Conversations in front of the middle school

I was passing out flyers for a new charter school soon to be opened for enrollment in September. A charter school is a school that intentionally hires very good teachers and limits class size to ensure good student-teacher ratio. It admits students by a lottery method (in order to keep class sizes small) and enrollment is only available for children living in the vicinity of the charter school is, which makes it the opposite of a magnet school.

The conversations I had while I was passing out information flyers were very illuminating as to how un-ideal the local school district is:

1.
Ziasudra: A new charter school is opening on the Lower East Side. Are you interested in learning more about it?
Parent A: Is it free?
Ziasudra: Yes. It's a free public school, a chartered one.
Parent A: *eagerly takes flyer*

2.
Ziasudra: A new charter school is opening on the Lower East Side. Are you interested in learning more about it?
Parent B: Will my kids get a better education?
Ziasudra: The goal of the school is to provide quality holistic education. A similar school in Long Island has had great success. [yes, we have "suggested" lines to parrot.]
Parent B: You mean they're going to get a better education?
Ziasudra: The chances of a better education are high.
Parent B: *grabs a flyer*

3.
Ziasudra: A new charter school is opening on the Lower East Side. Are you interested in learning more about it?
Student X: Will this give me a better education?
Ziasudra: *not wanting to diss the school she currently teaches at* If you get in you'll get very qualified teachers and fewer number of classmates per class.
Student X: I want a better education. Our school has too many gang members. They were fighting just there *points at street corner down the block* today. The cops came and someone punched a cop in the face.
Ziasudra: ...
Student X: I want a flyer. Can I have another one too? I want a better education.
Ziasudra: *heart breaks*

The truth is, while no one said it outright that the local school district is bad, it was everyone's uncontested assumption. And by "bad" I don't mean that the teachers are bad—they're wonderful, most of them—but other factors like local gangs and students' English language handicap make it impossible for teachers to pass on much knowledge to the kids. These hindering factors are what I'm hoping won't get carried over into the charter school when it opens. A school with good teachers? Yeah, my middle school has that. Just having good teachers alone isn't enough. I hope the smaller class size and the focus on holistic education (rather than trying to meet New York state's various test standards) will really make the charter school work.

If you're interested, read more information about the charter school here, and about the institute here. (FYI, if you come across the name Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, he's a prominent scholar on the issue of immigration and education, as is his wife, whom I interviewed last semseter for my illegal immigrant article.)

Taxes done!

I did my taxes today! I'm so proud of myself. (Even though the credit goes entirely to Turbo Tax.) For those of you who haven't yet filed your taxes, if you make less than $50,000 USD, you might qualify for one of many (federal only?) E-filing services available online. Turbo Tax still charged me $19.95 for filing state tax, but two reports for the price of one, not bad.

methegirl3 is visiting me tomorrow. I'm excited! ^__^

This is quite interesting: Brain Development Rate Linked to IQ.

"Smart children have a different rhythm in their heads — a seesaw pattern of growth that lags years behind other young people — say government scientists who mapped the brains of hundreds of children."

So smart children's brains develop slower than, er, not-smart children's. Fascinating...