"GET US OUT OF HERE!! WE ARE TRAPPED AND MISERABLE!"
First there was the President of the pro-charter group The Mississippi Center for Public Policy, who compared the Magnolia State’s public schools to Cold War communism by stating “The education establishment has built a Berlin wall around the current system to keep their own people from escaping to freedom.”
Then there was the House Education Committee member and charter proponent who referred to certain public schools as “inferior” at about the 17:22 mark of this audio clip.
Well, friends, we now have a newcomer in the organized effort to convince the people of Mississippi that the sky is falling when it comes to public education — Y’all Politics.
In his latest post, the author freely jumps into the unprecedented beat-down of schools that is becoming the norm for many charter proponents.
Here are some morsels:
The author: “…those who are forced (by law) to attend failing schools”.
My response: Are we, the community members of Anytown, Mississippi, doing everything in our power to help the kids who need help?
The author: “…[DeSoto County Superintendent] Milton Kuykendall and the rest of the public school mob bosses are trying desperately to keep administrators, teachers, parents and kids under their thumb because it’s good for their bottom line.”
My response: Yes, because we public school administrators, teachers, parents and kids are just dumb animals who aren’t capable of thinking for ourselves. Oh, please free us from this brutal system!!!!
The author: “When legislators who are ostensibly proponents of education can get away with voting against something that would help so many of their constituents, that’s what has to change.”
My response: Exactly how many kids would charter schools help? 1% of the state’s student population? 3%? Besides, given that charter schools aren’t any better than traditional schools, would we really be “helping” the chosen few who get in?
The author: “This is particularly the case in the Jackson area (home to a severely underperforming school district)”
My response: I’m just dying to ask the author if he has ever stepped foot onto one of the campuses of these “severely underperforming” schools in Jackson.
The author: “When underserved parents and kids from poor rural and inner city areas march on the state Capitol demanding charter schools, it will pass unanimously.”
My response: That’s it, let’s blame “the poor” for the failure of charter legislation. We blame them for everything else, right? God forbid we look in the mirror when addressing the challenges that our public schools face every day.
The author, on not just winning the “political fight” of charters: “…but you will go a long way to winning the war against monopolized and underperforming schools..“
My response: So, going to “war” against the schools who need our help the most is the best way to improve them? Okie-dokie.
The author:“…[charter schools will] change the culture of parents and students and administrators and teachers throughout Mississippi.”
My response: I’ll drop the sarcasm now. Taking away a school’s students and resources does not “change the culture” of that school. Giving that school the community support that it needs to thrive, however, will.
The Public School Warrior 
A good society has good public schools. Charters re-create a dual school system without getting better results or improving education. Everyone should work together to improve public schools where doors are open to all.