Waiting for Superman is a bias movie

since it's obviously making a statement that Charter Schools are the salvation

of education in urban areas.  The star of the movie has even opened his own

Charter school in Harlem NY so you know where he's coming from too. They

set you up for the big let down of some kids whose mothers are trying to get

them in a "better school" through the lottery only to find out that they were

not selected.  And here in lies the problem that the movie or any Charter School

devotees are not dealing with.  All Charter Schools have limited room and therefore

do not scale up to the numbers of a traditional public school.  For instance an

Elementary Public school may have 230 students whereas a Public school will

have 500 to 700 students.  And, the Charter schools students are pre-selected

based on their grades and parents willingness to participate in their education.

Yet the Public schools must take everyone i.e., the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Unlike the Charter schools they cannot turn anyone away.

So, the Public schools end up with the students who's parents for whatever reason,

don't help them with their homework, don't come to the school and join the PTA,

don't encourage their children to strive for the best grades. The public schools also

end up with some of the teachers and/or administrators  that don't care. And, lastly

the public schools are not properly funded each year so resources are scarce.  Given

this situation is there any reason that many Charter schools can outperform their

Public school counter parts.

And even with the above mentioned scenario some Charter Schools still are not

successful or more successful than the Public schools.  I will admit that the Public

school are still using a very old education model that needs to be re-visited and

re-designed.  Today's students have too much technology at their finger tips to

expect them to sit there and listen to what the teacher has to say all day.  Technology

must be integrated into the curriculum in a manner that makes learning exciting and

interesting. The students should be eager to get to school and learn the next lessons.

However, this will not happen if they continue to bring tons of baggage in from their

environment. You can't expect a child to focus who's father has left the mother and

the mother is having financial issues just trying to maintain things from day to day.

If a child comes to school in need of food, clothing and unsure of shelter how is the

teacher suppose to get him/her to focus on a lesson in the books?  Dr. Adelaide

Sandford, former regent of the New York Schools Board of Education, has stated

that the Public Schools need systemic changes. It must go from being competitive

to being cooperative.  Different learning styles of the children must be taken into

consideration, and the curriculum must be revised to include the true history of all

people.

There is no silver bullet i.e., easy solution when it comes to education.  And, money

is a major component.  Without the proper funding, no education platform can be

sustained. The cost of running a school has increased significantly along with the

cost of hiring excellent teachers to go along with them. Then if you add in the cost

of other services such as Security, Maintenance, and  Special Education you are really

talking about a very expensive endeavor.  Now given the fact the Governor is cutting

funding for education, how is the Public Schools supposed to maintain their ability to

provide the same educational services they've been providing in the past?

Building more Charter Schools is not the answer.  This may help some but what about

the rest that it doesn't. Are we expected to just forget about them?  I don't think so.

We must therefore find a method to fix what is already there and not just from a testing

stand point. Everything must be approached from a life long learning stand point. This

is what is needed life long learning skills that will help someone for the rest of their

life.  Anything less is an unequivical failure.

Craig A. Garner