The Public School Monopoly Feels the Heat in NYC
NY TIMES -- "As charter schools have grown around the country, both in number and in popularity, public school principals like Ms. Espinal are being forced to compete for bodies or risk having their schools closed. So among their many challenges, some of these principals, who had never given much thought to attracting students, have been spending considerable time toiling over ways to market their schools. They are revamping school logos, encouraging students and teachers to wear T-shirts emblazoned with the new designs. They emphasize their after-school programs as an alternative to the extended days at many charter schools. A few have worked with professional marketing firms to create sophisticated Web sites and blogs.
Brochures, fliers and open houses have become all but required in New York City neighborhoods like Harlem, where many schools have shown lagging academic performance. Where parents once simply sent their children to the nearby school, they now can enter lotteries for two dozen charters."
MP: A good example of one of the benefits of school choice - the public school monopoly is forced to be more competititve and deliver better service.
8 Comments:
Milton Friedman drives home the importance of school competition in this brief video.
How does designing logos, selling t-shirts, and having more hours of after-school programs improve the actual education the student receives?
If you're like me, you know the answer: it doesn't. It's all bullshit, smoke and mirrors.
How does designing logos, selling t-shirts, and having more hours of after-school programs improve the actual education the student receives? ... it doesn't. It's all bullshit, smoke and mirrors.
True, but they have the benefit of selling it to a population that they have "educated". Know your audience.
Anon.,
When families are given a choice, they walk with their feet. Agree with Randian...public schools are presenting a better image but have not addressed the needs of the customer.
As Peter Drucker once observed, it is the customer who determines the nature of a business.
QT,
I was suggesting that being "educated" by the people who are now selling t-shirts as reform, leaves the target audience vulnerable to the deception.
This comment has been removed by the author.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anon,
My point is that indoctrination and inadequate education cannot be relied upon to hold even a captive audience....funnily enough, people do the one thing that makes such a scenario impossible...they talk to other parents.
All you have to do is ask your friends, relatives and neighbours to find out about the drop out rates, the failure rates, the problems with accountability, and lousy teaching, etc...the devil will out. You don't even have to pick up a paper to get the facts on the ground.
Post a Comment
<< Home