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SchoolReformers.com insiderUpdate
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Update.html
Items in this update:
o FROM THE EDITOR: Why all the test-score debates are beside the
point
o McGuffey readers make a comeback
o Library a closed book for some British schools
o Charter district proposal denied
o NYC councilman charges Board is stopping charter
o Proof that NYC schools have hit a bad 'spell'
o Homeschooled students win contest by
designing futuristic diving device
o Charter bill passes in Alaska house
o CA bill would stop only crooked charter operators, legislator
says
o S.F. Edison school gets a charter from state
o The children Congress left behind
o Baylor U. shouldn't rescind acceptances of homeschoolers
o Leaving school
o What Johnny learns at school
o The guerilla curriculum
o HomeSchool help at Sassafrass Grove
o EducationalFreedom.com
o Art and education: an interview with Alexandra York
o Getting off educational welfare
o School vouchers as a legal sanction
o Teachers for Better Education
o Homeschooling discussion groups
Dear Fellow School Reformer,
John Merrifield, author of _The School Choice Wars_, writes in to comment
on an article we listed in the last insiderUpdate, "Do school
vouchers
improve student performance?" by Martin Carnoy.
http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/1/carnoy-m.html
"There's nothing technically wrong with Carnoy's analysis,"
Merrifield says. "My frustration is more fundamental...
"How did we get to the point where we are devoting so much
intellectual capital debating virtually irrelevant data? We should be
screaming 'The Emperor has no clothes!'
"The test-score data in places like Milwaukee and Cleveland has
gained a political relevance that totally misses the point of today's K-12
education
problem. With a totally broken system, why are so many scholars working so
hard to determine whether children do a little better in one part of the
broken system than the other?
"Consider this analogy: if you're in a really bad restaurant, is it
really worth debating whether one menu item is better than another? That's
not the
problem!
"Incredibly, school choice scholars act as if we should consider only
those programs which leave the education menu unchanged, or that no
voucher
program can be allowed to change the menu. If we can't change that
thinking, we're stuck with the menu. Then all we can hope to do is to
shift as many children as possible to the best items on a really bad
education menu. Aaarrgggghhh!!
"With a real voucher program that fosters real competition, at least
the private sector will be drastically different than the private sector
we
have now. And that's important."
If you'd like to respond to Merrifield, click into the SchoolReformers.com
discussion board at:
http://www.schoolreformers.com/boards/main0
004/
And here's the link to order Merrifield's book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/081
0839563/freemarketnetthe
We wouldn't go so far as to say the test-score debates are completely
marginal, especially when it comes to certain sticky transitional issues.
But it's worth noting that we generally don't endure this kind of
squabbling over data with respect to other kinds of goods and services
before we're allowed even to make a choice as a consumer.
We don't engage in statistical canvassing. Instead, we read consumer
reports or book reviews, or we follow the recommendation of a friend or
neighbor, or we flip through the telephone book or note a newspaper ad. If
a fair amount of money is involved, we might investigate the product
extensively before buying.
A free market in education would permit and entail the same sort of
routine and informed decision-making. And just as consumers needn't apply
for any official approval before buying groceries or renting a
non-Manhattan apartment, in a truly unfettered market for education
parents certainly wouldn't have to go running to some academic or educrat
for a go-ahead to act on their own judgment.
Yours for school choice,
David M. Brown
Editor
SchoolReformers.com
http://www.schoolreformers.com
==> NEWS REPORTS <==
McGuffey readers make a comeback
----------
One of the nation's most beloved schoolbooks, the McGuffey
Reader, is making a comeback, particularly among home-schooling families,
who are returning to the historic texts to help their children learn
reading and language skills. (07/16/01)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20010716-191
69314.htm
Library a closed book for some British schools
----------
Eleven British secondary schools have refused the gift of a
£3,000 library of classic books written over the past three millennia
because they are "too difficult" for their pupils. And Herodotus
is boring. (07/13/01)
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,550
0,520391,00.html
Charter district proposal denied
----------
The State Board of Education turned down the San Lorenzo
Valley Unified School District's request to become an all-charter
district. San Lorenzo parent Pam Falke-Krueger, who worried that the first
proposal was a rush job, said the board's decision could be a blessing.
(07/13/01)
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/doc
s/slvcharte13f.htm
NYC councilman charges Board is stopping charter
----------
A city councilwoman charged yesterday that the Board of
Education is thwarting attempts to create a charter school sponsored by a
teachers-union official. (07/18/01)
http://www.nypostonline.com/news/regionalnews/
35207.htm
Proof that NYC schools have hit a bad 'spell'
----------
Failing students are being taught by instructors who can
barely write in English. (07/13/01)
http://www.nypostonline.com/news/regionalnews/2
9186.htm
Homeschooled students win contest by designing futuristic diving device
----------
Four Texan boys -- Matt Spena, 18, and his 17-year-old
friends, LJ Decker, Ryan Zimmerman and Ben Hefner -- are this year's
winners of the Toshiba ExploraVision contest. The boys came up with the
"AquaGil," an apparatus that can extract oxygen from water.
(07/10/01)
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/thisweek/zo
ne05/news/964184
Charter bill passes in Alaska house
----------
More Alaskan children will get the opportunity to
experience the educational benefits of parent-led charter schools
under House Bill 101, which the House passed recently. It must now get an
okay from the Alaska Senate.
http://www.akrepublicans.org/22ndleg/press/prdyson
104252001.shtml
CA bill would stop only crooked charter operators, legislator says
----------
Sen. Jack O'Connell says his bill would simply stop crooked
charter school operators from pilfering money intended to defray costs for
instruction and building classrooms. It would have no effect on local
charter schools, he says. (07/13/01)
http://web.sanluisobispo.com/content/slo/2001/07/11
/community/slo43456.htm
S.F. Edison school gets a charter from state
----------
A San Francisco charter school run by a for-profit company
will reopen next month under state charter, ending three years of
bickering with the local school board. (07/13/01)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/education
/stories/edison1_20010713.htm
For more News Reports see:
http://www.SchoolReformers.com/resources/byca
tegory/news/
==> COMMENTARY, OPINION, AND BOOK REVIEWS <==
The children Congress left behind
----------
"'There is no need for further delay' [says the
President]. Unless, of course, he desires any of the pillars of his
education package to be revived: school choice, flexibility and
accountability." (07/16/01)
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20010716-424
3638.htm
Baylor U. shouldn't rescind acceptances of homeschoolers
----------
by Tim Lambert
"I am writing in regard to several calls from home
school graduates who had been accepted to Baylor and some even awarded
scholarships months ago. They have now been told they will not be accepted
to Baylor this fall unless they get a GED." (07/11/01)
http://www.educationnews.org/baylor_rejects_hom
e_schoolers_th.htm
Leaving school
----------
by Maria A. Foust
"I want my son to grow up to be a happy, responsible,
emotionally healthy adult. By showing him that he can take control of his
learning, he is beginning to see that there is something he can do to make
a difficult situation better." (06/01)
http://www.homeschoolnewslink.com/articles/vol5is
s5/leavingschool.html
What Johnny learns at school
----------
by Linda Bowles
"It is appropriate that most of the criticism of
government schools deals with academic failure. But that is only half the
wretched story.....One answer to the problem of education in America is
school choice. A better answer is complete privatization, with a high wall
of separation between state and education." (07/17/01)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?A
RTICLE_ID=23665
The guerilla curriculum
----------
by John Taylor Gatto
John Taylor Gatto on how to get an education in spite of
school. "The closer you look at the word 'education,' the slipperier
it gets. [A]n education in self-reliance and courage such as might mean
the difference between satisfaction and misery in a remote village isn't
at all what the weight of city living demands." (06/01)
http://www.homeschoolnewslink.com/articles/vol5is
s5/inspiteofschool.html
For more Commentary, Opinion, and Book Reviews see:
http://www.SchoolReformers.com/resources/byca
tegory/commentary/
==> ONLINE RESOURCE DIRECTORIES <==
HomeSchool help at Sassafrass Grove
----------
A directory of homeschool resources, from "getting
started" to "links to curriculum."
http://www.angelfire.com/mo/sassafrassgrove/
EducationalFreedom.com
----------
Information, commentary, and links on educational freedom,
homeschooling, freedom issues related to topics other than education, and
Libertarian philosophy.
mirator@educationalfreedom.com
http://www.educationalfreedom.com/
For more Online Resource Directories see:
http://www.SchoolReformers.com/resources/byca
tegory/homepages/
==> EXPERTS <==
Art and education: an interview with Alexandra York
----------
"The benefits of learning through doing are not only in
the arduous bliss to be found in acts of imaginative creation and
interpretation but also in a higher appreciation of art as a life-long
spectator." (06/01)
http://www.objectivistcenter.org/pubs/nav_4_6_itv
_art_and_education.asp
For more Experts see:
http://www.SchoolReformers.com/resources/byc
ategory/experts/
==> INTRODUCTIONS AND FAQS <==
Getting off educational welfare
----------
by Sunni Maravillosa
Argues that public education is a form of
"multi-generational welfare system," and discusses ways to
"get off welfare," including private schools,
homeschooling and unschooling.
http://www.doingfreedom.com/gen/1000/ht.gettin
goffedwelfare.html
For more Introductions and FAQs see:
http://www.SchoolReformers.com/resources/byc
ategory/brief/
==> SCHOLARLY AND IN-DEPTH STUDIES <==
School vouchers as a legal sanction
----------
by Lisa Snell
"This paper will examine the tension between programs
that use [school] vouchers as a legal sanction versus the traditional
concept of vouchers as a way to empower parents with more educational
choices for their children." (07/01)
http://www.rppi.org/ps284.pdf
For more Scholarly and In-Depth Studies see:
http://www.SchoolReformers.com/resources/by
category/in-depth/
==> INSTITUTES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND CLUBS <==
Teachers for Better Education
----------
A national organization of teachers who support school
choice. Any teacher, former teacher or public school administrator is
invited to participate.
http://home.att.net/~tbe/home.htm
For more Institutes, Organizations, and Clubs see:
http://www.SchoolReformers.com/resources/byca
tegory/organizations/
==> ONLINE DISCUSSIONS AND E-MAIL LISTS <==
Homeschooling discussion groups
----------
Links to boards on how different breeds of homeschoolers can
relate to each other; Missouri homeschoolers; teaching gifted children;
and the issues affecting Native American homeschoolers and Catholic
homeschoolers.
http://www.angelfire.com/mo/sasschool/BBs.html
For more Online Discussions and E-Mail Lists see:
http://www.SchoolReformers.com/resources/bycate
gory/discussions/
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