Afternoon Video: Saving New Orleans - With Charter Schools

Here's the trailer for the feature length documentary the PBS education correspondent John Merrow's production company is Kickstarting into reality.

Comments

[Bruce]

This looks promising. We may hope, in particular, that they will be able to compare, say, 8th-grade reading scores for students with special needs throughout the city of New Orleans before Katrina and now.

[K.]

Part of the reason why there were so many problems with children was probably a lack of discipline for them. Not only that there were no incentives for teachers to try harder, so another problem with the old system. I really like the charter school idea. The teachers now want to be there and are working harder (because they feel like their ideas and opinions do count), so the children see now that someone cares and is trying, so they work hard too.

[Aurielle]

From personal experience, Charter schools can be, when properly applied in a community, the BEST type of learning environment for a child. Public schools have become an institution that oppresses a child's ability to push past their own limitations. In fact, the entire premise of public school is based in setting limitations. What I liked most about Charter school is that it is a formed setting with a formless curriculum. The needs of the student decides the shape that their school year takes. In an environment like New Orleans, i think this is exactly what they need.