tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post8792622447741310240..comments2024-02-24T19:49:45.687-05:00Comments on Schools Matter: Dear Anonymous ParentsJames Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04462754705431590571noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post-24157269150186446232009-05-07T16:47:00.000-04:002009-05-07T16:47:00.000-04:00This is such an important statement.
I believe it...This is such an important statement.<br /><br />I believe it is empirically, possibly even absolutely, true:<br /><br />For-profits cannot equate the need to make money <br />with the needs of students. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For-profits cannot equate the need to make money with the needs of students.niktohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13219069038917729013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post-42015896156571664592009-05-06T10:48:00.000-04:002009-05-06T10:48:00.000-04:00As a parent of a charter school graduate who spent...As a parent of a charter school graduate who spent many years on the Board of Directors and a retired public school teacher, I could not agree with you more. I've been at the school well past midnight many times to ensure that we found workable solutions to challenges that prevented our students from receiving the best possible educational experience. And, by school, I mean both charter school as a parent and public school as a teacher. <br /><br />I hold district administrations as accountable as for-profit charter operators in the problems that face public education. Your comment, "Your children are their only customers," nails it. Nothing measures up to the responsibility we have to students. District boards cannot meet a fiduciary responsibility to the district and serve students first at the same time. For-profits cannot equate the need to make money with the needs of students. <br /><br />Yes, we have stake-holder groups. They'll have to take their places in line well after kids. The TQM philosophy that business injected into American public education in the 80s and 90s helped us in many ways, but not with regard to our priorities. We simply can't serve other stakeholders until we meet the needs of our kids. <br /><br />Anonymous parent, you have only to look in the mirror to find out who is responsible for the failures you've experienced in public education in your community. Start signing you name to letters to the Board, letters to the editor, filing forms to run for the boards themselves. Attend meetings, ask questions. Be polite but expect answers. Expect to be part of the solution and expect it to take hours and hours of work. Call you neighbors and family members and get them involved, too. You'll make things better for your own child and every other child in your community.LHGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17743702521715446130noreply@blogger.com