Are Charter Schools Bad?

For some reason liberal politicians are against school choice.  They also seem to oppose charter schools.  Why?  They complain that people want to send their kids to private schools, especially parochial schools.  It's not fair that the rich kids' parents can afford to send them to private schools to get a better education, while poor kids are left behind in the crumbling public school system.

Aren't charter schools just schools that compete for good students in the inner city neighborhoods with smaller classes and better academic performance.  The students also compete to be selected by the best charter schools.  These schools are publicly funded, but they function more like a private school.  There is competition that makes them more responsive to the needs of the students, and they help poor students excel.  The charter schools are exempt from many of the "one-size-fits-all" rules and regulations imposed upon the normal public schools.  However, they are still required to give all students the standardized tests and meet the minimum requirements for results.  Generally speaking, "cutting-edge" teaching techniques are used, and the students tend to thrive in the environment.  Parental involvement is encouraged if not required to show the students that their parents place a high importance on learning and high academic performance.

So, what's not to like about charter schools?  Rules for operating charter schools vary from state to state.  In some locations the charter school teachers aren't required to be credentialed.  Also, some of the teachers are non-union.  Could this be the stumbling block for Democrat politicians?  They have received campaign contributions from the unions, and they are beholden to them.  These Democrats will have a tougher time funding their campaigns without these huge contributions.  They also need the votes from the union members.  So, they find the performance of the schools and the academic results to be less important than re-election.

This proves that the MessAPolitico could even mess up their own good ideas.  Do they also not want the students in the inner city to perform well?  If those kids grow up and succeed in high school and college, they will likely grow up to be productive members of society that earn a living above the poverty line.  How can they be kept dependent on the government for everything in their lives with that kind of success?  They might even switch over and vote Republican.  That would be a travesty.

It's time for the poor and lower middle class members of our society to realize that liberal politicians want to sound compassionate about their plight.  However, they don't want to pull them up out of poverty and government dependence.  The MessAPolitico might be compassionate about poverty, but they are only passionate about re-election.