The Big Lie of Reform and Charter Schools and Vouchers

The Big Lie of Reform and Charter Schools and Vouchers

The original idea of charter schools was a noble one - a place where educators would have infinite flexibility and the ability to think outside the box. But this grand experiment in "school choice" has become a tool of the political right and a means for private interests to generate money off the schooling of our nation's youth.

In egalitarian Finland, bastion of high-performing schools, private schools, charter schools, vouchers and the like are verboten. Every single school, whether in the poorest municipality or the poshest Helsinki suburb, must adhere to the same high standards and evidence-based methods. But the American system of public education is increasingly driven not by what actually educates children but by politics and a race to the bottom. Powerful oligarchs and craven politicians do not want an educated citizenry capable of critical thinking; they want obedient workers for their factories and passive consumers of their products.

The great lie now being peddled is that vouchers and charter schools will improve public education for all. But the facts expose this as utter fraud. In Arizona, voters overwhelmingly rejected universal vouchers by a 2-1 margin, yet the moneyed elite behind the school privatization movement continue to claim widespread support for their policies based on rigged polls and cherry-picked data. These wolves in sheep's clothing pretend that siphoning money away from public schools and into unaccountable private academies will somehow help raise up all children. The truth is precisely the opposite.

We see the results of the school choice scam all around us: public schools terrified of parents and fraying under cultural warfare; "underperforming" schools closed and replaced with fly-by-night charters designed to generate profits; resources concentrated in a few boutique schools for the already-privileged white flight bastions. This does nothing to improve education for the masses. But it does serve to fracture communities, undermine unity and the common good, and reinforce class divides under the canard of "choice."

The oligarchs peddling this scam don't believe in public institutions or the public good. They want a return to the days when education was reserved only for those born into wealth and privilege. Do not be deceived: the push for vouchers and charters has nothing to do with improving education and everything to do with private greed and political ideology. Our children's future is too important to sacrifice on the altar of these lies. We must recommit to the ideal of high-quality public education for all, not just an escape hatch for a select few. The first step is rejecting the big lie of "school choice" and seeing this sham for what it is - a pickpocketing of our democracy itself.

We've all seen the slick propaganda films like Waiting for Superman that glorify boutique charter schools with glossy brochures and glorified "lotteries" for admission. What they don't show you are the legions of children left behind in underfunded public schools, or the fancy CEO salaries over a million dollars funded by siphoning resources away from public education. These schools are allowed to cherry-pick their students, avoiding those with the greatest needs like special education students or English language learners. Their polished veneers and inflated test scores cover up the way they are exacerbating inequities under the guise of "choice." Don't be fooled by the hype and sheen. The big lie of charter school miracles crumbles under scrutiny, while public schools remain open to all, through good times and bad.

Furthermore, many students get accepted to elite charter schools only to be forced out later when the workload becomes overwhelming. These schools pride themselves on "no excuses" discipline and 3+ hours of homework each night - an excessive burden many students and families cannot sustain. When students inevitable burn out or struggle with the towering expectations, the charter school's solution is simply to push them back into the public school system mid-year. The sharpest students whose parents can provide extensive support are cherry-picked, but discarded without a second thought when it becomes clear they can't handle 60+ hour school weeks. This leaves public schools obligated to pick up the pieces mid-year for traumatized students pushed out by unaccountable charters. It's a cynical and manipulative system rigged against students, families and public education.

To the Arizona Start Editor:

The facile arguments in favor of Arizona's school voucher program warrant far more scrutiny than they receive from our esteemed local newspapers. Proponents claim that vouchers "give families more choice," but let's interrogate this vapid assertion, shall we?

Choice for whom, precisely? Certainly not for the underprivileged students left behind in the gutted and underfunded public schools once the wealthy flee to exclusionary private academies subsidized by public funds. This program shamefully redirects desperately needed resources away from the majority to further advantage the already privileged minority.

And "choice" for parents to indoctrinate their children in superstitious mumbo-jumbo like creationism and abstinence-only miseducation? Is that what we call progress? Please.

A recent study illuminates the true costs of this ideologically-driven program. Nearly $1 billion drained from public education next year alone to underwrite tax breaks for some of Arizona's most affluent citizens. Oh, what a boon to equality and democratic values!

The vouchers come with little accountability. Unlike public schools, including charters, private Christian schools that get these funds are generally not required to administer state tests or report student outcomes.

And not only does it incentivize de facto segregation along economic lines, just imagine how voucher-engorged religious schools will corrode civil society when they churn out a new generation of docile fundamentalists totally immune to reason and evidence.

The long-term social costs of this entire faith-based experiment in privatization are incalculable. Arizona deserves better than policies designed to achieve nothing more than the full MAGASLIMIFICATION of our education systems. This foolhardy scheme deserves our full-throated ridicule and condemnation, not our tacit acceptance.

Sincerely,