no thought given to what their role is in the "reform" fiasco. Every time someone sends their child to a charter school while saying they "support" public education, they should at least acknowledge that their choice is helping to bust teachers unions, defund the real public schools (and no, charters are NOT public, several courts have ruled so) and further the privatization agenda. There are some conservatives and corporatists who are just fine with that, but many others do not even seem to have the slightest understanding. They are so focused on finding a "magical school" that they don't think consider how these decisions aid in destabilizing neighborhoods, de-professionalizing teaching, de-funding schools that are barely scraping by -- and helping to re-segregate the system. Their teaching methods are often unproven, their facilities sub-par and not even subject to the Field Act -- and their scores overall are no better and even lower than the public schools the parents are trying to flee. While these decisions are complicated, it would be nice to know that the effect on the community and the participation in the privatization movement were at least part of the decision-making process.— September 14, 2013 4:52 p.m.