Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
argumentative essay about charter and public schools
how do charter schools compare to public
essays on charter school debate
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: argumentative essay about charter and public schools
The topic that I am going to be talking about in this essay is a very big and controversial issue. That is rather it is a good idea or bad to charter our failing public school system. So far it seems the non-chartering path is in the lead, but charting school is catching up fast. In this essay I’m going to summarize one article title The New School, by Chester E. Finn Jr. that supports the charter system. Also I will summarize an article title To Market, To Market, by Phyllis Vine who seem to strongly opposed the charting our public system. As far as my personal opinion goes, I believe charter schools are still in it’s infancy, we should give it more time to develop before we can actually decide rather charter school is a good idea or not. I would go into greater detail later in the essay.
The Pro-charter article titled The New School, by Chester E. Finn Jr. who is the former assistant secretary of education believed and I quote “charter schools offer the benefits of both public and private schools and can revitalize urban education.” He started the article by stating that currently the charter systems enrolling about 170,000 students, with about twenty-nine school authorizing and allowing charter schools to be built and operated, states such as California, Michigan, Texas, Massachusetts. What is a charter school? Well, according to the article, it is “a public school with some of the most highly prized features of private schools.” The best part is it is offered to anyone who wishes to attend, with no additional cost to the parents, because it is pay for by the tax dollars. Out of all the charter school, many are owned and operated by local community and parents. But there are about two dozen that are operated and owned by the Edison Project and the Educational Alternatives Inc. For some other firms instead of operating and owning the entire school, they target specific area, such as the furnishing, tutoring, and technology to name a few. According to this article the educational system in the United States is $300 billion enterprise. While Chester states maybe a reason for some firms to try to jump on board the chartering business. From Chester’s article he stated that in two years time he visited about sixty schools in fourteen states and interviewed few hundreds of those either worked or attended those schools.
Piper, Karin. “Education 101: What Is a Charter School?” Editorial. Examiner.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 July 2009.
One of the most pressing issues facing the United States today is its failing educational system. While many solutions have been proposed, the idea of charter schools has been both popular and controversial. The topic of charter schools is being debated in as many places as local school board meetings to state supreme courts. Though on the surface, charter schools seem like an exciting and promising step for the future of education in America, they are not the answer to this country’s ever-increasing educational problems. Charters will drain already scarce funding from regular public schools, and many of the supposed “positives” surrounding them are uncertain and unpredictable at best.
She realized that choice and accountability were not the answer, but that curriculum and instruction were more viable solutions to America’s educational dilemma. Ravitch suggests that to abandon public schools is to abandon the institution that supports our concepts of democracy and citizenship and to the promise of American life (Ravitch, 2011, p. 12-14). The idea of school choice is rooted in Milton Friedman’s essay concerning the government’s role in education. Friedman asserted that society should support and contribute to the maximum freedom of the individual or the family. He maintained that the government should provide vouchers to help support parents financially on their children’s education, which parents could use at the school of their choosing; so long as the school met set standards. Therefore, this creation of choice would stimulate competition, which Friedman believed would increase the development and improvement of nonpublic schools, as well as, create a variety of school options (Ravitch, 2011, p. 115). As a result of the choice movement, the public received three versions of school choice: voucher schools, private schools, and charter schools. Each of these schools receives public funding, but do not operate as traditional public schools, and are not managed by a government agency (Ravitch, 2011, p. 121). Charter schools became the most popular choice of this new
Schools may not be equally available to all students and thereby result in unequal treatment for those not eligible to attend or not selected. Public schools could become "dumping grounds" if the "good" students were to leave and go to charter schools. The drain of funds from the public schools could also present a problem. Transportation issues would arise as well as a reexamination of state athletic association rules and regulations. Choices to attend may not be made on the basis of attending a better school or district but because the school is closer to childcare, it's perceived as easier, more convenient or has better extracurricular activities. Lawsuits could arise due to the fact that the schools would make promise regarding school performance and/or educational offerings that might not materialize. Schools could file for bankruptcy. Other issues include possible discrimination toward students and violation of state of federal laws.
In Meira Levinson’s case study, she asks if the reader would approve a legislation that intended to limit charter school expansion based on the attrition rates of that charter school. Both Pedro Noguera and Patricia Jehlen responded to Levinson’s case study. Noguera and Jehlen shared many views about this legislation such as the need for equity in the American education system, the role of charter schools as innovators and laboratories, and the effect charter schools have had on the students and the public schools near them. However, when drawing their final conclusions about charter schools and this legislation, they reach different solutions.
Although about 2 million American students now attend around 5,600 charter schools, I do not think this as beneficial to American students as charter school proponents claim. Despite all of the “perks” charters schools boast of and attract parents with, these schools do not necessarily perform better than average schools. Charter schools give an unfair advantage to stronger students, leaving students who struggle in weaker schools with fewer resources to help them. Perhaps most importantly, they are not available to all students, even though they are funded by public tax dollars. Although the motivations behind charter schools are admirable, they are not worth it. Our efforts in improving education are better spent investing in the public schools we already have.
United States Department of Education (1997). Overview of Charter Schools. Retrieved April 3, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/gi/overview.htm
Charter schools are public schools, but can be a better option than traditional public schools for some students. By definition, a charter school is a publicly funded and privately run school under the charter of an educational authority. (2-4) A charter school is held to a different set of standards than most traditional public schools. This can often work towards their advantage because it allows them to try new and unique methods of educating children. And the education system could use some fresh ideas.
According to Edie (2012), “Charter schools are public schools because they operate independently of the school district” (Edie , 2012, p.1). Charter schools were developed because of the struggle of educational needs of public schools in educating students. They Charter schools are designed to be free to set their own operating hours and curriculum. They also strive to boost student achievement by giving students more time in the classroom, and also can offer classes in the evening, weekends, and into the summer months. Most charter schools feature smaller class sizes and dedicated teachers who want to make a difference, so students receive a lot of individual attention. Charter schools are held accountable for meeting and exceeding state and district academic achievement targets...
In a nation dominated by capitalism and free trade, steps are being taken to turn the ability to learn and other education rights into commodities that can be manipulated and controlled by companies. Charter schools are public schools funded by state money, but not unionized; they also can be in the form of a traditional brick and mortar schoolhouse or an online school (Ravitch)(Molnar)(“Preface to 'Are Charter and Magnet Schools Good Alternatives for Students?’”). According to their proponents, charter schools allow parents more sway over their child’s education (Jacoby 77). A charter school proponent Jeff Jacoby states, “Their goal: to build the kind of school that used to be commonplace in America-one providing a rigorous, traditional, fact-based
Charter schools are public schools of choice, meaning that families choose them for their children. They operate with freedom from some of the regulations that are imposed upon school districts. Charter schools are accountable for academic results and upholding the promises made in their charters.
Public and charter schools may look to be the same, but charter schools differ in many ways and have an interesting origin that is often overlooked. The concept of charter schools began in New York City around the late 1980s and early 1990s by a man name Albert Shanker. They were originally created to be teacher-run schools that would provide education and services to students struggling in the traditional school system (Karp, 2013). These schools had operated outside the administrative bureaucracy and the big city school board. Shanker initial concern was that these small charter schools were dividing the district by serving a different population with unequal access as well as weakening the power of teacher union in negotiation over district-wide policies and regulations (Karp, 2013). Because of this Shanker withdrew his support, but charters had continued to grow and states were ...
Since President Clinton signed into law, H. R. 2616, the “Charter School Expansion Act of 1998” charter schools have been providing an alternative for parents of public school students (Lin, Q., 2001, p.2). To date, charter schools enroll over 500,000 students (Fusarelli, 2002, p. 1). Charter schools have been favorable because it is believed that they can provide for a way to enhance student achievement by serving students who have been under-served by the public schools (Fusarelli, 2002). There is a belief that by creating a competitive educational system, public schools will undergo significant reforms in response to the threat (Franklin, 2002). Because parents of charter school students have made the choice for their children to attend a charter school, it is believed that parents will become more “involved” in their child’s education (Hammer, 2003). Charter schools in many states are “exempt from many state mandates” (Fusarelli, 2002, p. 2). As a result of these exemptions, charter schools also have more flexibility for the administrators when hiring teachers and running a school. They are able to provide higher salaries for teachers working in hard to fill teaching positions (Finn, Kanstoroom, 2002).
One of the more recent policy issues that has arisen in Florida is the amount of funding that Charter school should receive from the state. There are those on the Republican side that believe that they should fund Charter schools equally to how they fund public schools. Raplh Arza, who is a Republican legislator and a lobbyist for charter schools believe that it is discriminatory if the state does not fund both tradition public school and charter schools. He said, “lawmakers shouldn’t discriminate against kids because their parents choose an alternative to traditional public schools and it would be unfair to give traditional schools more money, even though they still vastly outnumber charter schools” (Clark, 2016). On the flip side Joanne McCall,
Charter schools are unique. They are open to any student who wishes to attend. Unlike traditional public schools, they are held accountable for achieving educational results or their school will be shut down. So they don’t have bureaucratic rules and many of the restrictions that other public schools have to deal with. It is a public school that is independently run and is granted flexibility in its operations. Charter schools are governed by each local community. The local community usually includes teachers and parents. As public schools, they are the only schools that allow parents or community groups to reinvent the public school system. For the majority of parents, they want a positive atmosphere that will encourage their child’s