Charters schools

It seemed very appropriate this past week that we discussed charter schools in such depth as I actually went and observed a charter school on 16th and summit this past Tuesday with another class of mine. I also was very unfamiliar as to what charter schools were, how they functioned and what their purposes were. Although I remain very skeptical, as we discuss things in class such as why these schools aren't advertised when politicians campaign for more money for schools if they're such a great investment. However, the teacher I observed and interviewed on Tuesday at this particular school made them seem extremely appealing. It did seem like this teacher had her plate full and was definitely working hard but she also seemed to love her job and what her school stood for. She talked about how it was an all inclusive school, meaning she had a child with downs, a child with a hearing impairment and a student from a homeless shelter, all in class with kids from private schools. "We're all kind of weird," she told me, "that's why we're all here." She talked about how judging issues and bullying issues were rarely a problem in her classroom which particularly surprised me since she worked with middle schoolers which was prime time back in my day for bullying and judging. Overall I was really happy I got to observe this different classroom setting but I still believe I would be too scared to face a classroom of that type, especially without other teaching experiences first! http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2012/03/charter_schools_the_good_the_b.html