Shallow views of charter schools ignore goals
As principal of one of the three new charter middle schools that opened in Albany this past fall, I have found myself and my school at the center of a heated controversy over the future of public education in this city. Our school has received harassing phone calls and mail, and I have been subjected to impolite remarks in public.
Though I understand there are deep-seated feelings that have fueled the debate over charter schools, I cannot accept that some choose to perceive me, or the school I represent, as an enemy of public education.
I have devoted my life to being an educator. Over the course of my career, I have taught in some of the toughest urban public schools in Seattle and California, working side by side with devoted, effective public school teachers and administrators who performed their jobs with commitment and pride. I have taught in Japan and served as principal of an International Baccalaureate school in Africa, working with students from many different countries and walks of life.
My experiences in schools here and abroad have confirmed for me a simple, universal truth.
For children to be able to achieve their greatest potential, they need a safe, orderly place to learn and a curriculum that challenges them to grow.
| Shallow views of charter schools ignore goals | ||
| By TODD McKEE First published: Sunday, January 15, 2006 Albany Times Union | ||
| This week, I reread Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" which he wrote on April 16, 1963, after being arrested for protesting against racial segregation in that city.
As I read, one line in particular stopped me: "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will." As principal of one of the three new charter middle schools that opened in Albany this past fall, I have found myself and my school at the center of a heated controversy over the future of public education in this city. Our school has received harassing phone calls and mail, and I have been subjected to impolite remarks in public. Though I understand there are deep-seated feelings that have fueled the debate over charter schools, I cannot accept that some choose to perceive me, or the school I represent, as an enemy of public education. I have devoted my life to being an educator. Over the course of my career, I have taught in some of the toughest urban public schools in Seattle and California, working side by side with devoted, effective public school teachers and administrators who performed their jobs with commitment and pride. I have taught in Japan and served as principal of an International Baccalaureate school in Africa, working with students from many different countries and walks of life. My experiences in schools here and abroad have confirmed for me a simple, universal truth. For children to be able to achieve their greatest potential, they need a safe, orderly place to learn and a curriculum that challenges them to grow. The two elements of this "truth" -- safe learning environments and academic rigor -- are intertwined. One should not exist without the other. In Albany, however, these elements are at the center of an educational crisis that is directly impacting the lives of the city's children. As a 19-year-old student at Morehouse College, Dr. King published an article in the student newspaper titled "The Purpose of Education" in which he argued that education has both a utilitarian and a moral role. "The function of education," he wrote, "is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. ... We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character -- that is the goal of true education." It is a profound observation; one that we in Albany should be acutely conscious of, for today we have schools in which students are not safe to learn, schools in which violence rears its ugly head. The most important educational challenge we face in this city is to create safe, productive school environments in which our students are free to learn and excel. No matter how great a school's academic program, it is of little use if the learning environment doesn't support it. At our charter school, we achieve this by "sweating the small stuff." By not allowing infractions of our uniform code, by not accepting excuses for missing homework or arriving late to school, and by requiring full participation in all academic activities, we communicate to our students that we care so much about the little things that comprise respect and good behavior. They understand fighting and bullying are unthinkable. This is how we prepare the ground for our students to grow. And, like a field of dreams, we plant the seeds for rich, meaningful learning with a rigorous, "no excuses" academic program. I have chosen to lead a charter school in Albany for one reason alone: Through this non-traditional public school -- and the accountability that state law demands of it -- we can offer children a safe, structured learning environment and an education that will prepare them for success in college. Those who argue that charter schools are hurting this city draw a line in the sand and say to residents, "You must choose." But for those who are willing to listen, I ask you to recall the line from Dr. King's Birmingham letter. Dr. King knew that "shallow understanding" too easily becomes ambivalence in those who can change a tragic situation. Is that the best we can expect here? I refuse to believe it. Once you have seen what a failed education can do to a child's life, "shallow understanding" becomes impossible to justify. |
posted by Whitney Tilson at 4:30 PM
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