After grasping the history of charter schools, now would be a good time to familiarise oneself with the pros and cons of having them in New Zealand.
Positives
One positive side of having charter schools in NZ is that it gives more freedom of choice. In this article, Peter Lyons discusses how charter schools offer more choice for parents and also allows people without qualifications to have a good job. He also notes how charter schools provide more choice in cases of money, arguing that by incorporating a new schools system, prices will become competitive, resulting in lower-priced education (Lyons, 2015).
The ministry of education also believes that the current schooling system is leaving students "ill-equipped' to enter the workforce (Ministry of Education, n.d.). Their goal for charter schools in NZ is to "provide a class of state school that has
greater flexibility to innovate and stronger accountability than other schools" (Ministry of Education, n.d.). This will then provide more flexibility to meet the needs of the local community (Ministry of Education, n.d.). "Such schools will be accountable for their
performance to their sponsors, who will in turn be accountable to the Crown" (Ministry of Education, n.d.).
Negatives
As pointed out in this reading, charter schools are fully funded by tax payers money with little oversight to ensure the money is spent appropriately.
The post primary teachers' association (2013) is so against public schools that they continue to "fight for the abolition of the charter school
legislation" and strongly advise PPTA members "not to apply for positions in
charter schools".
One school in Northland is even facing closure, with a wonder to where the $1.6 million invested has gone.
John Key is totally for charter schools, saying that the schools will be closely monitored. There has been several outcries in respond to this; someone saying that "Our kids deserve trained professionals who know how to get the best out of them," and another saying "You wouldn't let an untrained doctor treat your child, or let just anyone design your house. So why do John Banks and Hekia Parata think it is okay to have untrained teachers in front of children in our schools' classrooms?" (One News, 2012).
One school in Northland is even facing closure, with a wonder to where the $1.6 million invested has gone.
John Key is totally for charter schools, saying that the schools will be closely monitored. There has been several outcries in respond to this; someone saying that "Our kids deserve trained professionals who know how to get the best out of them," and another saying "You wouldn't let an untrained doctor treat your child, or let just anyone design your house. So why do John Banks and Hekia Parata think it is okay to have untrained teachers in front of children in our schools' classrooms?" (One News, 2012).
Before I pick my side...
It is important to look at all view points, so as not to be oblivious to the facts. For example, one university's study shows the lack of success in charter schools in USA (Education Policy Response Group (EPRG), 2012). But two other studies have severely criticised it for biased weaknesses in its selection and application of statistical
methods (EPRG, 2012). One News notes several good points made by pro and anti charter school spokesmen and is definitely worth reading.
I'm now looking forward to reading up on the legislations and policies around Charter Schools in comparison to standard public and private schools.
CBS. (2008, December 27). Pros & cons of charter schools [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w1b-8FV2qI&spfreload=10
CBS. (2010, September 23). What is a charter school [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT8OlWa5bGo&spfreload=10
Education Policy Response Group. (2012, April). In Charter Schools for New Zealand: An investigation designed to further the debate in New Zealand on education policy in general and on charter schooling in particular. Retrieved from http://www.parliament.nz/resource/0000252342
Ministry of Education. (n.d.). In NZ model of charter school working group. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/EducationInitiatives/PartnershipSchools/InfoRelease/~/media/MinEdu/Files/TheMinistry/PartnershipSchools/10TheNZModelOfCharterSchoolWorkingGroupTermsOfReference.pd
New Zealand's Post Primary Teacher's Association. (2013, October 2). In Charter schools: A paper from the PPTA national Executive. Retrieved from http://ppta.org.nz/ict-docs/doc_view/1671-charter-schools
One News. (2012, August 2). Key: Don't worry about unqualified teachers. In TVNZ: One News. Retrieved from http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/key-don-t-worry-unqualified-teachers-5001829
I really liked how you divided up the argument into positives and negatives before you choose what side of the fence you are sitting on. I feel this is always a good way to look at the benefits and downfalls.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing where you end up sitting.