Discipline methods from a charter school that would get public school teachers in serious trouble.

[madfloridian]

There is no way in the world any of these things could have been acceptable in the classroom in public schools where I taught. They might have been done, but there would be severe consequences for the teacher.

These are actions from a charter school. From March of last year.

The KIPP Fresno Horror Story That the National Media Won't Tell: Part I

In April, May, and June 2008, parents of children attending KIPP Academy Fresno Charter School filed multiple complaints with the Fresno Unified School District about practices at the school. Even though the District passed the complaints to the KIPP Board to investigate, the Board had no authority to demand answers or to make personnel changes and, therefore, advised the District to take charge of the investigation. Following an investigation, a 64 page Notice to Cure and Correct report was issued on December 11, 2008.

Below are some of the findings from that Report:

1. In her interview Kia Spenhoff stated that she witnessed Mr. Tschang put his hands on students. She witnessed Mr. Tschang pick up a student off the ground, hold the student by the neck against a wall, and then drop the student. When asked about this incident Mr Tschang stated, "I don't remember picking up and dropping a student, I do remember shaking a kid."

2. In December 2007 the police reported several students for shoplifting at a ______ store. As punishment, Mr. Tschang had them sit at their desks outside in the cold for two days. Diane Gutierrez, an employee at the Charter School, stated that Mr. Tschang took away their shoes on one day to let them know how it feels to have something taken away from them.

More from Part I of the report on this topic by Schools Matter:

6. __________ also reported witnessing Tschang push another student's face against the wall and saying, " Put your ugly face against the wall, I don't want to see your face."

10. Student __________ reported witnessing Mr. Tschang draw a circle on the ground and force a student to stand in the circle for two hours in the sun during the summertime.

There is more on the issue from School Matters Part 2 of the report

Ms. Mayfield also stated that for the first day of isolation, "During the entire day he would be screaming and yelling at the children off an don. I lost count of how many times he could be heard from the classroom." _______ was one of the students who was caught shoplifting, and she stated that on one of th edays they were being punished T told her and her sister, "Oh, you and your sister are going to the barber shop." When they asked why, T responded, "Because you are going to get your head shaved."

When asked about this incident, T stated, " The next day one of the 7th grade students came in with his head shaved and ________ asked, 'What should I do with my girls?' I responded, ' This is what another family did, maybe you should try that.' She was asking for ideas and so I gave her one."

More from the report. I know how annoying it can be when students need to use the restroom during class. Rule of thumb for public school teachers in our area...never say no to them. Let them go even if we don't like the timing.

..."A common complaint from students was that teachers were not letting student go the bathroom. Student ______ reported that there was a student in Ms. Sosa's class who urinated in his pants because he was not allowed to use the restroom. Student ______ who started with the Charter School in 2004 and just graduated in 2008, stated, "They would not let us use the bathroom during classes. Parents heard about this and they had to have a meeting to get hem to alow us this, to allow us to go to the bathrooms." . . . .

Former teacher Laura Allen stated, "we did encourage them to hold it when possible so as no to miss instruction.

Bark like a dog, told to go and change diapers.

Student ________ said that in December of 2007, T told him to get on his hand and knees and bark like a dog. ________ said that it was metaphor to get him to stop joking around in class. _________, guardian of _________, also alleged that in the summer of 2007, T got upset at ______ for asking to call ________, took his cell phone, threw it, and told ______ to, "go fetch it." _________ confronted T about the incident and he said T stated it was, "my school and I run it the way I want it run."

.."Student ________ reported that students were called "gay" and "ignorant," and that teachers siad things like , "Go change your diapers, you're acting like a 2-year old."

These are examples of things that happen when local school boards do not have the ability to control and regulate charter schools in their districts.

From Part I of the School Matters summaries:

During the 2006-2007 school year, the KIPP Board received training from the District regarding its roles and responsibilities. During the 07-08 school year, complaints against the CEO, Mr. Tschang continued. After calling for Mr. Tschang's resignation, the KIPP Board was told by KIPP, Inc. that the Board had no authority to demand Mr. Tschang's resignation. The Board resigned shortly thereafter.

Other charter schools are also governing from afar. One example is the way Imagine Charter Schools operate.

Now, the Post-Dispatch has obtained a memo in which the chief of Virginia-based Imagine Schools lays out a nationwide blueprint for controlling school boards and limiting their authority. In the year-old e-mail, CEO Dennis Bakke tells his employees they should control who stays on the board, select those who will "go along with Imagine," and ask board members to submit undated letters of resignation "that can be acted on by us at any time."

Such philosophies break a primary tenet of the charter school movement — that schools should be independently governed by local leaders — and conflict with both nonprofit law and state charter school statutes.

From the link a quote from the education blogger The Perimeter Primate:

In the future, communities will not be able to be involved with any aspect of their schools. Say bye-bye to school boards, School Site Councils, teacher unions, school worker unions, and other community-member involved bodies. Say hello to a vestigial form of the school district that only takes care of the unwanteds: special ed and behavior-problem students. Decisions will be made by the CMOs (Charter Management Organizations) . CMOs like Aspire, Envision, Green Dot, KIPP, and Imagine will be the “big box store" equivalent of public schools. This is where America’s urban schools are headed.

I found this blog by a former teacher and coach. His comments about himself:

I served as union rep and was classified as a TFA Almuni. I earned a Masters in Educational Leadership & Administration, producing a collaborative thesis through a haze of distraction. The writings on this site garnered a certain amount of praise, as well as the ire of District leadership. I am no longer a teacher.

Here is the blogger's observation of what went on at a KIPP school which was apparently near his school.

Charter School Discipline Choices

Holding 7th grade girls basketball tryouts yesterday, and I see maybe half-dozen KIPP students lined face-first against the wall, noses touching the concrete, not moving. Looking like they're getting lined up to be shot. A KIPP instructor comes around the corner and I half expect him to offer cigarettes and a blindfold, but instead he starts screaming at the back of their heads about something, eventually leaving them to stand there.

What I witnessed was not discipline. The KIPP policy of putting kids on "the porch" -- a systematic method of exclusion and ostracization -- is not discipline. These actions are public shaming, akin to puritanical brandings of scarlet A's. I am, in no way, some hippie new waver who holds sing-alouds in my classroom and encourages shoeless meanderings and hand-holdings. At the same time, I do not seek to foster educational success through blatant intimidation and the instillation of humiliation. Nor do I need to.

There is a means vs. ends argument to be made here. How desperate are we for demonstrable academic success? How important is it to produce test scores? What type of behavior are we modeling, teaching, instilling? Seriously. School leaders have power and the KIPP people choose to demonstrate the use of power through ugly ways. What does that show our kids? What does that teach them?

The Atlanta Journal Constitution covered the excesses of punishment at KIPP, and told of upset parents.

Charter school faces withdrawals over punishment

The parents were so angry at what they saw as excessive punishment at KIPP South Fulton Academy that they complained to several agencies, including the Fulton school board and state Department of Education.

The parents said a group of children were mistreated by teachers who separated them from their peers in class and at lunch. The students, parents said, reported sitting on the floor and said one girl urinated on herself after not being allowed to use the restroom immediately.

..."Discipline is a hallmark of the Knowledge Is Power Program, which operates 66 schools nationwide. KIPP is known for bringing high test scores and college-prep skills to children at higher risk of academic failure. The school is a big commitment, with long weekdays and Saturday and summer sessions.

The dispute erupted in December, after a teacher made a group of fifth-graders she said had been disrupting class sit in the back of the room. Kofi Kinney, who is also dean of operations, dubbed the group “The Little Rock Nine,” a reference to the African-American children who were blocked from, then allowed into, high school in Arkansas in 1957. The KIPP students, who are African-American like most of their classmates, later became the “KIPP Nine.”

The tactics of humiliation...that is what they should be called.

The turnover to private Education Management Companies is in full swing now. It is happening very quickly. The media is not being informative. Teachers are just catching on, parents don't really understand yet.

When the control shifts, the policies change, the cheaper teachers are hired, and firing is done frequently. Nothing matters really but profit in the long run.

Too many are avoiding this topic because it does not reflect well on our party's leadership. As a result of being too loyal, we are turning our heads.

We are so casual about the demise of public education.

[tonysam]

1. If this happened in a public school district, a teacher would

lose his or her license on the spot. I don't see how they get away with it.

[bertman]

55. If it happened in our public school district, the teacher would be hospitalized with serious

injuries. If our school children's parents found out ANY teacher was treating their children that way they wouldn't bother with trying to get a non-functioning bureaucracy to deal with that asshole.

[Lyric]

2. Well golly gee!

That sounds just like the schools of yesteryear, back when teachers had total control and students were regularly abused and humiliated. My guess? SOME people are trying to use the charter school fad to turn back the clock to "the good old days" when teachers were allowed to be as harsh as they wanted, and even a kid's own parents usually said "What did you do to deserve it?" when the child complained.

Sickening. At least public schools have accountability. To whom are charter schools directly accountable? Certainly not the the voters and parents.

[Old Codger]

6. You got it

All I could think about while I read that was wow, they are describing the school I went to where spankings with a board or ruler were common, I was ridiculed, spanked, slapped and on one occasion held out an open window two stories up.. and they wondered why i quit at 16, the legal age to do so at that time....We had some good teachers and I did learn a lot in school up until that time but those years are still pure hell in my memories, and that was a long long time ago.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Vincardog]

62. To whom are charter schools directly accountable? Like all corporations in theory to the shareholder

in reality to the BOD

[Tim01]

3. I don't think I understand.

Being a teacher in public schools now, I have seen students threaten teachers, tear stuff up in class, refuse to remove their gang colors in school, spit on teachers, AND learn nothing but tests as a result of No Child Left Behind.


When I went to school in Texas, the first time they took a board to my ass, was the last time they had trouble out of me.

[madfloridian]

7. I don't think I mentioned paddling, but that is no longer done...

in the schools in our area.

However I did mention the tactics that humiliate and went out of style long long ago.

I don't know what you don't understand.

[Danger Mouse]

15. It's up to parents to correct that kind of behavior, not teachers.

It's not a teacher's job to fix what a bad parent broke.

[Tim01]

16. Those students should all be kicked out of school. nt

[Danger Mouse]

17. There are 'alternative' schools for students who behave that way.

A depressing number of kids have mental health issues. They're not all 'bad kids,' per se, just kids with problems. Those problems are made worse by distant parents who are too busy working their ass off to sustain their standard of living to notice that little Johnny is cracking up inside.

[Tim01]

19. Pre-prison. BTDT nt

[liberal_at_heart]

29. My husband went to an alternative high school

The principle at the public school told him he would never amount to anything. The teachers at the alternative school believed in him and treated him with kindness. He graduated and is now an engineer at a major telecom company.

[northzax]

20. Well sure

But teachers have to spend six-eight hours a day for 183 days with them. If you work outside the home full time, your kids spend more time with their teacher than you. When I was teaching elementary school, including before and after-school activities and meals, I was with my students from 7:15am to 5:30 pm. Five days a week. How much more time is there in the week?

[Danger Mouse]

24. How much time does a teacher have to attend to individual students in a public school, though?

Not much. :shrug:

[Starry Messenger]

4. I guess corporal punishment must be

some of that "out of the box" thinking...there was a charter in Oakland that was getting away with all kinds of shit. Now the ex-principal is being hailed as a hero.

http://www.city-journal.org/2010/bc0128ac.html

Other schools have similar rules. But Chavis enforces them. That might seem an insurmountable challenge given the gang culture and tough attitudes that pervade his school’s neighborhood, but Chavis is a cross between Socrates and Dirty Harry, and for him it seems easy. When a few boys started letting their pants sag to expose their underwear, they were sent to his office. For the occasion, he had picked up a quantity of fluorescent pink mason’s string. He fashioned belts for some of his wayward charges out of the string, tying conspicuous pink bows in front “for extra embarrassment.” For others, he improvised garish suspenders. The boys broke the rules to look cool, Chavis knew, so to bring them back in line, he made them look ridiculous. To avoid a repeat of that embarrassment, they started wearing their pants back up around their waists.

Plenty of observers are appalled that Chavis embarrasses students to enforce school rules. He has no patience for such critics, whom he sees as lacking perspective. “Some may call my use of public humiliation extreme; however, Oakland is an extreme city with a high homicide rate. I would rather embarrass them now than see my students get killed.” Having endured an extreme childhood of his own—in which he suffered through shortages of food and clothing, the abuse of a brutal alcoholic father, and the witnessing of a gory murder—Chavis will do whatever it takes to instill in his students the values, knowledge, and skills they need to thrive.

The East Bay Express took him on in 2007. This article doesn't get enough exposure IMO:


http://www.eastbayexpress.com/eastbay/chavis-in-hot-water/Content?oid=1083511

The Oakland Unified School District has launched an inquiry into several explosive allegations leveled against Ben Chavis, the celebrated principal of American Indian Public Charter School. As first reported here last month ( "Too Hot for School?," 5/9), Mills College prof Sabrina Zirkel and four of her grad students accused Chavis of calling grad student Unity Lewis "a fucking black minority punk" during the group's visit in March. They also complained that Chavis had asked one of his own female students if a certain boy "was still trying to suck your titties."

More allegations have now surfaced. A black parent complained that the school told her there was no room for her son, even though Chavis was accepting applications from white students. A former teacher accuses the principal of pushing her down the school stairs while calling her a "fucking bitch." Yet another cites a story that Chavis manhandled his own niece, threatened her, and called her a "slut."

Neither Chavis nor members of his school's board of directors returned calls seeking comment, but in an interview last month, Chavis denied details of the earlier allegations. "I called him a dumbass minority," he said of Lewis. "I said he was an embarrassment to his race." He also disputed the "suck your titties" comment.

[madfloridian]

9. Ain't it amazing? 1st article praising charter for what public schools are forbidden to do.

That first is a puff piece, the kind we see to glorify what teachers in public schools are not allowed to do and probably wouldn't.

It is like many we see in the media praising humiliating tactics to accomplish good test scores.

[Starry Messenger]

11. Keep your eye on Ben Chavis too.

He's starting to worm his way in to "education reform" at higher levels. He published a book this year and an hour of googling shows a lot of KIPP bloggers singing his praises. He outright castigates his critics as liberal moonbats.

[donco6]

25. But only if a charter does them.

In Denver, a secretary duct-taped a kid into a chair. Heck, if she'd been in Oakland, they'd have given her a plaque. Here in Denver, though, the secretary got fired immediately. As she should be.

[JDPriestly]

42. The parents should be called to answer for the behavior of their kids.

If a child is involved in gangs, the parents should take the responsibility for getting the child out of gangs.

One idea would be to require the parent of a child who creates serious problems in school to take classes with the child on appropriate behavior at school.

Many, many "parents" have no parenting skills at all. Many, many parents are not adults.

[Starry Messenger]

48. Sometimes the parents are in the gangs.

Some parents are just so checked out that getting them to be parents is almost impossible. I always feel bad for those kids. It's a vicious cycle.

[w4rma]

5. And Obama's Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is promoting this. Fire Arne. (nt)

[madfloridian]

41. Won't happen. Notice these tactics get approval here at DU

There are 2 or 3 in this thread who think they are okay.

It's amazing to me how that happens.

[XemaSab]

8. How is this not assault?

:shrug:

[Danger Mouse]

18. Because 'the rotten kids probably deserved it' or some crap like that.

[noamnety]

27. It is assault and abuse

I guess not allowing a bathroom break is child abuse but not assault, technically, not that it's any better. The parents should be pressing charges, and I can't figure out if the parents support that, does that mean they are abusing their kids at home as well?

[onpatrol98]

53. Assault

It does sound like assault.

[gratuitous]

10. Suggested motto

Charter Schools: Putting the loco in "In Loco Parentis."

[Danger Mouse]

13. Intimidation and humiliation teaches blind fear of authority...which is just what they want.

It serves THEIR purposes perfectly.

[MadHound]

14. This shit wouldn't have happened in a public school even when I was a kid,

Back in the bad ol' days of spanking.

[Joe Fields]

40. Oh, it happened, alright. You just never witnessed it.

[MadHound]

46. Actually no, it didn't

And having two parents who were teachers, pretty far up the ladder, I was in a position to know.

Did it happen somewhere in the US, certainly. But it certainly didn't happen in my school district or even within my state.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

54. Aw, now you made Joe Fields sad.

Bit it's OK, he'll convince himself that you're lying and the Most Righteous Arm Of Stern Justice Against The Pathetic Weaklings continues gloriously unabated in all of this great land, and it shall never be denied! God Bless America!

[madfloridian]

67. .....

:rofl:

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. Me neither

and I went to Catholic school. Our nuns were loving and never once did I see any of them (or the lay teachers) strike a child. Never.

It's also against district policy in every school district in this metro area, but the poster you are responding to doesn't appear to know that.

[noamnety]

21. Please don't characterize all charters that way.

If anyone where I teach did any of those things, we'd be out on our asses. I do understand your point about potential for abuse because of oversight, but some charters in some states are fully public, not the corporate kind of charter, and the county school districts do have oversight and authority to step in when there are abuses.

Also, in some states (not mine, fortunately) in traditional public schools corporal punishment is still legal and embraced, along with humiliation as a formal means of punishment. I've written before on DU about being in teacher training with one of the teachers from down south who was thrilled she would be able to teach in a district where they could "humiliate" the kids and cause them pain. If I were queen of the world, I'd have yanked her certification - I don't think people like that need to be around children, but I guess at some public schools that's what the community wants. If I had kids in a school like that, I'd be looking at charters, home schooling, or other options to get them out of an abusive environment. Even if you can sign a waiver to ensure your own child isn't hit, there's still no excuse for raising them in an environment where that's what they witness as normal.


I'd like to see congress pass legislation outlawing corporal punishment in ALL schools that take any public funding, traditional OR charter. That would still leave us behind much of the world where it's outlawed in all schools public or private, but it would at least be a step in the right direction. Not that I actually expect to see congress or obama move on that ... but it is long overdue all the same. Much of the other things in there I would classify as abuse - and in fact I've personally called social services on a neighbor who did exactly one of the things listed there even though she was a friend.

[madfloridian]

28. I said "a charter school". I made it clear I referred mostly to one.

However there are religious schools in FL becoming charters to get public money, and they use a whole LOT of these tactics.

We are turning public schools over to private companies without regulation. It is important to keep pointing out what happens.

[noamnety]

36. and I am with you on that.

I'm opposed to private operation of them as well, which I don't think is always clear in my posts because I don't include that disclaimer every time I discuss the topic. I wish people would make the distinction between true public charters and corporate for profit charters run by private companies, because its a little like the distinctions between soldiers (traditional public schools), civilian federal employees (public charters) and Halliburton (corporate charters). There's a world of difference between government employees and the contractors who seem to be just lawless and pocketing everything they can get their hands on.

[madfloridian]

39. The "private charters" get taxpayer money.

One company, Imagine Charters, calls itself a non-profit. Yet for 5 years it has not been able to prove it.

They use the words "public charter" to get approval from a confused public. Even the "public" charters are usually controlled and run by Charter Management Corporations.

[hapkidogal]

44. More than you know

Years ago I had my son in a charter school for kindergarten. They touted Montessori maths etc.It was a professor who opened the school. She hired her son to set up the computers at a cost of $1800. She and her husband took advantage of every penny they could milk from the county.
I did a lot of volunteer work as it was just getting off the ground. It was a real eye opener. The math program was never used because she had no one qualified to teach it. Children would run to me to ask to go to the bathroom because teachers and staff were told they should go on this old bats time. She put dishpans over the water fountains because she wanted them to only have water when she said.
Her husband was horrible too. Two boys got in a fight and they were 5 year olds. He was yelling one boy had cut another. I was there he had scratched him. They had kids they were targeting to get rid of. I watched them selectively get rid of certain children. Then one day the husband eluded to getting rid of a certain race of children. I was furious.
The principal wanted me to head the PTA with another mom. I had agreed and frankly the principal and teachers were what kept me there any longer. I received a phone call from the principal and she said she had been fired. She was in the hospital after having a heart attack. I am quite sure the fact that the old bat waited to post a board meeting after parents had gone and no one would see it didn't help.
I removed my son from this womans house of horrors. Sadly enough she still has a school.I think public or private we have several issues with our education system that are broken. This is not just a charter school problem.Maybe it is a problem with our society too. No child left behind has left behind so many.

[Catshrink]

51. I saw this kind of stuff developing.

I worked at a charter for two weeks while I was in my teacher prep program. I'd quit my other job so I could work in education. After two week of the crap pulled by the director and his wife, I said enough. Fortunately, I was able to get my old job back since they hadn't hired anyone yet.

The "just desserts" part of this came a couple of years ago when questions were raised about their administrative costs. The director was paying himself a heft mid 6-figure salary using public money, of course. Meanwhile, his wife, who had no educational background other than attending school at some point in her life and had no "job" at the school, was busy pissing off the teachers and had managed to get the two most experienced teachers fired for disagreeing with her. It's this kind of capriciousness that scares teachers.

[noamnety]

45. That's part of the distinction I'm trying to point out.

They are not all run by charter management corporations, or any other type of corporations. Ours is run by a principal, who reports to an all volunteer unpaid school board and the county public school district. All the paychecks are going to state employees, all the assets (buildings, computers, etc) are owned by the state. All the financial records are open to the public, the parents or anyone can request them at any time (and they do).

Most are run by private companies, I'm the first to admit that, and like you I oppose it. If tax payer dollars are supporting it, then all the assets should be publicly owned. If they are privately owned, that gives incentive to the schools to start up, use tax dollars to buy equipment, then fold in a few years and - voila! they suddenly own a bunch of assets they never paid for. Maybe I'm not using words precisely enough, because I get that a school can claim they are nonprofit, but be giving out obscene paychecks to a contractor who obviously is "profiting" by it. That's like red cross or other "nonprofits" where the CEO is pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in salary. Technically it's a nonprofit because the "corporation" doesn't stockpile money I guess (?) but in my gut if someone is taking home 500K a year, I can't really consider that NONprofit. That gets into the corporate personhood in a way maybe, if the corporation doesn't profit, but employees are pocketing disgusting amounts of tax dollars, I don't know how we separate that out.

I think people would have less complaints about charters if they were all managed like other public schools, with the same oversight, and the distinction really became just one of choice of atmosphere and no residency restrictions - smaller schools for kids that need/prefer that environment, a focus on the arts or on science, etc. No test requirements that private schools or magnets use to exclude students, no residency requirements that traditional public schools use to exclude students. To me, the big advantage of them is purely giving students a choice of educational and environmental styles so they don't end up hating school, so they have an option to be in smaller communities - which tend to value misfits a little more in general since there is more of a chance to get to know everyone in the school as individuals.

That doesn't necessarily have to happen in a charter way - I just think it needs to happen in general to serve the needs of all kids. However it happens, I don't really care - except that like you I think if it's a public system (taking tax dollars) all the employees need to be government employees and the assets need to be public assets, and unlike some people, I think if it's a public system all students should have equal access to it regardless of whether they live in a good neighborhood or a bad one.

[donheld]

22. It makes me worry about how Gay kids are treated in Charter schools.

I doubt it's good news.

[noamnety]

26. In some cases better, in some worse, I imagine

We've informally become a sort of rescue school for kids who were bullied in traditional schools for not fitting gender norms. Before new students start with us, they attend several days of diversity workshops - before they even get their class schedules - to get indoctrinated about our school culture, and we have some pretty frank school wide discussions during that time about stereotypes, bullying, racial issues, glbt issues.

I know that's not the norm though at any school. The norm is to not address it at all, look the other way and pretend such things as gay people don't exist.

[donco6]

30. There are over 4,000 Gay-Straight Alliances in public high schools.

According to GLSEN.

[liberal_at_heart]

31. My daughter's public school has a gay-straight alliance

[noamnety]

34. Yes, I've been the advisor for one of them in our public charter school.

We're included in those statistics.

There are about what, 25,000-30,000 US public high schools total?

[donco6]

35. Just stating a fact.

Didn't want people to think public schools hate gay people.

[noamnety]

37. I think a lot of gay kids get bullied without mercy at school

while administrators look the other way. I know for a fact some do - to the point of being physically assaulted. Not saying they condone it, but I think sometimes it falls under "kids will be kids" because it's less effort.

[donco6]

38. Then that administrator should be disciplined.

That's unacceptable.

[fallingrock666]

23. K & R

Say it loud. You are on it.

[newtothegame]

32. Yeah no shit. There's a reason ones a public and ones private.

What's the point of this post?

[Mithreal]

52. -1

[lolly]

33. Does it strike anyone else as obvious

That the main purpose behind these types of "punishment" is not to discipline or correct kids.

It's a way for the "disciplinarians" to get their jollies.

This is the stuff of porn sites--girls lined up pressed against a wall, forced to endure taunts and humiliation. When that teacher left them there, s there any doubt where he was going or what he was doing? Anybody check the ceiling in his bathroom? Making them bark like dogs? Salo, anyone?

I am NOT being silly or juvenile. These people do this sort of thing because they love to do it; there is no intent to teach the kids.

There are plenty of ways to discipline that aren't so obviously designed to satisfy the sadistic fantasies of sicko teachers.

[Djinn]

43. agree

this is not just spanking or giving a kid the strap, the "inventiveness" of the punishments show the teacher has put a lot of thought into the degradation and abuse. Total sadist nutbags.

[madfloridian]

47. Public taxpayer money goes to these schools...they get our money but not regulated.

That disturbs me. Private companies are benefiting from taxpayer money, in many cases getting housing in public buildings and shoving public school students aside.

When the public is paying there should be openness and accountability.

[Catshrink]

50. Well said!

Accountability -- open books, open meetings.

[madfloridian]

49. Houston Chronicle says KIPP excels.

"Charter schools, which Texas began allowing in 1995, were supposed to set educators free — and they did.

Paid for with state funds, and released from local school districts' rules, the best were free to excel: Houston-born charter systems KIPP and YES compiled terrific records of propelling minority and low-income kids into college.

Unfortunately, the worst charter schools were free to fail — sometimes spectacularly, in ways that involved large amounts of money and criminal charges. In the Houston area, for instance, The Prepared Table saw its charter revoked in 2002; four of its administrators — a pastor and three relatives — were alleged to have stolen $3 million from federal and state programs. The Jesse Jackson Academy (with campuses in both Houston and Fort Worth) closed in 2008 amid charges it had misappropriated $3.2 million in federal grants. And last year, Gulf Shores Academy had to be reformulated after school administrators allegedly swindled more than $10 million from the state.

Given that dismal history, it's almost a relief that the latest bad news about Texas charter schools doesn't involve anything illegal. The Texans Can charter-school chain may be infuriating. But it appears to operate entirely within the law.

As the Chronicle's Jennifer Radcliffe recently reported, nine of the school's 10 schools are rated “academically unacceptable” by the state, and three are on the verge of being closed for repeated failure to meet federal standards. At Houston's Main Street campus, state data show that none of the 15 freshmen enrolled in 2001-02 managed to earn a high school diploma within six years. That's a 0 percent success rate."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/6843688.html

I often wonder how passing one test formed in secret and graded in secret can make sure a kid is prepared for college.

[bertman]

57. Recommend. Back in the day, 50's/60's when I was in school, paddling was allowed but

humiliation and harassment were not. If someone decided to be a bad ass, the teacher sent him/her to the principal's office immediately. They did not try to deal with it in the classroom. Our high school had some tough kids who took a little bit of "special attention" from the principal, but after a couple of visits to his office they straightened out. I don't know what was done, but I know that one hard look from our principal was enough to get most kids back into line. (Incidentally, he was a hell of a nice man but he did not tolerate disruptions in his school). Strangely enough, we actually got good educations in an environment where respect and reasonable adherence to the rules was expected of everyone--including teachers and coaches and administrators.

I'm not advocating paddling but I do approve of strict rules and discipline in schools. But not of the variety described in this thread. There are many ways to get students to behave that do not require humiliation or treating them like prisoners.

[chervilant]

58. hmm...

I teach in public schools in the Houston Metropolitan area. I have seen examples from across the continuum of good and bad teachers, and good and bad administrators. However, what causes me the most concern is the overwhelming number of young people in middle school and beyond who have little or no interest in achieving an education--even a modest one!

NCLB is a terrible piece of legislation, and EVERYONE hates the standardized tests we're forced to inflict on our students. Studies have shown no correlation between academic skills and standardized testing. Oh, and speaking of 'high scores' -- our students 'passed' the TAKS test last year with as little as 58% of the questions answered correctly!

The vast majority of students here have no knowledge of current events, and virtually no interest in politics. Music, sex, and recreation dominate the lives of so many students--and they are certain that they will be the next "American Idol" or the next "Michael Jordan" or "Michael Oher." Of course, they will achieve this with some magic elixir, and not by working hard to achieve academic success...

I perservere in my efforts to nurture a love of learning in my students--to encourage them to pursue their dreams with a full measure of commitment to their personal success. In increasingly rare instances, exceptional students survive our crumbling and archaic system of public education, and excel at whatever career they choose.

More often than not, sadly, our students leave our schools to become just another of the 40% of US adults who are functionally illiterate...easily fooled and easily manipulated by the M$M and the Corporatists who need them to slavishly perform the menial, low-paying jobs that have become the cornerstone of our service-industry economy...

Sigh...I hope our nation survives this era of hedonism and skirting personal responsibility...the older I get, the more skeptical I become...

[sulphurdunn]

59. Carlisle Indian Industrial School

Is that what urban charter schools are about?

[madfloridian]

60. Wow, I had to look that up.

I never heard of that school. Trying to make the Indian children assimilate into the white culture.

http://www.danielnpaul.com/CarlisleIndianSchool.html

"Captain Pratt's dream

"Convert him in all ways but color into a white man, and, in fact, the Indian would be exterminated, but humanely, and as beneficiary of the greatest gift at the command of the white man - his own civilization." - Characterization of Carlisle Indian School founder R.H. Pratt's philosophy by historian Robert H. Utley, 1979

The history of the Carlisle Indian School is inextricably linked with its founder. R.H. Pratt, a US Army captain, had commanded a unit of African-American soldiers and Indian scouts in Dakota Territory for eight years following the Civil War. Subscribing to the ideas of the "Indian reformers" of the time - many of whom were Quakers and Christian missionaries - Pratt believed the solution to the so-called "Indian problem" was not separation, which was the function of the reservations, but assimilation."

[cjbgreen]

61. St. Hope, another charter school tainted with scandal

St. Hope is another charter school tainted by misuse of funds, violations, blurring of roles and oversight. Here are the links that document some of the problems. Unfortunately, Kevin Johnson is a Democrat and the Mayor of Sacramento who similar to Fenty is seeking mayoral control of schools. His fiancee' Michelle Rhee was a board member of ST. Hope at the time of the scandals. It is too bad that he is a Democrat at least in name. Here is a brief summary of some of the scandals which are referenced in Wikipedia.

High School investigation
See allegations regarding intimidation of a student who alleged that Kevin Johnson groped her. The teacher who reported the incident resigned because of the manner in which the investigation was handled, which included reporting the incident to Michelle Rhee (a St. Hope Board Member) who did not report the allegation to the police rather Kevin Johnson's attorney met with the student and teacher.
The following excerpt is from Wikipedia
On April 9, 2009, Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced that St. HOPE Academy had agreed to pay $423,836.50 over ten years in settlement of allegations that it did not appropriately spend AmeriCorps grants and education awards and did not adequately document spending of grants.<31> The settlement amount represented one-half of the $847,673 in AmeriCorps funds received by St. HOPE Academy over three years from 2004 to 2007.<31> Johnson, St. HOPE Academy’s founder and former CEO, agreed to pay $72,836.50 of St. HOPE Academy’s $73,836.50 initial payment.<31> In settlement, St. HOPE Academy acknowledged not adequately documenting a portion of its AmeriCorps grant expenditures, and the Corporation for National and Community Service terminated its September 24, 2008 suspension of St. HOPE Academy and Johnson from receiving federal funds, ending questions about Sacramento’s eligibility to receive federal stimulus funds.<31>


http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:1b6tzGKuy9QJ:www.justice.gov/usao/cae/press_releases/docs/2009/04-09-09JohnsonSettlement.pdf+st.+Hope&hl=en&gl=us&sig=AHIEtbRs41oroR8cly3rseX8ZCRcQZIqOg

[LeftyMom]

68. It's sort of misleading to call him a Democrat.

The mayor's race in Sacramento is technically non-partisan, but he was the more conservative of the two major candidates, by far.

[prairierose]

66. Yes, and so native children were taken away from their families...

and sent to a school far away so that it would be more difficult for them to run away and run home. Their hair was cut, they were given white people clothing and though they may have never heard English before, beaten, if they spoke their native tongue.

I had a friend who managed to run and hide away from the BIA police until he was 12 and then he got caught and sent to one of these schools. He told me stories that made me sick. That would have been in the '60's.

[jpak]

63. Pity the fool that messes with Mr. T!

In all seriousness - this guy is a sociopath that should never be allowed in a classroom - anywhere.

:thumbsdown:

[Blue_Tires]

64. ttt

[proud2BlibKansan]

65. Serious trouble? More like fired.

[Jakes Progress]

69. Love your threads.

Some humans come here. Too many others here are full of neocon memes. Sad that someone who thinks they are a Democrat would be so enthralled with carrying out ronald reagan's dream.