Friday, February 28, 2014

Gorgeous Black And White View Of Queensboro Bridge And New York City East River Waterfront Seen From Roosevelt Island

By ROOSEVELT ISLANDER at 8:15:00 PM

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7 comments :

OldRossie said...

I'm so glad you chimed in. First, the charter schools are free, and 73% of the students are low-income (93% minority if you care). That's from YOUR OWN ARTICLE (but you tend not to read what you attempt to site, so no surprise). So who knows why you're talking about profitability... Second, parents chose which they want their kids to go to, and don't spend a penny in making that choice. So again, voting with dollars is an uneducated statement (ironically). You think having charter schools (which are funded with tax dollars, serving the same students, and local gov't regulated - inotherwords, public in nature, unique only in curriculum) operating in public space is "abhorrent"? Perhaps you should explain why, rather than taking de blasio's word for it. Do a little research, form your own opinion.

March 1, 2014 at 4:37 PM
OldRossie said...

There are 183 charter schools serving 70,000 students who attend voluntarily, and 93% of them are minorities (not caucasian). why are you talking about race?

March 1, 2014 at 4:43 PM
OldRossie said...

No one knows what you're talking about.

March 1, 2014 at 4:45 PM
CheshireKitty said...

As I said, if they're so great, then they should have no problem finding other space. Hands off free public education.


Incidentally, for whatever it's worth, I myself went to an elite public HS, in Harlem. The proportions of students were 1/3 black. 1/3 Hispanic, and 1/3 white. We had the most enriched curriculum of all HS in NYC in terms of hours of instruction, and the success rate if measured by the percentage going on to college, often Ivy colleges, was >95% if I'm not mistaken. And that was all accomplished within the framework of the regular public school system.


The admissions process was rigorous, and depended on a portfolio, or for music/voice students an audition, grades, interviews. Of the many who tried to get in from my JHS (which was in a white/"middle-class" mostly Jewish area) only 2 got in, me and one other.


This is the competitive method students are selected for the elite NYC HS. It seems to work - at least I had a relatively nice time there, although still found it somewhat boring, and did go on to an Ivy school.

March 1, 2014 at 4:48 PM
OldRossie said...

Charter schools are free public education! I'm so happy you enjoyed your elite high school, but it doesn't appear they taught you how to do any research for yourself. Sadly, most of the charter school students cant afford the same elite education you had.

March 1, 2014 at 4:58 PM
CheshireKitty said...

The elite HS are public HS that have competitive admissions policies - they are perfectly free, and as I wrote above, most of the students at my elite HS were minority, that at a time when whites in NYC did outnumber the aggregate of minorities. So minorities were disproportionately represented, probably because of the number of white kids in parochial or private schools.


Money isn't needed to attend these HS - only talent and brains.


Yep - I have to admit you're right on research. I am generally not the best researcher. I will have to read up on charter schools more, that is true. They do not appear to be analogous to competitive public HS, or even the "tracking" system for so-called "gifted" etc that I was also in prior to HS - which was also mostly boring.


It sounds like anyone can go to a charter school - so what's the advantage?

March 1, 2014 at 5:27 PM
OldRossie said...

Per NYC.gov, "Charter schools have a range of academic and staffing models, missions, goals, and policies. " They don't follow the traditional curriculum, and exist because that curriculum doesn't work for every student - many need a different approach to succeed in school. One supporter's quote I like: "they proved that intense, effective teaching could overcome poverty and other obstacles... demography does not have to be destiny.".

To answer your question, in my opinion, when choosing a public school I don't think there is a GENERAL advantage in charter vs. non-charter, but for one student there may be a huge benefit in one vs. the other. Why does de blasio hate them? Teachers are not unionized. I've read that there was some unionization among some of the staff, but some of those same staff has been trying to end their union representation. Regardless, as KTG pointed out, de blasio works for the teachers union and has elected to damage the education prospects for NYC kids in at the behest of his largest campaign contributor.

March 1, 2014 at 5:49 PM

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