"...competition will rev up -- property taxes will go down..." — a strong chance for a better education based on MASTERY, not on grade promotion no matter what. I love this! Since our public schools as a collective group have been going down, down, down in achievement, and since we need well educated people in this global economy, let's try letting parents decide how they want to school their children. How many decade of failing public schools will it take for us to admit that it's time to try something else? There are notable charter schools that are head and shoulders above public schools, in terms of achievement, by a factor of 2 or more. These best-in-class schools are more rigorous and place more emphasis on discipline and learning the basics very well, especially reading. The time for this idea has come. Let's do this!!
I am impressed with, for example, Success Academy. It's a network of charter schools in New York City that has achieved remarkable success. The schools serve a predominantly low-income and minority student population, but consistently outperform traditional public schools on state tests. In 2019, 99% of Success Academy students passed the state English language arts exam, compared to 46% of students citywide, and 98% of Success Academy students passed the state math exam, compared to 43% of students citywide. Success Academy has been recognized as one of the top-performing charter school networks in the country.
Yes, this was a cherry picked example, but it shows what is possible!
Online courses by genuine subject matter experts? If he were still alive today, imagine Albert Einstein teaching your physics course -- I'd be interested in THAT! Presidential candidate Steve Laffey is full of sensible ideas that have been worked through, from years of hard knocks life experience and intelligent analysis. He cuts through to the heart of issues and comes up with genuine solutions. And the solutions are either not the thing everyone was even thinking, but that give you that AHA! moment once you hear them, OR they are the thing everyone knows that we need to do, but just don't have the WILL or intestinal fortitude to do, such as fixing to strengthen Social Security, once and for all, to secure our futures. Get to know Steve Laffey and I believe you'll like very much what you see -- real solutions for our nation's real problems: stevelaffey.comfixingamericamovie.com
Here's another example of a thriving private school, not designed for the rich, but designed to accommodate the needs of kids who are growing up in tough neighborhoods. This is right in my city of Providence, RI. The school is called San Miguel, founded 30 years ago, whose philosophy is: Educate the poor 'as if they were the children of kings'. There is a Providence Journal article about the school today. This is not a "cream skimming" school like some private schools. "When we walked in the building, we felt like we were accepted by our teachers," said a student. "There wasn't any kind of judgment on us. They wanted to push us to be the best versions of ourselves, and they saw something in us that we didn't see in ourselves." So, I am mentioning this school because it illustrates that there are many options, once we look past public schools as though they were the only way to educate. Everyone's situation is different. Let's rev up some competition, for young people's futures!
As always, great stuff from Steve Laffey.
"...competition will rev up -- property taxes will go down..." — a strong chance for a better education based on MASTERY, not on grade promotion no matter what. I love this! Since our public schools as a collective group have been going down, down, down in achievement, and since we need well educated people in this global economy, let's try letting parents decide how they want to school their children. How many decade of failing public schools will it take for us to admit that it's time to try something else? There are notable charter schools that are head and shoulders above public schools, in terms of achievement, by a factor of 2 or more. These best-in-class schools are more rigorous and place more emphasis on discipline and learning the basics very well, especially reading. The time for this idea has come. Let's do this!!
I am impressed with, for example, Success Academy. It's a network of charter schools in New York City that has achieved remarkable success. The schools serve a predominantly low-income and minority student population, but consistently outperform traditional public schools on state tests. In 2019, 99% of Success Academy students passed the state English language arts exam, compared to 46% of students citywide, and 98% of Success Academy students passed the state math exam, compared to 43% of students citywide. Success Academy has been recognized as one of the top-performing charter school networks in the country.
Yes, this was a cherry picked example, but it shows what is possible!
Online courses by genuine subject matter experts? If he were still alive today, imagine Albert Einstein teaching your physics course -- I'd be interested in THAT! Presidential candidate Steve Laffey is full of sensible ideas that have been worked through, from years of hard knocks life experience and intelligent analysis. He cuts through to the heart of issues and comes up with genuine solutions. And the solutions are either not the thing everyone was even thinking, but that give you that AHA! moment once you hear them, OR they are the thing everyone knows that we need to do, but just don't have the WILL or intestinal fortitude to do, such as fixing to strengthen Social Security, once and for all, to secure our futures. Get to know Steve Laffey and I believe you'll like very much what you see -- real solutions for our nation's real problems: stevelaffey.com fixingamericamovie.com
Here's another example of a thriving private school, not designed for the rich, but designed to accommodate the needs of kids who are growing up in tough neighborhoods. This is right in my city of Providence, RI. The school is called San Miguel, founded 30 years ago, whose philosophy is: Educate the poor 'as if they were the children of kings'. There is a Providence Journal article about the school today. This is not a "cream skimming" school like some private schools. "When we walked in the building, we felt like we were accepted by our teachers," said a student. "There wasn't any kind of judgment on us. They wanted to push us to be the best versions of ourselves, and they saw something in us that we didn't see in ourselves." So, I am mentioning this school because it illustrates that there are many options, once we look past public schools as though they were the only way to educate. Everyone's situation is different. Let's rev up some competition, for young people's futures!