×
Rick Kahlenberg makes some very good points in this piece about the ethnic charter school movement. Rick argues that the correct liberal position is to oppose both the Arabic-language public school and the Hebrew language public charter in New York.
...the purpose of public schools is not to satisfy the individual preferences of parents. The fundamental justification for taxpayer funding of public schools, as the late Albert Shanker noted, is to teach children what it means to be an American.If American schools should generally try to educate children in integrated environments, should there be an exception made for marginalized ethnic groups, or small religious minorities, as a form of affirmative action? This was the theory behind “community control” of public schools in the 1960s: black-run schools, with black students, black teachers, and black principals, would instill pride, raise student self-esteem, and boost achievement. The program was an utter failure. Segregated schools, even run with good intentions like those catering to low income East Africans in Minneapolis, will, on average, cut students off from social and cultural networks that are critical to success in American society.I don't believe, as Rick writes, that teaching children "what it means to be an American" should be the fundamental goal of public education. As much as we liberals would like to believe that diversity, democratic participation, and the First Amendment define Americanness, for millions of our fellow citizens, Christianity is quintessentially American. There's just too much disagreement. Rather, I believe the fundamental goal of public school should be to give students the tools they need to succeed in America: critical thinking, creativity, self-control, tolerance, communication skills, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Could an ethnic charter school be effective at advancing that agenda? Sure. But what's lost is a child's exposure to difference, a defining feature of the American experience. The ethnic charter school sector is growing, largely without a robust public discussion about whether our cities should travel further down the road of educational segregation. Should they?--Dana Goldstein
