Letters
School vouchers
Thank you for the informative article titled "Capitalist politicians push school vouchers," printed in your October 30 issue. As a public school teacher in the Seattle area, this topic is of considerable interest to me. Vouchers and charter schools are under discussion here as well. Both of these pose a threat to students' ability to receive a quality education, and to the integrity of teachers' unions, too.
We teachers are already under considerable pressure to work outside our contract hours. Parents and administrators alike push us to tutor students during our 30-minute lunch period, turn up frequently for evening events at school, and attend extra unpaid workshops after school geared toward educational reform.
My colleagues and I were once warned that if we failed to do these things, our school's test scores would fail to rise, the state would privatize our school, and our wages might be cut by up to 66 percent. We are pressured not to take the sick days to which we are contractually entitled, because there are not enough substitute teachers available. (Substitute teachers are paid about $10 an hour and given no benefits, and many of them carry a heavy debt burden due to student loan payments. Many leave the field after a short time.)
There are good reasons why many parents are interested in the charter school/voucher system. Many charter schools are smaller in size, and the atmosphere is more intimate. Students often feel safer, rules are less restrictive, students' civil liberties are trodden on less frequently, and there are unlikely to be cops on campus. This is due to teachers and other staff members' personal acquaintance with each student on campus. What student wouldn't want to attend such a school? What parent wouldn't want that for their child?
However, the voucher/charter system doesn't provide this for all students; instead, it polarizes the quality of education being offered in an available area. Those students with parents who can drive them across town at the appropriate time can go to charter schools. Those who must rely on the school bus go to the larger, less personal schools (which are cheaper to run). In the end, a few get an excellent education at the expense of the majority.
In the end, vouchers and charter schools do not provide a fair alternative for all students' education, nor do they protect the rights of the workers who educate those students. A fair system would offer smaller, more intimate, better-funded schools across the board for all students, and would respect the union rights of teachers and classified (supporting) staff members. This is what working people should demand.
Sue Kawakubo
Seattle, Washington
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