The frustration for me is that this whole discussion should begin with two questions: What factors contribute to and inhibit student learning? To what extent can we boost the contributing factors and counter the inhibiting factors? As you suggest, there are multiple factors and multiple ways to deal with them. But the bedrock has to be a commitment to educate *all* students. And I have yet to see a non-public model that commits itself to that. That is, one that doesn’t filter out students that are more challenging for various reasons. Public education makes that commitment, but as a country we’ve failed to back that commitment with the resources--financial and otherwise--needed to meet it. We don’t actually care for all of our children, and until that changes, this merry go round will persist.
The frustration for me is that this whole discussion should begin with two questions: What factors contribute to and inhibit student learning? To what extent can we boost the contributing factors and counter the inhibiting factors? As you suggest, there are multiple factors and multiple ways to deal with them. But the bedrock has to be a commitment to educate *all* students. And I have yet to see a non-public model that commits itself to that. That is, one that doesn’t filter out students that are more challenging for various reasons. Public education makes that commitment, but as a country we’ve failed to back that commitment with the resources--financial and otherwise--needed to meet it. We don’t actually care for all of our children, and until that changes, this merry go round will persist.