I had a menial debate with several people concerning Charter Schools. Some claimed they would provide proof of their accounts, while others just gave opinions--none of which provided any logical reasoning.

This is my take...

The changes taking place in our education system is no secret. Charter Schools are popping up in most communities surrounding major metropolises nationwide. The puzzling scenario surrounding these systems are the organizations running them. This 'new' concept for educating our children is supposed to change the 'failing strategies' previously implemented by the current Boards of Education. However, those in power making these changes say these same Boards of Education they claim are destroying our current education system will run this 'new' Charter School system. That's right; I said the same Boards of Education those in power claim are destroying our children’s education will run the Charter School system.

This has nothing to do with the Boards of Education failing our children. This is privatization: Nothing more

Let’s look at some figures.

In May of 2009, CNN reported that ‘nearly 6.2 million students in the United States, ages 16 to 24, dropped out of high school in 2007, fueling a report called "a persistent high school dropout crisis."

Is this because of our Boards of Education? If so, then why are these Charter Schools going to be run by these same Boards of Education? I can tell you there won't be 6.2 million jobs available for these kids. Keep in mind, this was just one years total dropout figure.

So, why are these schools scheduled to run by the same Boards of Education some claim are failing our kids? I’ll tell you why.

These Charter Schools are nothing more than political ploy to privatize our education system. The teachers hired for these schools are not going to be any more educated than those teaching our children now. The only difference is, those sitting at, or below, the poverty line will be cast aside. Only those meeting a particular income level that can afford these schools will attend.

Arthur Garrity tried this change in the seventies with busing, and it didn't work then. MCAS(aka different names under different states participating in this program)didn't pan out, and G Dubya's 'No Child Left Behind' program also failed. So, what's the plan now? Pass the blame on those wealthy enough to invest in our children's education. Make the system affordable to those that can meet the guidelines, and let the impoverished fend for themselves.

Let’s look at some more figures.

The startling facts, according to PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), lists a combined literary average of grades four through twelve as 389, while a mere five percent of 35.2 million high school students top out at 663. These figures reflect the United States only, which ranks twentieth in forty participating countries. Wait a minute!!! What? Twentieth in forty participating countries? How can we claim to be the greatest nation in the world with that statistic?

The fact is: schools obtain government grants reflecting the graduating class size; not the classroom. Sadly, small grants mean larger classrooms and less attention to each student. The results are smaller graduating classes; a difficult cycle to break. Will the monies needed to improve our children's graduating class size change when privatization takes control? You better believe it. But, the graduating class size won't increase--just the cost of what it will take for your child to attend the school.

Anyway...

The PIRLS Nation’s report card also states: sixty-eight percent of our Nation’s fourth-graders are reading below the proficiency level, while sixty-four percent of twelfth-graders never make it there.

·        Thirty-two percent of fourth graders, twenty-five percent of eighth-graders, and sixty-four percent of twelfth graders scored below the basic score.

·        Sixty-eight percent of fourth graders, sixty-eight percent of eighth-graders, and sixty-four percent of twelfth-graders scored below the proficient level.

·        Thirty-four percent of our Nation’s fourth-graders never read for fun out of school, while the international average of fourth graders is eighteen percent.

Thirty-four percent of 72.3 million children, eighteen and under, living in the United States live in single parent families, while 2.9 million children live without either parent. That’s 27.5 million children floating the poverty level, while 13 million of those children sit well below that poverty line. The saddest part: 35 million of those 72.3 million children go hungry every year.

If you fuse this number to an alarming amount of schools in disarray, then you have an education system altering their policies to adapt to the lack of federal funding. Furthermore, there’s speculation that the organizers of these Charter School’s will be changing history. How, you ask? They’re going structure the education system to teach our children to follow their beliefs. These children are NOT their children; they’re ours. They’re our future. If we adhere to their guidelines, what future will we have?

This isn’t because of a failing education system. It’s because those calling the shots are looking for other ways to capitalize on a crumbling economy. They’re doing it by attacking our teachers, our police forces, and our fire fighters. They’re doing it by attacking the same education system that schooled them, and they’re doing it by garnering the income they’re losing by shipping our manufacturing jobs overseas.

Oh, the irony. Those shipping the manufacturing jobs overseas are losing money?

Au contraire, mon ami!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. =} This is nothing more than a scene out of the movie, Trading Places, where Randolph and Mortimer Duke strip Louis Winthorpe III of his riches, and transfer his influential lifestyle to Billy Ray Valentine--all for a one-dollar bet.

You see, this is what happens when you have a group of people that have more money than they’ll ever be able to spend in their lifetime. They become so bored, they mess with other peoples’ lives for a mere one-dollar bet. The only way these people can achieve the strength to crack a smile is to buy our politicians--to buy the people we elected to follow a Constitution that should fight for our right to choose--to fight for our right to sovereignty

Well, this isn’t a movie: the Koch brothers, and the George Soros’ of the world are not Duke and Duke, and the lives they’re messing with aren’t Dan Akroyd’s or Eddie Murphy’s: they’re our children’s lives, and, as long as we sit back and do nothing about it, then we only have ourselves to blame.

This isn't an attack on the wealthy. This is one person that believes privatizing our school system is not the answer. I say to those wanting to restructure our education system, "Don't put the money into restructuring the system. Put that money into restructuring the curriculum.

If that can't be done, then it’s time we team up and take the ‘Dukes’ down.