Millions of parents across the country are unhappy with their child’s public school. Without the means to afford a private school or move to a better district, however, these parents are usually left to try to make the best of a difficult situation.
Whether through charter schools, scholarship programs, homeschooling, online schools or magnet schools, school choice policies empower parents to give their child the best education available.
Many families in New Orleans can now enjoy school choice in several ways. Nine out of 10 students there attend charter schools, and every family has a say in where their child goes to school.
The liberal Shanker Institute hosted an event Wednesday to discuss the state of public education in New Orleans a decade after Hurricane Katrina. Ramon Griffin was on hand to describe the way students’ behavior was micromanaged through behavior policy when he was dean of students in a New Orleans charter school. Griffin described “no excuses” discipline policies through the eyes of a hypothetical student in the charter school where he worked.
“He sees one of his buddies and attempts to say ‘hello’ but is quickly told that there is no talking in the line,” Griffin said. “He waves instead but is quickly told to keep his hands to his side at all times, because this is what scholars are to do if they are going to go to college. … If they happen to step off the line, even while reading a book, they are asked to step out of line and repeat the circle. ‘It has to be perfect, or we will do it again,’ says one overly-invested teacher. … From the time that the class starts to the time that the class ends, everybody’s movements, including the teachers’ most of time, are scripted for them. There are no excuses.”
Griffin went on to describe racial discrimination that was common at his school. “Black students were told that they were not allowed to wear uncombed afro styles. If they wore their hair natural, or it looked unkempt to certain people, they would be given detention.”
This is an appalling extreme of “no excuses” discipline. Thankfully, school choice allows students to escape such a charter school and search for something better.
Griffin was more critical of “no excuses” policies than of charter schools generally. “I believe that there are some charters out there that are doing great work,” Griffin said. “I do not believe that all charter management organizations are blatantly discriminatory and have ill-intent on subjugating minorities.”
As the school above shows, a certain charter school might not be right for every student. In all-choice school districts, some complain that children no longer have a default public school to attend based on their address. But this is a good problem to have. The whole point of school choice is that parents have many choices about how to educate their children.
Oppressive disciplinary policies aren’t the only reason to leave a school. The school may be too far from home or it may not offer enough extracurricular activities or have hallways that are unsafe. Whatever the reason, school choice allows families to find a school that works best for their children. No child should be forced into a school because of where she lives or how much money her parents make.
