As with vouchers, many pundits tout charter schools as the fix for public education. With vouchers, I worry that private schools will be homogenized and leveled to a public school standard, in the long run, because of government oversight and consequent regulation.
Charter schools can always face that problem, too, but they face a more imminent one with public funding. Read about it in Kevin Ferris's article in the Wall Street Journal reporting on the financial tenuousness of charter schools.
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That's an interesting comparison. Breaking up centralized systems into liveable components is an important step towards making higher - and lower - education more successful in truly educating students.
My worry is that charter schools, under government bureaucracies, will not be able to flourish in the long run due to governmental control pressures. The purpose of government bureaucracies is basically at odds with the goals and needs of students.
Jerry Kirkpatrick has an informative section on this issue in his book, Montessori,Dewey, and Capitalism, http://tljbooks.com/mdc/reviews.html.
Am I understanding you to say that the English universities were started first, then residential colleges were opened as independent organizations which then developed a relationship to the universities?
Thanks for a very informative comment!
I would be interested in providing the design, construction and financing services for the residential colleges you mention through my company, M Space Holdings (based in NYC)which has a national capability in this general area. I am open to exploring the level of interest in such a venture but would need help in identifying a test university and assembling the right people in a working group.
Mr. Arsht,
I wasn't sure if you were speaking to me or RJO - let me know.
Actually, I was making a comment to both or either. I will need help in understanding how to test the financial feasibility of residential colleges (through support from alumni or other sources) in the arkly years, while the cultural traditions evolve.
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