Jackson Jambalaya

For the record, I'm not really in favor of vouchers. Why? See S. Dakota v. Dole. I do favor charter schools.

For the record do you have children Kingfish?

Nope.

My interest is based on family and I don't think much attention has been given to this debate by the other media in Mississippi. All we get is Willie Perkins and Derek Johnson screaming its segregation all over again.

What happens is the best schools get to pick and choose from the best children...those children whose parents value education and/or the children are judged to be able to learn and/or the children are without disruptive behavorial problems.

Of course,charter and voucher schools will out perform those schools where the students are troubled or challenged or from bad homes.

We could create schools for disturbed children or handicapped children and actually try to deal with their problems.

The rest of the children will do just fine in a safe and functional environment.

We keep thinking it's the teachers and the buildings and materials and overlook the inconvenient reality that not all the children are the same in their ability to benefit from what is offerred.

Not true. Check out Harlem Success Academy. Predominantly minority students from poor families. You can keep throwing out that old myth that charter schools cherry pick but more and more research, some of which I've posted on this site, shows its not true.

Elementary kids in Madison County are being brought to the level of the lowest child in the classroom. Kids that are ahead are being forced to stop and wait for those who are slower.

No child left behind.

And yes, I have kids in Madison Co. schools.

Children being forced to stop and wait was going on in JPS in the 8o's. That is when we were pulled out of public school.
It was never about segregation it was about education and values.

Every child and every parent deserve the opportunity to choose the school that is most suitable for their needs. If the parents choose not to take those opportunities, well, that is another story. But they deserve the opportunity. In Mississippi there is no choice other than move or pay up and for some that isn't a choice at all.

KF, a lottery is STILL cherry picking as kids parents have to get off their butts to get their kid into the lottery.
The fact is that a parent will have to effectively work the system to have their kid be in a charter or magnet or voucher school or someone in the system will have to choose to walk the kids parents through .

Look, we are making these decisions, unlike the British, on the assumption that ALL children can graduate from high school. We think if they do not, it is a system failure.
There are some children, that cannot and never will be able to learn beyond a certain level. There are children who need to be in therapeutic settings.
We USE to know this. The problem is we also USE to stupidly assume in some parts of this country that black children weren't capable.
Here's the reality...you can't tell stupid or damaged by race or income level.
And, here's a news flash for private schools parents...a few screwed up rich kids can be a very bad influence on a class especially in the teen years if the class sees those kids as " cool".
And, home schooled kids miss some of the hard knocks and social challenges that could serve them well later on if they hope to be in positions of management or leadership. They just don't deal well with people who are different from themselves and in life, you have to learn to do that.

November 15, 2010 9:55 AM, do you have children and have they gone to public or private schools?

My children are now grown. They went to private school here. One of them has children of their own.
I should warn you that my comments are not based merely on anecdotal/personal experience even though I've been involved in the education of hundreds of children who were in public school without being a classroom teacher.
I didn't send my own children to public school because I thought they couldn't learn there. They would have excelled academically anywhere. Hand them a book and they'll read it.
I sent them to private school because peer group influence matters...especially when they get into their pre-teens.