Readings for Oct 16th

The readings this week focused on different types of schools, including private schools, charter schools and homeschooling.

Myth 2
This myth focuses on the idea that people believe private schools are better than public schools.
I think whether this myth is true or not really depends on where you live. Where I am from, we pretty much lacked private schools, unless you wanted to attend one affiliated with a religion. If you live in a large city however, the private school might actually have more money, resources and better teachers than the public schools. Either way, there is little evidence that private schools actually educate their students any better than public schools, especially after you take into account SES, race/ethnicity and disabilities.

Myth 3
This myth states that Charter schools are better than traditional public schools
I was interested to learn from this reading that charter schools are the most prevalent form of school choice out there, and it is actually publicly funded! So really anyone could send their child to a charter school for free, but there isn't any evidence that they will get a better education then. 80% of charter schools are no better/do worse than public schools. It really depends on their resources and teachers, which is exactly the same situation in public schools. Charter schools are also prejudice against children with special needs and there are reports that they flunk out students to make themselves look better, which makes me not a fan of them.

Myth 4
This reading debunks the idea that charter schools are private schools.
What?? I had no idea. I really thought they were private schools, until reading this and the previous myth, which told me they are publicly funded. Who knew? They use taxpayer money to operate, but they are more autonomous and do not have to answer to a school board. They are also not held accountable to all state and federal standards and rules, which seems odd to me...who do they answer to then? Who regulates them? This freedom seems like it could be a good thing, but it could also be bad because they have no standard that they are held to. The children could be getting a sub-par education because of this.

Myth 5
Cyberschools are efficient, cost saving and highly effective means of delivering an education.
I can believe that cyberschools are cost effective-they don't have to buy books, they don't have to upkeep a building or hire a lot of support staff . Strangely enough, they are usually owned by companies. So really, it is just a big money-making venture. I don't think schools should be for profit institutions, so I don't like the idea of charter schools. Research also shows that they don't educate their students as well, so that is another big negative.

Myth 6
Home-schooled children are better educated than those who attend regular public schools.
Having experience with home-schooled friends, I don't really think this is true. I think they are usually really good at one particular thing or subject, but are about average in all other areas. Public education gives you a more rounded result I think. The article made a great point that home-schooling is only as good as the parents and their resources. Parents need to have the time, education and resources to make their home an enriched environment for learning. They also need to be able to supplement the home environment well.